Embarquement à bord du paquebot Oravia à La Pallice

Embarquement à bord du paquebot Oravia à La Pallice(collection agence Adhémar)

«La Pallice, 16 juillet 1908… avant de quitter La Rochelle, nous avons voulu voir La Pallice qui n'en est qu'à 6 km. Ce port n'a rien de fameux sauf la station de torpilleurs…» Nous laissons bien entendu au signataire de la carte postale la responsabilité de son jugement!

Oravia appartient à la PSNC (Pacific Steam Navigation Company) de Liverpool, il appartient à la série des O (Oriana, Orita, Oronsa, Oropesa et Ortega). Il a été construit en 1897 aux chantiers Harland & Wolff, Belfast
Tous les quinze jours, un paquebot de la compagnie faisait escale à La Pallice, venant de Liverpool avant de rejoindre Valparaiso au Chili. Ses autres escales étaient La Corogne et Vigo (Espagne), Lisbonne (Portugal), St Vincent (Cap Vert), Bahia, Rio de Janeiro et Santos (Brésil), Montevideo (Uruguay), Port Stanley (Îles Malouines), Coronel et Talcahuano (Chili).
Pour en savoir plus sur La Pallice voir Delboca. Oravia s'échoua sur des rochers au large de Port Stanley aux Îles Malouines en novembre 1912.
La Pacific Steam Navigation Company (PSNC) a été fondée le 27 septembre 1838 par William Wheelwright (1798-1873) pour desservir la côte ouest de l'Amérique du sud.

Built: 1897 Harland & Wolff, Belfast. Hull: Steel, 3 decks Tonnage : 5,321g, 3.318n Dimensions: 421ft (128.32m) x 48ft 9in (14.86m) x 33ft (10.6m) Passengers : 70 1st, 104 2nd, 456 3rd Crew: 120 - 1897 : July 1 : Maiden Voyage to Valparaiso. The wreck of the PSNC vessel "Oravia" which struck the Billy Rocks outside Port Stanley and sank takes place in November 1912.

Formed in London in 1838, the Pacific Steam Navigation Company commenced operations on the West Coast of South America in 1840. In 1852 they were granted the British Government Mail contract to the area. In 1877 a joint P.S.N.Co-Orient Line service to Australia was started and lasted until 1905 when P.S.N.Co sold their Australian route interests to Royal Mail S.P.Co. In 1910 P.S.N.Co itself, was taken over by Royal Mail S.P.Co but continued to operate as a separate company within the group, although ships were often transferred between the two companies. In 1931 the Royal Mail group collapsed, but P.S.N.Co was allowed to continue operations under the control of it's creditors until it discharged it's financial obligations. In 1938 Royal Mail (now Royal Mail Lines) again took control of P.S.N.Co but again kept the two organisations separate. Furness Withy took over the Royal Mail / PSNC group in 1965 and ships were frequently switched between different companies within the group. By 1984 the name of Pacific Steam Navigation Co disappeared into Furness Withy Shipping.