 Photochrom postcard of La Bourgogne
entering Le Havre | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 France | |
| Name | La Bourgogne |
| Namesake | Burgundy |
| Owner | Cie Gle Transatlantique |
| Port of registry | Le Havre |
| Route | Le Havre – New York |
| Builder | F&C de la Méditerranée, La Seyne |
| Cost | FF 7,300,000 |
| Launched | 8 October 1885 |
| Completed | May 1886 |
| Maiden voyage | 19 June 1886 |
| Refit | 1897 |
| Identification |
|
| Fate | Sunk by collision, 1898 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Ocean liner |
| Tonnage | 7,395 GRT, 2,907 NRT |
| Length |
|
| Beam | 52.2 ft (15.9 m) |
| Depth | 34.8 ft (10.6 m) |
| Decks | 3 |
| Installed power |
|
| Propulsion |
|
| Sail plan |
|
| Speed |
|
| Capacity |
|
| Crew | 222 |
| Notes | sister ships: La Champagne, La Gascoigne, La Bretagne |
SS La Bourgogne was a Compagnie Générale Transatlantique (CGT) ocean liner and mail ship that was launched in France in 1886 and sank in the North Atlantic in 1898, killing 562 of the 725 people aboard. When new, she set a record for the fastest westbound transatlantic crossing from Le Havre to New York.
La Bourgogne was sunk by collision with the sailing ship Cromartyshire. The two ships were in thick fog off Newfoundland, and Cromartyshire had reduced speed, but La Bourgogne was steaming at high speed. It was alleged that after the collision, some of the steamship's officers failed to do their duty to minimise loss of life, and members of either her own crew or a group of seamen who were steerage passengers fought to save themselves to the exclusion of other passengers.
Only 13 percent of her passengers survived, compared with 48 percent of her crew. 200 of her passengers were women, but only one survived. Passengers included numerous children, none of whom survived.
Cromartyshire's owners, and the relatives of dozens of the victims of the sinking, sued CGT for damages. The sailing ship's owners won, but CGT won limitation of liability against the other claimants. Some claimants won only a fraction of the amount they claimed, and others lost their cases altogether. Claims continued until 1908, when the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that although La Bourgogne's excessive speed caused the collision, CGT was not at fault.