SS Adriatic was the first of two White Star Line ocean liners to carry the name Adriatic. The White Star Line's first four steamships, the (Oceanic (I), Atlantic, Baltic, and the Republic) met with great success in the trans-Atlantic market, and the line decided to build two more. The first of these was the SS Adriatic, which was built by Harland and Wolff and launched on 17 October 1871; the second was the Celtic. History During the remainder of 1871 and the early part of 1872, Adriatic was fitted out. As a part of this process, a technology new to that era was tried on the ship. Up to this point, ships' cabins had been lit by oil lamps, but the builders decided to try new gas lamps on Adriatic. A machine was added to the engine room to produce gas from coal, the first ship in the world to have such a system, but problems with gas leaks meant it had to be removed before the ship went into service. Adriatic left on her maiden voyage on 11 April 1872, sailing from Liverpool to New York, under Captain Sir Digby Murray, who had captained the maiden voyage of the White Star's first ship, Oceanic the year before. Adriatic was similar in configuration to the earlier Oceanic-class ships, with a single funnel and four masts, with the highest towering to , and the first three square-rigged. Her hull was painted black in typical White Star fashion, and accommodated two classes, First and Steerage. As the largest of the six White Star Line ships, Adriatic received the designation as the Line's flagship, a title she held until the larger Britannic came on line in 1874. A month later, during a subsequent Atlantic crossing to New York, Adriatic maintained an average speed of 14.52 knots and won the Blue Riband away from the Cunard Line's Scotia, which she held since 1866. On 4 January 1873, Adriatic rescued the crew of the Norwegian barque Carmen, which had become waterlogged in the Atlantic Ocean whilst on a voyage from Saint George, New Brunswick, Canada to Liverpool. Adriatic was involved in several accidents. The first occurred in October 1874, when she collided with the Cunard Line's Parthia while sailing parallel. There was little damage to either ship. On 8 March, 1875, Adriatic rammed the British schooner Columbus in the Crosby Channel at Liverpool; Columbus was