The Ponape was a notable four-masted steel-hulled barque constructed in 1903 in Genoa, Italy, originally named Regina Elena. Built by Società Esercizio Bacini, Genoa, the vessel measured 297 feet 2 inches (90.58 meters) in length, with a beam of 42 feet 5 inches (12.93 meters) and a depth of 23 feet 2 inches (7.06 meters). Her gross register tonnage was 2,342, with a net tonnage of 1,974 and a deadweight of 3,500 tons. Rigged as a barque, she featured four masts with royal sails over double top and topgallant sails, exemplifying the traditional rigging style of the era. Launched in July 1903 for Pietro Milesi of Genoa, Regina Elena embarked on various international voyages, including routes from Genoa to New York, Yokohama, and South America, carrying diverse cargoes such as oil, lumber, nitrates, cereals, and guano. Her voyages were lengthy, with some lasting over 100 days, and she demonstrated formidable endurance amid challenging weather conditions, including hurricanes at Cape Horn. In 1911, she was sold to Hamburg-based F. Laeisz and renamed Ponape. During World War I, on 20 September 1914, she was seized by HMS Majestic and declared a war prize, subsequently managed by the British Admiralty and renamed Bellhouse. The vessel changed ownership again in May 1915 when she was sold to Norwegian owners, operated under Alf Monssen in Tønsberg. In 1925, she was sold to Finnish interests, registered under the Finnish flag with the number 778 and code TPQS, and again named Ponape. Her service included a stormy voyage to Melbourne with lumber, and she was later acquired by Swedish shipowner Gustav Erikson in 1929, becoming part of the wheat trade from Australia. Her voyages during this period ranged from 50 to 118 days. Ponape was finally sold for scrap in 1936 to shipbreakers in Latvia, marking the end of her nearly three-decade career. Her figurehead is preserved at the Ålands Sjöfartsmuseum in Mariehamn, serving as a lasting relic of her maritime history.

This description has been generated using GPT-4.1-NANO based on the Vessel's wikidata information and then modified by ShipIndex.org staff.