The steel ship Emms, 1829 tons and 270 feet in length, was built in 1893 by Connell's of Glasgow for James Nourse. Registered in London, she remained in Nourse Fleet until being sold to Norwegian interests in 1910. Sold again shortly afterwards, she then passed into Argentinian ownership in 1916, her name being changed to Fortuna. The remainder of her career was then spent in voyages from Europe to the whaling station on South Georgia Island in the South Atlantic. On the outward journey she carried coal and stores, returning with whale oil and guano usually in a run of 60 to 70 days.

On her last voyage, she left Liverpool on 23 October 1927 loaded with 3000 tons of coal and 1000 empty whale oil drums. Five days out, off the Southern Irish coast, she caught fire following a mysterious explosion and sank with the loss of five of her crew.