During trials she turned out to be a fine sailer, achieving a speed of 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph).

[1] On 8 May 1853, Argo sailed under the command of Captain George Hyde from Southampton, reaching Melbourne in 64 days, with one stop en route at Cape St. Vincent.

She returned via Cape Horn in 63 days and received considerable acclaim as the first steamer to circumnavigate the globe.

On 30 May 1856, the French battleship, the Tourville collided into her[3] off the island of Marmora, compelling her to put in for repairs at Constantinople.

She was chartered to the Galway Line in 1859 and was wrecked at Trepassey Bay, Newfoundland, on 28 June 1859 on her first homeward voyage, after running on a reef in thick fog.