Pisagua was a four-masted barque that was built for F. Laeisz, Hamburg, Germany in 1892 and served for twenty years, surviving a collision with Oceana in 1912.

She was repaired and sold to a Norwegian owner, only to be stranded in the South Shetland Islands the following year.

She sailed between Germany and Chile until 1896 when she made the voyage from Lizard Point to Calcutta, India in 99 days.

[3] On 12 March 1912, Pisagua was involved in a collision with the P&O steamship Oceana off Beachy Head, East Sussex.

[3] Pisagua hit Oceana amidships, creating a 40 feet (12 m) long gash in her side.

[5] Oceana sank but Pisagua survived with severe damage to the bow and foremast.