[1] Whilst heading west across the Atlantic in November 1892, Spree's main propeller shaft broke and made a hole in the stern.

Two days later, the steamship Lake Huron was sighted and was able to tow Spree back to Ireland.

She was lengthened to 526 ft (160 m), her tonnage increased to 7,840 GRT, new engines were fitted joined to twin screws to give a speed of 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph).

Her accommodation was altered to carry 405 first-class, 114 second-class and 387 third-class passengers, and she was renamed Kaiserin Maria Theresia (some sources say Theresa.

In October she left Kronstadt to join Admiral Zinovy Rozhestvensky's fleet on its way to Vladivostok.