[1] The ship was measured at 2,260 gross register tons[6] and initially was powered by two triple-expansion steam engines capable of producing 173 nhp driving twin screws [1] After her delivery, Fatshan commenced service with the Hongkong Canton & Macao Steamboat Company, the leading ferry company sailing in the area at the time.

At the time of its introduction, Fatshan was well known in the China trade as one of the best passenger steamers sailing the Hong Kong to Canton.

[7] On 18 September 1906, a typhoon struck Hong Kong catching Fatshan in the eastern part of Victoria Harbour near the Taikoo Dockyard.

Eyewitnesses alleged that they had seen the Portuguese crew member, one Mr. Noronha, a ticket collector, kicking the Chinese passenger following a dispute.

Coincidentally, the incident caught the attention of the Self-Government Society who called for a boycott of Fatshan and its parent company and also for civic uprising in Canton and Hong Kong.