She had a vertical triple-expansion steam engine driving a single screw propeller.

The engine was rated 140 nominal horsepower that gave her a maximum speed of 10 knots (19 km/h; 12 mph).

[1] Saturn was laid down as yard number 377 by Anderson Rodger and Company at its shipyard in Port Glasgow, Scotland, for the Palatine Shipping Co. as Thirlmere.

Thirlmere was sold to Det Bergenske Dampskibsselkab of Bergen, Norway, and renamed Saturn on 6 February 1912.

She was enroute to Narvik, Norway, from Liverpool, with a cargo of cotton when she was shelled, captured and scuttled by U-57 about 35 nautical miles (65 km; 40 mi) north of the Shetland Islands at coordinates 60°02′N 5°04′W / 60.04°N 05.07°W / 60.04; -05.07 on 31 October 1916.