SS Thasos was an 82-metre (269 ft) German cargo steamship, built in 1879 as Theben for Kosmos Line [de]'s service between Hamburg and South America.
In 1895 the ship was acquired by the Deutsche Levante-Linie [de] and renamed Thasos for their scheduled service to countries around the Black Sea.
On her second voyage to the Black Sea, loaded with a valuable cargo of cane goods, she foundered on 24 October 1895 near Terschelling, Netherlands, due to a navigational error.
[2] Built for Kosmos Line's regular trade between Hamburg, Antwerp/Le Havre (outward/return) and the west coast of South America, Theben made 35 return voyages on the route, calling at Montevideo, Buenos Aires, Valparaiso, Arica, Islay and Callao.
[5] Theben made the second voyage to Port Stanley, carrying the new Governor of the Falkland Islands, Thomas Kerr and his family and entourage.
[2][7] In October 1895 the ship made for the Levant Line her second voyage from Hamburg via Antwerp, Belgium to the Black Sea under command of Mallingdorf.
[16][17] In December the ship was further destroyed during a storm and in the days and week following pieces of wood and cargo washed ashore.
[40][41] An initial sale of salvaged items was held on 13 November 1895 in Terschelling, including recovered rice, cacao and biscuit.
[45] From 4 November 1895 the office of the Maritime Board of Inquiry (in German: Seeamt) in Hamburg ruled on who was responsible for the ship's stranding and sinking.
[46][47] It was also found that the compass was not properly set before departure, and that the drowning of the passengers was caused by premature launching of lifeboats.
[48] The Dutch fishermen Zeeders, Kuiper and De Beer who saved 24 of the 27 people received in November 1895 a reward of ƒ200 from the vice-consul of Germany on behalf of Levant Line.