In 1910 her high-pressure turbine was replaced with a triple-expansion engine, in order to reduce her excessive coal consumption.

After the First World War, she passed through a succession of Finnish, French, and United Kingdom owners.

& J. Inglis of Glasgow built her as yard number 284,[2] overseen by George L Watson & Co.[3] She was launched on 23 January 1908, and completed that May.

She had forced draught ventilation, with enough power and capacity to change all the air in her interior in ten minutes.

[1] It served her upper deck, her staterooms, and the storerooms in her hold, enabling it to carry either passengers or luggage.

[11] In 1909 Crane, her designer, ran a series of sea trials on Vanadis off Glen Cove, New York and Provincetown, Massachusetts.

This system had been pioneered in 1908 by William Denny and Brothers in the refrigerated cargo ship Otaki, and by Harland & Wolff in the ocean liner Laurentic.

[13] The Staten Island Shipbuilding Company in New York removed the high-pressure turbine, replaced it with a three-cylinder triple-expansion engine, and completed the conversion in January 1910.

However, when Crane tested her on 14–15 July 1910, on a 24-hour run at 13 knots from Provincetown to New London, Connecticut, her coal consumption was now only 23.47 tons in 24 hours.

[15] On 13 June 1915, Vanadis accidentally rammed Eastern Steamship Lines' 4,779 GRT passenger ship Bunker Hill in dense fog off Eaton's Neck in Long Island Sound.

Bunker Hill was on her scheduled run from New York to Boston, carrying about 250 passengers and 130 crew.

At about 19:15 hrs Vanadis sighted Bunker Hill ahead, and immediately reversed her engines, but too late to overcome her momentum and prevent a collision.

Passengers reported that Vanadis fell back, and then thrust into Bunker Hill a second time.

The yacht lost her bowsprit and much of her rigging; her bow was crumpled; and her foredeck was littered with débris from the passenger ship.

[16][17] In July 1915 the Coroner of New York City, Patrick Riordan, summoned Billings to testify at the inquest of the crewman who died aboard Vanadis.

[19] In February 1917 it was reported that Plant had transferred Vanadis to the United Kingdom registry, and Russian interests wanted to buy her.

[21] By 1919 the Finnish nobleman Hjalmar Linder had acquired the yacht, renamed her Finlandia, and registered her in Helsinki.

By 1922 the French yachtswoman Virginie Hériot had acquired Finlandia and registered her in Le Havre.

[23] By 1925 Lieutenant Commander Montague Grahame-White, RNVR, acquired the yacht and renamed her Ianara.