The steamship, Conte Biancamano, was built in 1925 for the Italian shipping line Lloyd Sabaudo (known as ‘Count Line’ in English) as the latest addition to its fleet of luxury passenger liners. Weighing in at 24,116 tonnes, it was one of the fastest vessels in the line with a top speed of 23 knots. Initially plying the Atlantic route between Genoa and New York, the vessel was transferred to the South Atlantic route in 1933 before being diverted to the Far East in 1937 to replace the Conte Verde, a sister ship launched in 1926. By then both vessels were operated by Lloyd Triestino after the company had taken over most of the fleet that once belonged to Lloyd Sabaudo. During the Second World War, the Conte Biancamano was interned at a U.S. port and subsequently operated as an American transport for the duration of the conflict. The vessel was reacquired by Lloyd Triestino after the war and continued plying the Atlantic and Far Eastern routes until it was decommissioned in 1960 and broken up at the port of La Spezia.
