SS Vesta

The much larger Arctic, which initially had appeared to have sustained only superficial damage, had been fatally holed below the waterline. Lacking watertight compartments, the hull filled with water and the ship sank, four hours later, with great loss of life. By contrast, the only casualties from Vesta's crew and passengers were about a dozen who precipitately left the ship in a lifeboat, which was then accidentally run down by the Arctic.

After the collision, Vesta's captain, Alphonse Duchesne, brought the ship slowly to St John's, Newfoundland, which she reached on 29 September, and was repaired. On 20 March 1855 Vesta sailed for home, and was forced into Liverpool after fighting ice and storms for 17 days. Later that year she was sold to the Compagnie Générale Maritime of Le Havre, and after further changes of ownership, passed in 1863 to J Amann of Bilbao and was renamed Amberes. She was used as a freighter, generally working between northern Spanish ports and Antwerp. In 1875, the shipping registers reported her as sunk in Santander harbour.