The following is an excerpt from a book called the "Ships of Miramichi", by Dr Louise Manny :- "The Indian Ocean was built in Chatham on Miramichi Bay , New Brunswick , Canada .  It was built in 1851 by Johnson and Mackie, who also built the barque "Coral Isle" , and the ships "Falcon", " Indian Ocean " and "Kaffirland". "Falcon, Indian Ocean" and "Kaffirland" all made voyages to Australia .

Andrew Mason was the master builder of the Indian Ocean which was constructed of hackmatack and black birch. Laden with timber and deal, she made the voyage from Miramichi to Liverpool in 16½ days .  She was painted with a substance described as patent artificial slate, an unchangeable metallic paint manufactured by John Ross of Colchester , Nova Scotia .   It was a mixture of metallic substances which formed a coating of actual slate made of alumina, silica and oxides of iron, which got harder the longer it was exposed to the weather."

At a time when ships had an economic lifespan of only 3 to 4 years, the coating must have been a successful recipe.   The ships original classification was 7A1.  The "7" standing for the ships projected lifespan in years, "A1," stands for the top rating of the ship. Lloyds Register shows the Indian Ocean weighed approximately 1090 tons and its dimensions were 178x34x22 feet.

According to Lloyd's of London's Shipping Register, the "Indian Ocean" was London owned and traveled between Liverpool and New York in 1852.  Afterwards it mainly plied between Liverpool and New Zealand carrying cargo and immigrants under the Black Ball Line.

In January 1862, the "Indian Ocean" left Liverpool for Sydney and was driven ashore in Tramore Bay , off Co. Waterford, Ireland.

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