SS Vesta was a propeller-driven fishing vessel 250 gross tons, built in 1853 at Nantes, France by Hernoux et Cie of Dieppe for the Société Terreneuvienne of Granville in Normandy. That firm had extensive fishing interests in the Grand Banks area off Newfoundland, which it operated from a base in Saint Pierre Island. On 27 September 1854 Vesta was eastbound with a crew of 50, returning 147 fisherman and salters home. In a heavy fog, Vesta collided with the Collins Line passenger paddle steamer SS Arctic. A ten-foot (three meter) section of Vesta's bow was sheared off, but the watertight bulkhead behind the bow remained intact and kept out the sea, keeping the vessel afloat.