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Port of Belfast 1910, the HMS Poly is launched as a luxury liner in for the North Atlantic passenger trade.

July, 1916. The Poly is hit by a torpedo from a German U-2 Boat and 2 limps to Liverpool for repair. 35 die in the attack. The ships entire hull in reconstructed. The Poly is recommissioned as a Hospital transport ship

In January of 1925 after several years in dry dock the Poly is purchased by a fruit and vegetable hauler in Port-au-Prince, Haiti and refitted for cargo. The entire cabin and deck sections are replaced along with the the engines 3

In 1945 after many years in the cargo and military transport business, the Poly is purchased by a wealthy family and reconfigured as a private house boat. The ship, while housed in a Bahamian harbor, and bearing a Liberian charter rarely travels anywhere. Its refitting, while using some original parts, leaves practically nothing of the original ship intact.

In 1970, after years of only casual luxury use, a violent hurricane sinks the Poly. It is rumored that the family who owned her was involved in the illegal diamond trade. Divers and excavators tear at the wreckage. Finally, the US Justice Department salvages the ship and reconstructs parts searching for evidence of crimes. At this time there are no material pieces of the 1910 ship remaining.

Questions To what extent can we say that the original ship is the same ship as the last ship? What defines the concept of origins? What gives definition? What role does utility play in defining? Or how does the ships functionality intersect with its meaning? To what extent does historical experience, that is the things that actually happened to the ship or passengers, conjoin with meaning? What might we mean by a ships essence?