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== Early History (1835-1860) ==
== Early History (1835-1860) ==
Prior to 1835, the Trgovina Trade Co. was the only trade company in operation under Tuvaria. The company was the sole service for every trade line leaving and entering Tuvaria, and the '''''Phoenixia-Trgovina Trade Company (PTTC'')''' which connected the Kingdom of Arafors (now phoenixia) with the Almodarian Region. Trgovina in limited numbers also conducted passenger transportation on their sail ships starting in 1783 to maximize profits during the post war depressions in the region. Skip forward to 1835, and the company were up to their neck in bills and notices as trade was stagnating and the PTTC route was weakening. The company's board of operations had an option of either laying off employees and scrapping ships or declaring bankruptcy which would be detrimental to the country. The choice was made in 1835 to instead form a subsidiary company which would take over operations while Trgovina would become simply a management company. This subsidiary was named '''''Red Star Line''''' in reference to the symbolic red star used commonly by the Tuvarian government for government logos and had their headquarters in the port city of Kunovec, Tuvaria.
Prior to 1835, the Trgovina Trade Co. was the only trade company in operation under Tuvaria. The company was the sole service for every trade line leaving and entering Tuvaria, and the '''''Phoenixia-Trgovina Trade Company (PTTC'')''' which connected the Kingdom of Arafors (now phoenixia) with the Almodarian Region. Trgovina in limited numbers also conducted passenger transportation on their sail ships starting in 1783 to maximize profits during the post war depressions in the region. Skip forward to 1835, and the company were up to their neck in bills and notices as trade was stagnating and the PTTC route was weakening. The company's board of operations had an option of either laying off employees and scrapping ships or declaring bankruptcy which would be detrimental to the country. The choice was made in 1835 to instead form a subsidiary company which would take over operations while Trgovina would become simply a management company. This subsidiary was named '''''Red Star Line''''' in reference to the symbolic red star used commonly by the Tuvarian government for government logos and had their headquarters in the port city of Kunovec, Tuvaria.
[[File:RichardGaronovic.jpg|thumb|Richard Garonovic was the captain of SS Explorer when it struck a rock in 1853. He'd later be the captain of SS Mariner.]]
[[File:RichardGaronovic.jpg|thumb|Richard Garonovic was the captain of SS Explorer when it struck a rock in 1853. He'd later be the captain of SS Mariner and SS Pioneer.]]
By the 1830s, steam technology was in its early days with many steam liners still had sails to help with propulsion. The first ship in operation under the Red Star name was the '''''SS Explorer (istraživač in Almodarian)''''' in 1839 and was the first Almodarian ship to use steam power to assist the ship in speed. It was designed for cargo delivery and made its first voyage in 1840 to the Skavarian port city of Vukrovna in which it successfully transported 200 pounds of various cargo, including the house flag of Red Star Line. This success proved that the Red Star Line could be capable enough if given the opportunity and in 1843, their dockyards expanded and the Explorer Class as they were called, was expanded with the ships '''SS Ingenuity (1844)''' and '''SS Inspiration (1844)'''. In 1846, the company experienced a PR hiccup when their SS Ingenuity collided with a smaller sailboat in neutral waters (Aranistani and Almodorian waters) where one member of the small ship's crew was killed in the collision while the Ingenuity only experienced a crack in its hull. The ship would exit service for a year for repairs and the company would pay compensation to the crew for the death and damages but in 1847, Ingenuity returned to original service.
By the 1830s, steam technology was in its early days with many steam liners still had sails to help with propulsion. The first ship in operation under the Red Star name was the '''''SS Explorer (istraživač in Almodarian)''''' in 1839 and was the first Almodarian ship to use steam power to assist the ship in speed. It was designed for cargo delivery and made its first voyage in 1840 to the Skavarian port city of Vukrovna in which it successfully transported 200 pounds of various cargo, including the house flag of Red Star Line. This success proved that the Red Star Line could be capable enough if given the opportunity and in 1843, their dockyards expanded and the Explorer Class as they were called, was expanded with the ships '''SS Ingenuity (1844)''' and '''SS Inspiration (1844)'''. In 1846, the company experienced a PR hiccup when their SS Ingenuity collided with a smaller sailboat in neutral waters (Aranistani and Almodorian waters) where one member of the small ship's crew was killed in the collision while the Ingenuity only experienced a crack in its hull. The ship would exit service for a year for repairs and the company would pay compensation to the crew for the death and damages but in 1847, Ingenuity returned to original service.


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=== Mariner Class ===
=== Mariner Class ===
The Red Star Line were very optimistic about their new vessel. It could do the work of SS Inspiration and Ingenuity in half the time and carry double the cargo and was twice their length at a length of 300 feet! This project also got special funding from the government who were getting more interest in the private company. When SS Mariner was completed in 1860, it was planned to have its first voyage later that year to Arafors as part of PTTC. This trip was treated as a journey into the future of Almodarian naval efforts and on November 1st, 1860, SS Mariner was on its way to its destination with hope in mind.
The Red Star Line were very optimistic about their new vessel. It could do the work of SS Inspiration and Ingenuity in half the time and carry double the cargo and was twice their length at a length of 300 feet! This project also got special funding from the government who were getting more interest in the private company. When SS Mariner was completed in 1860, it was planned to have its first voyage later that year to Arafors as part of PTTC. This trip was treated as a journey into the future of Almodarian naval efforts and on November 1st, 1860, SS Mariner was on its way to its destination with hope in mind. SS Mariner arrived without a hitch, marking its place in the shipping world. The sail-propeller steamer had crushed her competition with concepts of expanding the route into other neighboring states being drawn up but never being accomplished due to a lack of good relations with the desired nations. SS Mariner however was extremely expensive to operate and costed nearly 45,000 Tuvanats every year to uphold (700,000 Almodats today). After only 6 years of service, SS Mariner was retired and scrapped after costs became too large for the company to uphold.

=== Pioneer Class ===
Red Star needed something to get their cash rolling in again but was more cost effective. After successfully getting a help check from the Tuvarian government of around 1.6 million Tuvanats, the line got back to work on a new class of ships. Similar to the SS Mariner, they wanted to make a double hull, single smokestack, sail backed up, ship but with the idea of passengers being the priority. Up to this point, shipping was all the line did but, somewhat luxurious trips to Arafors and back was becoming more popular in the country. SS Pioneer as she was called was laid down in 1869 and finished construction in 1873.