 The "Baltimore Sun" reported that the modifications were an invention of a Baltimore firm, Wethered Bros, and if successful, would reduce fuel costs by half.The powerful engines fitted to "Arctic" and her sisters strained their wooden hulls, and the line incurred large expenses in maintaining the vessels.On September 27, 1854, while en route to New York from Liverpool, the "Arctic" collided with SS "Vesta", a much smaller vessel, 50 miles off the coast of Newfoundland.