In order to enlarge it's fleet the company mortgaged its assets, borrowed heavily and became seriously in debt, so serious that the newly ordered Sirius had to be sold on delivery.

In 1865 James Chambers left and John Cunningham came in to take his place.

In March 1866 a bank failure created serious problems for White Star and in a bid to capture some of the North Atlantic trade deployed the Royal Standard on a voyage between Liverpool and New York but with little success.

The company's mortgages were then taken over by the Royal Bank of Liverpool but in October 1867 the bank was closed down and it was revealed that the line owed £527,000, today that would equate to approximately 24 million pounds.

White Star was forced into bankruptcy in January 1868 and was then sold to Thomas Henry Ismay, a 31 year old ship owner, for £1000.

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