<P> Within a few decades of the development of the river and canal steamboat, the first steamships began to cross the Atlantic Ocean . The first sea - going steamboat was Richard Wright's first steamboat Experiment, an ex-French lugger; she steamed from Leeds to Yarmouth in July 1813 . </P> <P> The first iron steamship to go to sea was the 116 - ton Aaron Manby, built in 1821 by Aaron Manby at the Horseley Ironworks, and became the first iron - built vessel to put to sea when she crossed the English Channel in 1822, arriving in Paris on 22 June . She carried passengers and freight to Paris in 1822 at an average speed of 8 knots (9 mph, 14 km / h). </P> <P> The American ship SS Savannah first crossed the Atlantic Ocean, although most of the voyage was actually made under sail . The first ship to make the transatlantic trip substantially under steam power may have been the British - built Dutch - owned Curaçao, a wooden 438 ton vessel built in Dover and powered by two 50 hp engines, which crossed from Hellevoetsluis, near Rotterdam on 26 April 1827 to Paramaribo, Surinam on 24 May, spending 11 days under steam on the way out and more on the return . Another claimant is the Canadian ship SS Royal William in 1833 . </P> <P> The first steamship purpose - built for regularly scheduled trans - Atlantic crossings was the British side - wheel paddle steamer SS Great Western built by Isambard Kingdom Brunel in 1838, which inaugurated the era of the trans - Atlantic ocean liner . </P>

When did the first steamship crossed the atlantic