52. S.S. TIARA," of London. Official Number, 70,607. Date of Abandonment, 27th November, 1879. Date of Inquiry, 12th February, 1880. The Tiara was an iron screw steamer of 1,173 tons register. On the 11th November, 1879, she sailed from Alexandria, bound to Hull, with a cargo of 2,293 tons of cotton seed in bulk. When off Cape Finisterre heavy weather set in, and the vessel began to have a considerable list to port. A great deal of water came into the vessel, and at last she fell off into the trough of the sea. The master then decided to abandon the ship, and he and his crew were received on board the Hipparchus, there being at the time from 10 to 11 feet of water in the Tiara's hold. An Inquiry was held into the case at Newcastle before the Wreck Commissioner, assisted by Captains Forster and Castle, Assessors, when the Court came to the following conclusion : That, considering the season of the year and the nature of the voyage, the Tiara was too deeply laden for a vessel of her construction. The vessel had not sufficient stability for the carriage of a full cargo of grain. The Court observe that she was a tender ship, due mainly to the great depth of her hold in proportion to her beam, and it is to this that they mainly attribute her loss. They notice, however, the excellent arrangement of the shifting boards, owing to which the cargo probably did not shift until the vessel herself had fallen over on her beam-ends. The Court also think that the system for freeing the steamship from water was not sufficient, more especially as regards the after compartment of the fore-hold. That the arrangement for working the sluices of such after compartment were not good, for that provision should have been made to get at the sluices from the engine-room. That the loss of the said ship was due no doubt, in part, to Henry Bethel, the master: (1.) For having placed additional weight above the mean centre of gravity of the ship, machinery, and cargo, by filling the storeroom and petty officers' quarters with seed, such space not having been originally intended for the reception of cargo; (2.) For neglecting to replenish his coal bunkers at Gibraltar; (3.) For stopping the engines at 2 p.m. of the 27th of November, thus leaving the vessel to labour in the trough of the sea, instead of making for the nearest port; and (4.) For flooding the fore compartment of the fore-hold with water out of the after compartment of the same hold, at about 3 p.m. of the 27th November. They did not, however, in the circumstances deal with the master's certificate. 53. S.S. "TRAVELLER," of Newport. Official Number, 68,209. Date of Casualty, 12th March, 1880. Date of Inquiry, 15th April, 1880. The Traveller is a paddle-wheel steam-tug of 14.84 tons register. On the 12th March, while she was engaged in towing a vessel, a joint of one of the mud-hole doors of the starboard boiler gave way and commenced to leak. It appears that some months previously, the owner had caused some alterations to be made in the boiler, in effecting which he adopted a plan which involved the doors and the joints being placed on the outside of the boilers, and it was the joint of one of these doors which was leaking. The necessary repairs having been executed by an engine fitter, assisted by two of the firemen, the water was again let into the boiler. The joint, however, not being quite tight, two of the men were engaged in securing the mudhole door, tightening the blow up and standing on the spanner, forced it down with all their might. Suddenly the cast-iron door inside the boiler gave way, and released the mud-hole door, thus allowing the steam and water to rush from the boiler into the stokehole. One of the men escaped, but the fireman, Benjamin Taylor, was severely scalded and died the same evening. An Inquiry was held at Newport before Messrs. J. Murphy and T. Beynon, assisted by Captain Hight, and Mr. J. R. Ravenhill, C.E., Assessors. The Court considered that cast iron should not be used for such a purpose as mudhole doors or their fittings, and that outside joints in such doors are highly objectionable. They regretted that the Board of Trade surveyor should have passed the original cast iron doors, and they called attention to the fact that many vessels were stated to be running in the district with cast iron mud-hole doors. The Court found that this was the second fatal explosion which had occurred within three years in steam-tugs belonging to the owners of the Traveller. They thought the owner deserving of severe censure for not attend. ing to the machinery more carefully, for not informing himself as to the actual weight on the safety-valves, and for not having all the steam gauges examined from time to time. 54: "UGANDA," of Penzance. Official Number, 47,152. Date of Casualty, 13th March, 1880. Date of Inquiry, 22nd April, 1880. The Uganda was a wooden schooner of 137.81 tons. On the 13th March, 1880, she sailed from Swansea to Plymouth with a cargo of anthracite coal from the Seven Sisters Pit. The master was cautioned that this coal would give off large quantities of gas, and that special attention to ventilators was required. On the evening of the 13th an explosion took place by which several of the crew were injured, and the vessel was considerably damaged. An Inquiry was held at Swansea before Mr. J. C. Fowler, assisted by Captains Hight and Parfitt, Nautical Assessors. The Court found that there were adequate means of ventilation, but that the plan of two ventilators of 5 inches in diameter might not have insured sufficient surface ventilation over the coals in calm weather with closed hatches. They found, moreover, that the ventilator was not properly trimmed, one being fixed to the flange by oxidation, and the other being altogether unshipped, and they find the master in default for negligence in this respect. The bulkheads moreover were not airtight, a hole having been burnt in one of them. The explosion is attributed to accumulation of gas from the cargo, owing to defective ventilation after the hatches were closed. In giving judgment, Mr. Fowler expressed approval of the practice ad opted by the shippers of the coal of giving written notices as to its gaseous qualities, and he only suggested that the notices should be more widely distributed. The Judge also commented on the negligent treatment of the ventilators in this case, and the dangerous conditions caused thereby. He referred to the opinion expressed by the Wreck Commissioner as to the necessity of carrying off the gas "from the surface." In the present case he observed it was clear that a ventilator at one end of the deck, and a mere open hole at the other end, were quite insufficient for safety. He strongly censured the carelessness and thoughtlessness displayed by the master in not paying any attention to the ventilator. 55. "YANIKALE," of Peterhead. Official Number, 18,981. Date of Abandonment, 8th October, 1880. Date of Inquiry, 4th, 5th, and 6th November, 1880. The Yanikale was a barque of 298 tons register, built in 1854. On the 12th September, 1880, she arrived at Shields on her return from a voyage to Spain and the Baltic, and on the 17th proceeded thence to Gloucester, her port of destination. She had on board a cargo of 250 tons of iron and 110 standard of deals. After passing Beachy Head the provisions and oil ran short, and the crew were finally reduced to flour and water. When off the coast of Cornwall a heavy gale was encountered, during which the sails were blown away, the vessel began to leak, and was carried almost helpless up and down the coast, and on the 8th the master and crew abandoned her and were landed at Swansea by the schooner St. Devenick. An Inquiry was held at Swansea before the Wreck Commissioner, with Captains Forster and Clarke, Assessors. The Court found as follows: (1.) That the Yanikale when she left Gefle on her homeward voyage was not in a good and seaworthy condition. (2.) That her cargo was not properly stowed. The 250 tons of iron carried by the vessel consisted of square pieces 2 or 3 feet long and laid in the bottom of the vessel on the ceiling right fore-and-aft and rising only a little above the top of the keelson. The Court consi dered that the iron should have been stowed by building it up in the centre with the deals on each side protected from the iron by wooden slabs. (3.) That the vessel was overladen, having regard to her state and condition and the weakness of her bottom. (4.) That there was not a sufficient quantity of provisions put on board at Gefle. The Court also found that the vessel was not properly repaired on her arrival at Shields, and that she was in the same unsatisfactory condition when she proceeded on her voyage to Gloucester; also that the master was not justified in neglecting to put into some port for repairs and provisions. The Court considered that the abandonment and loss was caused by the wrongful acts and defaults of the master, who did not take every proper effort to save the vessel, and who did not navigate her with proper and seamanlike care, and they cancelled his certificate. The Court also found the owner to blame for the casualty. They were convinced that he as well as the master was well aware of the unseaworthy condition of the vessel on leaving Shields, and they regarded the case as one of the most disgraceful that had ever come before them." They therefore condemned the owner in the sum of £150, nomine expensarum. MERCHANT SHIPPING (CARRIAGE OF GRAIN) ACT, 1880. 43 AND 44 VICT., CHAP. 43. AN ACT TO PROVIDE FOR THE SAFE CARRIAGE OF GRAIN CARGOES BY BE it enacted by the Queen's most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows: 1. This Act may be cited as the Merchant Shipping (Carriage of Grain) Act, 1880, and shall be construed as one with the Merchant Shipping Act, 1854, and the Acts amending the same, and together with those Acts may be cited as the Merchant Shipping Acts, 1854 to 1880. Short Title and construction, 17 and 18 Vict., c. 104, &c. Commence 2. This Act shall come into operation on the first day of January, one thousand eight hundred and eighty-one (which day is in this Act ment of Act. referred to as the commencement of this Act). 3. Where a grain cargo is laden on any British ship all necessary and reasonable precautions (whether prescribed by this Act or not) shall be taken in order to prevent the grain cargo from shifting. If such precautions have not been taken in the case of any such ship, the master of the ship and any agent of the owner who was charged with the loading of the ship or the sending her to sea shall each be liable to a penalty not exceeding three hundred pounds, and the owner of the ship shall also be liable to the same penalty, unless he shows that he took all reasonable means to enforce the observance of this section, and was not privy to the breach thereof. Obligation to take precautions to prevent cargo from shifting. Precautions against shifting of grain cargo laden in Port in Mediterranean 4. Where a British ship laden with a grain cargo at any port in the Mediterranean or Black Sea is bound to ports outside the Straits of Gibraltar, or where a British ship is laden with a grain cargo on the coast of North America, the following precautions to prevent the or Black Sea grain cargo from shifting shall be adopted; that is to say, or on Coast of North America. |