Crown Copyright Reserved
No. S.404
s.t. "GRIMSBY TOWN"
THE MERCHANT SHIPPING ACT,
1894
REPORT OF COURT
In the matter of a Formal Investigation held at the Guildhall,
Hull, on the 4th and 5th days of June, 1947, before R. F. Hayward,
Esq., K.C., assisted by Captain J. W. Grimston, Commander D. V.
Sutton and Mr. R. Charles, into the circumstances attending the
stranding and total loss of the steam trawler "Grimsby Town" on the
23rd April, 1946, near Alvidruhamrur, Iceland, with a loss of three
members of the crew.
The Court, having carefully inquired into the circumstances
attending the above-mentioned shipping casualty, finds, for the
reasons stated in the Annex hereto, that the loss of the "Grimsby
Town," was caused by the fault or default of the skipper, George
Alfred Camburn, and the Court suspends his Certificate as Skipper
for 18 months from the date of the casualty, and orders him to pay
£100 towards the cost of the Inquiry.
Dated this 5th day of June, 1947.
R. F. HAYWARD, Judge.
We concur in the above Report.
| | JOHN W. GRIMSTON | |
| | D. V. SUTTON | Assessors. |
| | R. CHARLES | |
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
The Court's Answers to the Questions submitted by the Ministry
of Transport are as follows:-
Q. 1. By whom was the s.t. "Grimsby Town" owned?
A. The Hull Ice Co. Ltd., St. Andrew's Dock, Hull. The Managers
were the Consolidated Fisheries Ltd., of Grimbsy.
Q. 2. (a) With what compasses was the s.t. "Grimsby
Town" fitted?
A. Two. A pole compass and a steering compass.
Q. (b) Where were the compasses placed on board?
A. The pole compass was in front of the bridge. The steering
compass was in the roof of the wheelhouse.
Q. 3. (a) When were the compasses last professionally
adjusted?
A. 20th March, 1946.
Q. (b) Were deviation cards supplied to the s.t.
"Grimsby Town" in respect of the last compass adjustment?
A. Yes.
Q. 4. (a) What sounding appliances were carried by the
s.t. "Grimsby Town" when she stranded?
A. (i) A Marconi echometer; (ii) a Hughes echo sounder, and
(iii) a deep sea lead.
Q. (b) Were such sounding appliances in working order
at that time?
A. Yes. The Marconi echometer, however, was known to be
registering about 7 fathoms too much.
Q. 5. (a) Did the s.t. "Grimsby Town" carry a wireless
transmitter?
A. Yes.
Q. (b) Was it in working order at the time of the
stranding?
A. Yes.
Q. 6. With what charts and publications relating to navigation
in Icelandic waters was the vessel supplied?
A. A full supply of Admiralty Charts and of Imray Charts, an
Arctic Pilot, Volume 2, and the Norway Pilot, Volume 3.
Q. 7. At what time on the 20th April, 1946, did the "Grimsby
Town" leave Westmann Islands?
A. About 9 p.m.
Q. 8. Where did the "Grimsby Town" cruise whilst fishing on 21st
and 22nd April, 1946?
A. To the Southward and Eastward of Portland Light.
Q. 9. What were the weather, wind and sea and conditions of
visibility from midnight of the 22nd-23rd April, 1946, up to the
time of stranding?
A. Moderate to poor visibility with occasional sleet and snow. A
north-westerly moderate breeze and considerable swell.
Q. 10. At what hour and on what day (around 22nd April, 1946)
did the "Grimsby Town" drop a marking buoy, and in what
position?
A. On the afternoon of the 22nd April, 1946. About 4 miles south
of Portland Light.
Q. 11. What soundings were taken, if any, from midnight of the
22nd and 23rd April, 1946, and what readings were obtained?
A. Whilst trawling to the eastward soundings were frequently
taken for fishing purposes giving readings of about 60 fathoms.
During the last haul a sounding of 53 fathoms was taken.
Q. 12. Was a proper lookout kept on board the "Grimsby Town"
from midnight of the 22nd and 23rd April, 1946?
A. After 3.15 a.m. on the 23rd April, 1946, a proper lookout was
not being kept.
Q. 13. Was the "Grimsby Town" navigated in a proper and
seaman-like manner during the last four hours before stranding?
A. After hauling their trawl at about 2 a.m. the "Grimsby Town"
was not navigated in a proper and seaman-like manner.
Q. 14. When the skipper left the bridge and the wheel in charge
of deck hand Herbert Walter Winter, some short time before the
stranding, was he justified in going below when the "Grimsby Town"
was so closely approaching an admittedly dangerous coast?
A. No.
Q. 15. At what time did the skipper leave deck hand Winter in
charge of navigation shortly before the vessel stranded?
A. At about 3.20 a.m.
Q. 16. Did the reputation of the Icelandic coast for magnetic
interference with compasses call for special precautions?
A. Yes.
Q. 17. Were such special precautions taken?
A. No.
Q. 18. At what time and in what position did the "Grimsby Town"
strand?
A. At about 3.40 a.m. in about 63° 24' north latitude and 18?°
36' west longitude.
Q. 19. What was the cause of the stranding?
A. The causes were several, namely:
(1) Bad lookout, in that in poor visibility with occasional
sleet and snow and with all deck lights burning, the helmsman only
was available to keep the lookout.
(2) Failing to take soundings whilst steaming along a dangerous
coast in bad visibility.
(3) Setting a course from a position of very doubtful
accuracy.
(4) Reliance on compasses in a position of well known magnetic
disturbance.
(5) In spite of the above mentioned difficulties and dangers and
lack of lookout, shaping a course (without reference to any chart)
to pass about 3 miles from low lying unlighted land with high land
behind it.
Q. 20. Was the stranding of the "Grimsby Town" caused or
contributed to by the wrongful act or default of her skipper,
George Alfred Camburn?
A. Yes.
Annex to the Report
The s.t. "Grimsby Town" was a steel single screw single deck
fishing vessel, built in 1934, by Messrs. Smith's Dock Co., Ltd.,
Middlesbrough. She was owned by The Hull Ice Company, Limited, St.
Andrew's Dock, Kingston-upon-Hull, and was managed by the
Consolidated Fisheries Limited, of Grimsby. The "Grimsby Town" was
of 422 tons gross register, 157 ft. in length, 26.7 ft. in beam and
12.7 ft. in depth. She was fitted with four water-tight bulkheads
and the usual forecastle and raised quarter deck. She was fitted
with hand and steam steering gear and propelled by triple expansion
engines. She carried a lifeboat certified for 21 persons and the
appropriate life saving appliances. She carried 20 hands. The
"Grimsby Town" sailed from Grimsby on the 15th April, 1946, on an
Icelandic fishing voyage. She started fishing on the 19th of April.
On the 20th the galley boy was landed at the Westmann Islands being
ill. On the 21st April a marker buoy was dropped about 4 miles to
the Southward of Portland Light. After fishing round it the
"Grimsby Town" on the afternoon of the 22nd of April, fished in an
Easterly direction, and at about 2.30 a.m. on the 23rd of April,
the trawl was hauled in. A bearing of the New Light which was in
sight at the time was taken and said to be N.E. × N. by compass.
The ships compasses had been adjusted on the 20th March, 1946, and
deviation cards supplied which showed no more than a quarter of a
point deviation on any heading. The distance of the New Light was
estimated by the Skipper and Winter, a Deckhand, to be between 5
and 7 miles. A sounding by the Hughes echo sounder was taken and
registered 53 fathoms of water. Without any reference to any chart
the Skipper, intending to return to Portland Light and pick up the
marker buoy, put his engines at full speed ahead and with Winter at
the wheel set a course of N.W. × W., which course within five
minutes he altered to W.N.W. The weather was dark and overcast with
occasional sleet and snow. Whilst steaming to the westward the crew
were busy disposing of the catch and preparing the fishing gear for
the next haul, and in order to do this the electric working lights
were kept alight, which much restricted the vision of those on the
bridge especially in the weather conditions obtaining. After
remaining on the bridge for about half an hour the Skipper retired
below giving orders to be called by the helmsman at 3.45 a.m. or on
the Portland Light being sighted. The deck was therefore left in
sole charge of Winter who steering with the steam gear, did his
best to keep a lookout through the open window in the starboard
side of the fore end of the wheelhouse. At the time the Skipper
went below the sleet and snow had eased up somewhat but shortly
afterwards began to come down again and without any danger having
been observed the "Grimsby Town", suddenly took the ground with
considerable force. Almost immediately the helmsman saw foam on the
port side forward and a heavy swell swept across the deck taking
four hands and washing them overboard to starboard. One of these
hands was fortunately able to regain the ship with assistance, but
the remaining three hands were drowned. The Skipper who had been
knocked off his locker by the force of the stranding, immediately
came onto the bridge, the Wireless Operator was called and S.O.S.
messages were sent out at frequent intervals to which a reply was
received after about 3 hours, and at about 1.30 p.m. the surviving
members of the crew were rescued by breeches buoy operations. The
"Grimsby Town" became a total loss.
The attention of the Court was called to printed warnings issued
from time to time for the information of Fishermen, warning them of
the dangers of failing to keep a proper lookout, and reference was
made to Olsen's Fisherman's Nautical Almanack in which appears a
warning as to the practice of allowing vessels when under way to be
in the sole charge of a single hand on deck. A copy of this
Almanack was on board the "Grimsby Town", but her Skipper had not
noticed the warning. He was aware that the place in question was a
dangerous coast and that several vessels had been lost there. He
knew that compasses might be disturbed to as much as 30 degrees,
and he agreed that reliance on one sounding only was dangerous.
Having carefully considered the evidence before it, and bearing
in mind that the Skipper has been unable to sail as Skipper since
the casualty, more than a year ago, and has thereby lost a sum
which he estimated at £2,000, the Court is nevertheless of the
opinion that it is its duty to impress on Skipper Camburn, and on
fishing skippers at large, the gravity of the practice of being so
gravely careless in matters of navigation, and of the need to
impress on them their paramount duty of bearing in mind the fact
that not only have they valuable lives depending on their skill and
care, but have valuable property in their charge. Not only does
inadequate lookout endanger the lives of all on board the trawler,
but it creates almost equal danger for those other vessels
navigating the same waters. It is with regret, bearing in mind the
courage of Mr. Camburn at sea and his candour in the witness box,
that the Court feels that it would fail in its duty to mark the
gross carelessness of Mr. Camburn other than by suspending his
Certificate for 18 months from the date of the casualty, and fining
him £100 towards the costs of the investigation.
R. F. HAYWARD, Judge.
| | JOHN W. GRIMSTONN | |
| | R. CHARLES | Assessors. |
| | D. V. SUTTON | |
(Issued by the Minister of Transport
in London on September 10th 1947)
LONDON
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1947
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