(No. 369.)
"IBIS."
The Merchant Shipping Acts, 1854 to 1876.
IN the matter of the formal investigation held at the Chancery Court, St.
George's Hall, Liverpool, on the 10th day of January 1879, before H. C. ROTHERY,
Esquire, Wreck Commissioner, assisted by Commander KNOX, R.N., and Captain
WILSON, as Assessors, into the circumstances attending the abandonment of the
sailing ship "IBIS," of Liverpool. in or near latitude 47º N., longitude 17''
W., on or about the 16th day of December 1878, whilst on a voyage from Benin to
Falmouth.
Report of Court.
The Court, having carefully inquired into the circumstances of the
above-mentioned shipping casualty, finds, for the reasons annexed,-
(1.) That the said ship was well found when she left Benin; and that Daniel
Robin, the master, was justified under the circumstances in proceeding to sea as
and when he did.
(2.) That the said ship was not prematurely abandoned, and that the master was
fully justified in abandoning her as and when he did.
The Court accordingly returns to the said Daniel Robin, the master, his
certificate.
The Court makes no order as to costs.
Dated the 10th day of January 1879.
(Signed)H. C. ROTHERY,
Wreck Commissioner.
We concur in the above report.
(Signed)HENRY KNOX,
Commander, R.N.,Assessors.
"J. P. WILSON,
Reasons.
The Commissioner.-Of all the cases which have ever come before the Court this is
perhaps the clearest and simplest; and no one who has heard the evidence, and
seen the condition of the witnesses, can have a moment's doubt as to what our
decision ought to be.
The "Ibis" was a vessel of 232 tons register, built at Prince Edward Island in
the year 1875, and at the time of the casualty which forms the subject of the
present inquiry she was the property of the Mersey Shipowning Company, Limited,
Mr. Herbert Cecil Rooke, of 4, Mersey, Chambers, Old Churchyard, Liverpool,
being the managing owner. She left England on the 20th June last with a general
cargo bound to Benin, on the 'West Coast of Africa, and having a crew of eight
hands all told. She appears to have been at that time in a thoroughly good and
efficient condition, and had an A 1 class for seven years. She arrived at Benin
on the 6th of August, probably about the worst time of the year at which she
could have been there. Having discharged her outward cargo, she proceeded to
load a cargo of palm oil, and having taken in a large portion of her cargo, she
crossed the bar, and lay in the roads, for the purpose of taking in the
remainder. Before, however, she left the wharf, several of the crew, including
the second mate, and 1 believe the first mate also, had been struck down with
the African fever, and whilst lying in the roads one of the ordinary seamen
died. Having taken on hoard the whole of her cargo, she left on the 21st of
September last, and at this time the mate and two of the men were ill, and off
duty with African fever, and another was only half fit for duty, so that the
whole work of the ship fell upon the other three men, of whom the master was
one. On the 13th of November the mate died; and at this time the master was off
duty. How many of the crew were also ill we do not know, but some certainly
were; and in this condition they encountered a severe gale of wind. On the 12th
of December following they encountered a second gale of wind, which carried away
the whole of their sails, except the lower topsail, and storm trysail. At this
time the only persons who could get on deck were the master and the steward, the
remainder of the crew, consisting of the second mate and three seamen, were down
with the fever. Of course it was utterly impossible for the master and the
steward alone to bend fresh sails or to repair those that had been damaged. They
had nothing, therefore, to do apparently except to lash the helm, indeed the
helm seems to have been lashed for about a fortnight or three weeks previously,
and to trust to falling in with some vessel. Four days after they fell in with
the Norwegian barque "Alert," and signals of distress having been hoisted she
bore down towards them and sent a boat; and with the assistance of the crew of
the "Alert" the whole of the survivors, six in all, were taken on board of her,
the master and steward being alone able to get over the side, the other four
being assisted by the "Alert's" people. They seem to have been very kindly
treated on board the "Alert," and to have been landed subsequently in the Port
of London on the 23rd of December. After the "Ibis" had been abandoned we are
told that she was fallen in with by a vessel called the "Mary Cook," and three
hands having been put on board her, she was eventually brought to Queenstown,
where she now lies awaiting to proceed with her cargo to Dunkirk.
These then being the facts of the case, Mr. Tyndall, on behalf of the Board of
Trade, has asked the opinion of the Court on the following questions:-
(1.) Was the vessel well found when she sailed from Benin: and was the master
justified in leaving when three of his hands were unfit for duty and four
unwell?
(2.) Was the ship prematurely abandoned?
(3.) Was the master justified in abandoning her?
That the vessel was well found when she left Benin we have no doubt whatever.
She seems to have had a nearly new suit of canvas, besides a half worn one, and
she had also canvas on board with which to repair any of her sails that might be
damaged. But of what possible use could the very best suit of spare canvas have
been with a crew in the state in which this crew was? It was utterly impossible,
after the sails had been blown away on the 12th of December, that the master and
the steward alone could have bent fresh sails. There is not a particle of
evidence to show that she was not properly found in all other respects.
Something indeed was said about the pumps having been choked with oil; but with
a sufficient crew that would not have been a very serious matter; and as a
matter of fact we find that she was brought into Queenstown by those three men
from the "Mary Cook," and by the admission of Mr. Goldney, on behalf of the
owners, she is now perfectly tight, and about to proceed on her voyage to
Dunkirk.
We are further asked to say whether the master was justified in leaving the Port
of Benin with three of his hands unfit for duty, and a fourth unwell, and
consequently with only three hands including himself to do the whole duty of the
ship. No doubt it was a great risk to run, to put to sea with so small a crew,
and with the chance that those who were then well, might in the course of a few
days, become unfit for duty. But it was a choice of evils. Here the vessel was
at a port where it was utterly impossible to get any fresh hands, at all events
any Europeans. The master does appear to have been anxious to take two Kroomen,
and they were willing to go with him, but their master, we are told, could not
spare them. Then it is asked, might he not have sent for fresh hands? Where was
he to send to? The nearest port where there was a chance' of getting any fresh
hands was Sierra Leone, which we are told is from l,000 to 1,100 miles off. I
believe it to be nearer 1,400. To have sent from Benin to Sierra Leone on the
chance of obtaining some fresh hands to man this vessel would, in our opinion,
have been the height of folly. The only chance for this unfortunate vessel and
crew was to do what the master did, put to sea, in the hope that with the sea
breezes the men might recover; but to remain at Benin, where the fever had been
caught, waiting for fresh hands, would, in our opinion, have been an utterly
unjustifiable proceeding. We think that the master exercised a very wise
discretion in putting to sea as he did, and with the small crew that he had; and
that if he had waited at Benin until he could have got fresh hands, it is more
than likely that he and the whole of the rest of the crew would have been dead
before those hands could have arrived.
The second and third questions upon which our opinion is asked are, whether the
vessel was prematurely abandoned and whether the master was justified in
abandoning her? The two questions appear to me to be very much the same. Now
upon this we have equally no doubt whatever. We think that the master was
perfectly justified in abandoning her as and when he did. The only persons who
were at all fit for duty at the time were himself and the steward. We have had
the master, the second mate, and one of the men before us to day, and the state
in which those poor men still are, nearly a month after they left the ship, is
to us conclusive proof how entirely unfit they were to have remained on board
this vessel. But then it is said might not the master have asked the captain of
the "Alert" to give him some of his hands to help him to take the ship into
port? The master told us that the "Alert" was shorthanded, but as she was only
about 500 tons, and had a crew of 11 hands, we think that in an emergency she
might have parted with perhaps as many as three of her hands to help to navigate
this vessel into a port of safety. But whether the crew of the "Alert" would
have been willing to risk their lives on board, what we might call this fever
stricken ship, may perhaps be doubted; at any rate, if they had been willing to
do so they would not have waited for any application from the master of the
"Ibis," but have gone on board and salved the vessel, and thus obtained for
themselves a handsome salvage reward. On the whole we think that this ship was
not prematurely abandoned, and that the master was fully justified in abandoning
her.
The Board of Trade has not asked us to deal with this master's certificate, and
we think most properly. We think that this gentleman did all that he possibly
could under the circumstances, and that no blame whatever attaches to him,
either for having put to sea when he did, or for having abandoned her.
(Signed)H. C. ROTHERY,
Wreck Commissioner.
We concur.
(Signed)HENRY KNOX,
Commander, R.N.,Assessors.
"J. P. WILSON,
I 101. 145. 70.-1/79. Wt. B 612. E. & S.
