Wreck Report for 'Atmosphere' and 'Thyatira', 1882

(No. 1317.)

"ATMOSPHERE" AND "THYATIRA."

align="center">The Merchant Shipping Acts, 1854 to 1876.

IN the matter of the formal Investigation held at Westminster on the 3rd and 4th of April 1882, before H. C. ROTHERY, Esquire, Wreck Commissioner, assisted by Captain GRANT, R.N., Captain HIGHT, and Captain RONALDSON, into the circumstances attending the loss of the sailing ship "ATMOSPHERE," of Liverpool, through collision with the sailing ship "THYATIRA," of Aberdeen, about 180 miles from Rio de Janeiro, on the 27th of January 1882, when one life was lost.

Report of Court.

The Court, having carefully inquired into the circumstances of the above-mentioned shipping casualty, finds, for the reasons annexed, that the said collision was due to the helm of the "Thyatira" having been put hard down, and the vessel thrown up into the wind instead of being kept on her course, she being at the time close hauled to the wind on the starboard tack, whilst the "Atmosphere" was going free; and that Robert Joss, the first officer of the "Thyatira," is to blame for having given the order, but that no blame attaches to the master and officers of the "Atmosphere." The Court is, however, of opinion that in giving the order to put the helm hard down the said Robert Joss was guilty of an error of judgment only; it will, therefore, not deal with his certificate.

The Court is not asked to make any order as to costs.

Dated this 4th day of April 1882.

 

(Signed)

H. C. ROTHERY, Wreck Commissioner.

We concur in the above report.

 

(Signed)

EDWARD HIGHT,

 

 

 

JOHN M. G. GRANT,

Assessors.

 

 

A. RONALDSON,

 

Annex to the Report.

This case was heard at Westminster on the 3rd and 4th of April instant, when Mr. Muir Mackenzie appeared for the Board of Trade, Mr. Aspinall for the owners, master, and officers of the "Atmosphere," and Mr. Bucknill for the owners, Mr. Nelson for the master, and Mr. Greening for the first and second officers of the "Thyatira."

Fourteen witnesses having been produced by the Board of Trade and examined, Mr. Muir Mackenzie handed in a statement of the questions upon which the Board of Trade desired the opinion of the Court. Mr. Bucknill, Mr. Nelson, Mr. Greening, and Mr. Aspinall then addressed the Court on behalf of their respective parties, and Mr. Muir Mackenzie having replied for the Board of Trade, the Court proceeded to give judgment on the questions on which its opinion had been asked. The circumstances of the case are as follow:—

The "Atmosphere" was a three-masted wooden vessel belonging to the Port of Liverpool, of 1,378 tons register. She was built at Connecticut in the year 1856, and at the time of her loss was the property of Mr. John Starr de Wolf, of 11, Redcross-street, Liverpool, who was also the managing owner. She left Liverpool on the 25th of November last for Valparaiso, with a crew of 21 hands all told, and a cargo of 1,690 tons of coal; and at about midnight of the 26th of January following was in about latitude 22° 35' south and longitude 35° 35' west, and about 180 miles from Rio. At midnight the second officer came on deck and relieved the chief officer; at this time the weather was fine, the night dark but clear, with the wind blowing a moderate breeze from about east, and the vessel was heading S. by W. 1/2 W. under all plain sail, and making from 7 to 8 knots an hour. At about 20 minutes after twelve o'clock the look-out man observed the flash of a red light ahead, and not being quite sure what it was, he went as far forward as be could get. when a green light suddenly appeared about half a point on his starboard bow, which he immediately reported. On the light being reported, the second mate, who also saw the green light, at once ordered the helm to be put about a point to starboard, which brought the vessel's head to about S. 1/2 W. Thinking then that the vessels would pass clear of one another, green light to green light, he ordered the helm to be steadied; but he had hardly done so, when he observed that the other vessel had ported, and was coming up under her port helm; upon which he ordered the helm to be put hard down, but before it had had time to act the other vessel, which proved to be the "Thyatira," came into them, striking the "Atmosphere" on her starboard quarter, carrying away the mizen mast, the wheel, the binnacle, and rudder, smashing in the side, and breaking up the decks, and in fact making the after part of the vessel a complete wreck. On sounding the pump it was found that the vessel was making water fast; accordingly orders were at once given by the captain to get the long boat out, which was done, and all hands, with the exception of the second mate and the steward, who could not be found at the last, got into her, and shortly afterwards the "Atmosphere" sunk with every thing in her. They then pulled to the "Thyatira," whose lights they could see, and were taken on board, where they found the second mate, who having been knocked overboard at the time of the collision, had succeeded in getting on board by some wreckage hanging over the bows of the "Thyatira;" but the steward has never since been seen or heard of, and there can be but little doubt that he was killed by the fall of the mizen mast.

Now the story told by the "Thyatira" is as follows:—She is a three-masted iron vessel, belonging to the Port of Aberdeen, of 962 tons register. She was built at Aberdeen in the year 1867, and at the time of the casualty, which forms the subject of the present inquiry, she was the property of Mr. William Henderson, of Aberdeen, and others, Mr. William Henderson being the managing owner. She left Melbourne on the 4th of December last for London, with a crew of 21 hands all told, and a general cargo; and at midnight of the 26th of January following was approaching the spot where the collision between herself and the "Atmosphere" took place. It was the chief mate's watch from 8 o'clock till midnight, when he was relieved by the second mate; and at this time we are told the weather was fine and clear, but dark, the wind blowing a moderate breeze from about east to E. by N., and the vessel was close hauled on the starboard tack, making about 7 knots an hour. It is admitted that, when the second officer came on deck, which we are told was at about 10 minutes or a quarter after 12, the "Thyatira's" lights were not up, and that it was only on his being told so by the chief officer, just as the latter was going below, that the second mate gave orders to an apprentice, named Wand, to put them out. This, however, necessarily required some minutes to do, the apprentice having to go to the chief officer's cabin for the key of the locker, in which they were kept, then get out the lamps, light them, and take them on to the topgallant forecastle to put them in their screens, in doing which he was assisted by another apprentice, named Jock or Macgregor. Before, however, the lights had been placed in position, the red light of a vessel, which proved to be the "Atmosphere," was observed a little on the starboard bow; upon which the second officer went forward, and with his glasses made out both the lights of the vessel about 1/2 point on the starboard bow. After watching the lights for a short time, he told Waud to go aft and tell the man at the wheel to keep her away about a point, and this seems to have been done. But at about this time the chief officer, hearing a noise on deck, came up, and seeing, as he told us, a red light on his starboard bow, he ordered the man at the wheel to luff twice, and then told him to put the helm hard down, which was done, and the vessel thereupon flew up into the wind, and almost immediately afterwards the collision occurred.

These then being the facts of the case, the first question upon which our opinion has been asked is, "Was a good and proper look-out kept on board the 'Atmosphere' at the time of and before the collision?" There can be no doubt that only a short time elapsed between the "Thyatira" being seen and the collision, and the question which we have to consider is whether this was due to the want of a good look-out on board the "Atmosphere," or to the "Thyatira's" lights not having been exhibited sooner. The second officer of the "Thyatira" told us that he came on deck at about 10 minutes or a quarter past 12, and that after receiving his orders from the chief officer, whom he relieved, he asked him, just as the latter was going below, whether the lights were up, and on being told that they were not, he ordered Waud, one of the apprentices, to go and put them out. Waud accordingly went to the chief officer's cabin to get the key of the locker in which the lamps were kept, and having opened the locker and taken the lamps out he lighted them, and then gave the port light to another apprentice named Jock or Macgregor, who carried it up on to the top gallant forecastle to put it in its position. Stotter, the look-out man, told us that Jock, by his directions, waived the light to the approaching vessel, whose lights were then distinctly visible. Jock does not remember to have done this, but he admitted that he carried the lamp before him in going up on to the top of the forecastle, and that it might then have been seen by those on board the "Atmosphere." Waud then followed with the green light, put it into its position, and lashed it, before he went aft by the second mate's orders to tell the man at the wheel to keep her away a little. Now all this it is clear must have taken some time to do, at the very least some 5 or 6 minutes; and according to both the first and second officers of the "Thyatira," the collision occurred at 25 minutes after 12, so that there would be very little time between the putting up the "Thyatira's" lights and the collision. It is admitted on both sides that the night was dark but clear, that there was no fog, and that the moon was down; it was, therefore, just the night on which we might naturally expect to be able to see the lights, but not the hull or sails of a vessel; and that this was so appears also from the fact that the vessels almost immediately after the collision lost sight of one another, and were not again seen until they had turned round and brought their lights in view. Now according to Burns, the look-out man on board the "Atmosphere," what he first saw was the flash of a red light, which disappeared, and then the green light appeared; and this is exactly what we should expect. The flash of the red light was no doubt the port light of the "Thyatira," which Jock took on the forecastle first, and which would become obscured to those on board the "Atmosphere" as soon as he had put it into its screen; whilst the green light would be the starboard light of the "Thyatira," which Waud carried, and which would continue visible to those on board the "Atmosphere" after it had been placed in its screen. The evidence then on both sides is quite consistent, and goes to shew that the "Thyatira's" lights must have been seen from the "Atmosphere" whilst they were being put out, and as soon therefore as it was possible for them to be seen. The fact therefore that the lights of the "Thyatira" were not seen sooner than they were, appears to be due not to there having been a bad look-out on board the "Atmosphere," but to the lights not having been exhibited before. It was indeed suggested that Burns, the look-out man on board the "Atmosphere," had been suffering from dysentery, and might have been lying down on the deck, and that it was on that account that the approach of the "Thyatira" was not sooner observed; but there is no evidence that this was so, and it was distinctly denied by Burns. In our opinion there was a good and proper look-out being kept on board the "Atmosphere," and the approach of the "Thyatira" was discovered as soon as it could be.

The second question upon which our opinion has been asked is, "Were the master and mate of the 'Atmosphere' justified in going below, and leaving the boatswain, an uncertificated officer, in charge?" Now all that the 136th section of the Merchant Shipping Act, 1854, requires is, that on board every foreign going ship there shall be one certificated officer in addition to the master, and that this vessel had, the master and chief mate both holding master's certificates of competency; and although the boatswain and acting second mate had no certificate, the assessors, having seen him and heard his evidence, are of opinion that he was fully qualified to be entrusted with the charge of the vessel. No blame therefore rests either upon the master or upon the chief mate of the "Atmosphere" for having left the boatswain, although he was an uncertificated officer, in sole charge.

The third question upon which our opinion has been asked is, "When the light of the 'Thyatira' was sighted, was the boatswain justified in altering the course of the 'Atmosphere' in the manner in which he did?" The "Atmosphere" being free, and the "Thyatira" close hauled on the starboard tack, it was clearly the duty of the "Atmosphere" to keep out of the way, and she might do so by going either to windward or to leeward of the "Thyatira." And seeing the "Thyatira's" green light towards her, she in our opinion very properly elected to go to windward of her and with that view starboarded her helm a point, thus bringing the vessels green light to green light; and if the "Thyatira" had kept her course, no collision could possibly have happened. In our opinion the "Atmosphere" did, on seeing the "Thyatira's" light, take the proper course to avoid a collision.

The fourth question upon which our opinion has been asked is, "On the night of the collision were the lights required by article 2 of the regulations for preventing collisions at sea exhibited by the 'Thyatira' at the proper time mentioned in such regulations; and if not, does any blame attach to the master or chief officer, or to any other, and what person, for the omission?" By the 2nd article of the regulations for preventing collisions at sea, the side "lights are to be carried in " all weathers from sunset to sunrise." It is admitted that the "Thyatira's" lights were not exhibited during the whole of the chief officer's watch from 8 p.m. to midnight, and that they were not put up until after the second officer had come up on deck, and only a very few minutes before the collision. For this undoubtedly the chief officer is to blame. Whether the master is not also somewhat to blame for not having seen that the lights were burning, may be a question; he told us that when he came up on deck for a short time at about half-past ten, he thought that he saw the reflection of the starboard light on the waves, but he was evidently mistaken. No doubt a master is responsible for the proper working of the ship in all its details, but the duty of seeing that the lights are up is one which the master might very fairly delegate to his officers, trusting that they would see it carried out.

The fifth question upon which our opinion has been asked is, "Was a proper and sufficient look-out kept on board the 'Thyatira'?" There seems to be no doubt that Stotter, the look-out man on board the "Thyatira," did see the light of the "Atmosphere" for a long time before the collision, and as soon probably as it could have been seen, and that he duly reported it to the second officer. We have therefore every reason to think that there was a proper and sufficient look-out on board the "Thyatira."

The sixth question which we are asked is, "After the light of the 'Atmosphere' had been seen, was the chief officer of the 'Thyatira' justified in altering her course in the manner in which he did?" According to the chief officer, what he did on coming on deck was to order the man at the wheel to put the helm hard down. He said, to use his own words, "I heard someone coming along the main deck; I then ran straight up on deck, " looked over the weather side, saw a ship's red light a " point on the starboard bow, and I then told the man at " the wheel to luff twice, and then to put the helm hard " down." These are the orders which the chief officer appears to have given immediately on coming on deck, merely from seeing, as he says, a red light a point on the starboard bow. without reference to what might have been done before, or to any orders which the officer of the watch might previously have given. The course taken by the chief officer was in our opinion quite unjustifiable, for the "Thyatira," being at the time close hauled to the wind on the starboard tack, it was obviously her duty to keep her course; and had she done so, no collision would have occurred.

The seventh question that we are asked is, "Was it under the circumstances the duty of the 'Atmosphere;' under article 14 of the said regulations, to have kept out of the way of the 'Thyatira;' and did the 'Atmosphere' comply with the said article, and if not, is any one, and if so, who on board of her, to blame in this respect?" it was no doubt the duty of the "Atmosphere," which was running free, to keep out of the way of the "Thyatira," which was close hauled on the starboard tack; and she took the proper course to keep out of the way by starboarding her helm, thus bringing the two vessels green light to green light; and they would certainly have passed clear of one another had not the "Thyatira" luffed up into the wind.

The eighth question which we are asked is, "Was it under the circumstances the duty of the 'Thyatira,' under article 22 of the said regulations, to have kept her course; and was the failure to do so under the circumstances justifiable by those in charge. of her at the time; and if not, is any one, and if so who, to blame in that respect?" It was certainly the duty of the "Thyatira," being close hauled on the starboard tack, to keep her course, and had she done so no collision would have occurred. According to Stotter, the lookout man on board the "Thyatira," they were passing green light to green light when the chief officer ordered the helm to be put hard down. That this, too, was the way in which the two vessels ought to have passed one another appears to have been the opinion of the second officer of that vessel, for he told Waud to go and tell the man at the wheel to keep her away a little so as to keep the vessel full and by, she being, as he thought, a little too close to the wind. The whole blame for putting the helm down rests with the chief officer, and the chief officer only.

I will take the ninth and tenth questions together; they are, "Was the collision caused by any neglect or default on the part of the master, or either of the officers, or any other, and what person, on board the 'Atmosphere?'" or, "Was the collision caused by any neglect or default on the part of the master, or either of the officers, or any other, and what person, on board the 'Thyatira?'" And it is said that "the Board of " Trade are of opinion that the certificates of the " master, the chief officer, and the second officer of the " 'Thyatira,' and the certificate of the master of the " 'Atmosphere,' should be dealt with." Mr. Mackenzie added that, if the second officer of the "Atmosphere" had had a certificate, he should have asked that it should be dealt with, so as to bring the whole of the parties before the Court.

And, first, as regards the master and officers of the "Atmosphere;" no blame in our opinion attaches to any of them, and we shall therefore not deal with the certificates of any of them. As regards the master of the "Thyatira," although no doubt it would have been well if he had seen when he came on deck at half-past ten that the vessel's lights were exhibited, we shall not deal with his certificate on that account, it being a duty which he might fairly expect that his officers would see carried out. The second officer also seems to have acted quite rightly in keeping the vessel, as it was his duty to do, on her course, close hauled to the wind, and we shall therefore not deal with his certificate. The whole blame for the collision rests, in our opinion, with the chief officer of the "Thyatira," for having given the order to put the helm hard down, and thus thrown the vessel up into the wind; and the question which we have to consider is, Whether we shall deal with his certificate? The order seems to have been given in a great hurry, immediately on his coming on deck, and on seeing the red light on the starboard bow, and he no doubt thought that he was acting for the best. The utmost then to which it comes is, that it was an error of judgment, for which, however, we never take away an officer's certificate. There remains, however, the question of the lights, the omission to exhibit which during the whole of his watch can hardly be called an error of judgment; it is an act of very gross negligence; but then did it cause the collision, for, if not, we could not take away his certificate for it. Now, it was contended by Mr. Bucknill that the omission to exhibit the lights did not cause the casualty, and we are disposed to agree in that view. No doubt the omission to put up the lights prevented the "Atmosphere" from taking measures to get out of the way of the "Thyatira" so soon as she otherwise would have done; but it is equally clear, from the evidence both of those on board the "Atmosphere," as well as of those on board the "Thyatira," that the latter's lights were seen in sufficient time to avoid the collision, and that the helm of the "Atmosphere" had been starboarded, and the vessels brought green light to green light, so that they would have passed clear of one another had it not been or that unfortunate order which the chief mate gave to put the helm hard down. Seeing then that the neglect to exhibit the side lights, although it was an act of gross negligence, did not cause the collision, and that the order to hard down the helm, which really caused it, may be fairly said to have been only an error of judgment, we shall not deal with this officer's certificate. I should add that both the owners and master give him a very high character for steadiness and attention to his duties, he having been in their employ for the last 14 years, and having sailed with the master for the last 4 years.

The Court was not asked to make any order as to costs.

 

(Signed)

H. C. ROTHERY, Wreck Commissioner.

We concur.

 

(Signed)

EDWARD HIGHT,

 

 

 

JOHN M. G. G. GRANT,

Assessors.

 

 

A. RONALDSON,

 

L 367. 1087. 150.—4/82. Wt. 203. E. & S.