Wreck Report for 'Annie Vernon', 1885

(No. 2753.)

"ANNIE VERNON" (S.S.)

The Merchant Shipping Acts, 1854 to 1876.

IN the matter of a formal Investigation held at the Mayor's Court, Cardiff, on the Tenth and Eleventh days of December 1885, before ROBERT OLIVER JONES, Esquire, Stipendiary Magistrate, assisted by Captain WILSON and Captain ANDERSON, as Nautical Assessors, and W. C. LANG, Esquire, as Engineer Assessor, into the circumstances attending the abandonment of the British steamship "ANNIE VERNON," of Cardiff, off the coast of Cornwall, on the 19th November 1885.

Report of Court.

The Court, having carefully inquired into the circumstances attending the above-mentioned shipping casualty, finds, for the reasons stated in the annex hereto:—

1. That on the morning of the 19th November last, water made its appearance in the stoke hole and main water ballast tank, but there is no evidence to show how it came there.

2. That the ship was prematurely abandoned by the master and crew.

The Court finds the master, Albert Peters, and chief engineer, Richard Warne, in default, and orders each of them to pay to the solicitor of the Board of Trade the sum of 10l. on account of the expenses of this investigation.

Dated this 11th day of December 1885.

 

(Signed)

R. O. JONES, Judge.

We concur in the above report.

 

(Signed)

R. WILSON,

ABSM. ANDERSON,

WM. C. LANG,

Assessors.

Annex to the Report.

This case was heard on the 10th and 11th days of December 1885 at the Mayor's Court, Cardiff, when Mr. Waldron appeared for the Board of Trade and Mr. Downing for the owners and master. Ten witnesses having been examined by Mr. Waldron, questions were submitted by him to the Court, and he asked that the owners might be ordered to pay the costs of these proceedings. Mr. Downing was heard on behalf of his clients and called two witnesses. The Court then gave answers to the questions put to it.

The "Annie Vernon" was an iron screw steamship of 528 tons gross and 318 tons registered tonnage. She was built at Liverpool in the year 1856, and was registered (in 1883) at the Port of Cardiff.

She was fitted with two vertical jet condensing engines of 70 horse-power. They seem to have been the original engines put into her when she was built in 1856. She was owned by Mr. Edwin Jenkins, of Cardiff, and others, Mr. Jenkins being the managing owner. She passed into their possession two years and a half ago.

She measured in length 170 feet, breadth 26 feet, and depth of hold 16 feet 7. She had two holds, with a fore hatchway 36 feet in length by 7 feet in width, and an after hatchway 10 feet in length by 8 feet in width, fitted with solid hatches, supported by a fore and after and two or three movable beams, the coamings being of wood and 18 inches or 2 feet in height, She had two ventilators to each hold, properly secured by plugs and canvas covers.

There were 3 water-tight bulkheads made of iron. Her engines were placed right aft. The cabin was in a house on deck abaft the engine-room skylight; the crew were housed in a forecastle below the deck. She had a water ballast tank running the whole length of the holds, but no one could give its capacity. She was supplied with two pumps and a bilge injection in the engine-room, and a hand pump, which was never used, on deck. She carried two boats.

The vessel was overhauled at Cardiff in January last. Her engines were taken to pieces to allow repairs to be done to the propeller shaft and stern tube. The cost was 150l. The managing owner stated that with the purchase money and 1,000l. expended upon her in repairs since she came into their hands, she had cost her owners 3,500l. She was insured for 2,750l., distributed amongst five different offices, and there was a separate insurance of freight for 150l.

She took in a cargo of large steam coal at Cardiff on the 16th and 17th November last, 420 tons being put into the forehold, 225 tons into the afterhold, and 23 tons into her bunkers, in addition to 15 tons that were already in the bunkers; the total quantity of cargo being 683 tons.

As to her freeboard, the load line, we were told, was 2 ft. 6 in. from the deck. When she was loaded, the line was 3 inches out of the water, and allowing for a rise of 4 inches in salt water, she would thus have a freeboard of 3 ft. 1 in.

The "Annie Vernon" left Cardiff bound for Plymouth at 4 a.m. on the 18th November last with a strong wind varying from E.S.E. to E.N.E. Her crew consisted of 11 all told, including the master, Mr. Albert Peters, one mate, a boatswain, steward, 3 able seamen, two engineers, and two firemen. No one on board was certificated.

At 7 a.m. on the 19th November the wind was blowing hard from the E.S.E., the ship was steering S.W. by W. 1/2 W., and was from 8 to 12 miles from Godrevy. The chief engineer took charge of the engines at 6 a.m., and at that time found no water in the engine room. He stated that at 7 a.m. he noticed water in the bilges and crank pit. He put on the pumps, but they failed to keep the water down, and at 7.30 he called the master, reporting that the ship was sinking, and then sounded the water ballast tank, which appeared to be full. Returning to the engine room, he found the water still gaining on the pumps. He declares that he was unable to say where the water came from, and he admits that, when he first observed it in the crank pit, he took no steps whatever to find out the cause.

The master states that when he was called by the engineer, he went to the engine-room, and found the water up to the stokehole plates, and that it continued to rise rapidly. He says that there was no time to search for the leak, and he made no attempt to do so; he could not say whence the water came; he had no rules for sounding; he had no means of sounding the holds; that he sounded the tank about 2 a.m., and there was no water in it then. He gave no orders as to the sluices; he was afraid the boiler might burst, and thought about the lives of his crew. He caused the ship's head to be turned towards the land, and ordered the boats to be got ready. They were put into the water about 8 o'clock, and all hands got into then except the master. He returned to the engine-room, and states that he found it half full of water and the fires being washed out. But the donkey-man is very positive that when he left the engine-room before going to the boats, the engines were stopped and the water was up to the stokehole plates but not over them.

At 8.30, according to the master's statement, the engines were stopped, and the water had risen so much that the deck was only about 6 inches above the sea, and the ship seemed to be settling down all over, bodily. The boats then pulled for St. Ives, and when they were about 3 miles from the ship she disappeared; but how, not one of the witnesses was able to say-she was seen one moment, and the next she had vanished. It is, however, clear that she was afloat for nearly if not quite an hour before she was lost sight of.

None of the witnesses attempted to explain the mysterious influx of water into the engine-room. The consulting engineer at Cardiff, who had the superintendence of the vessel, was present while the evidence was being given, and was put by Mr. Downing into the witness-box. He could throw no light upon the matter. He had seen the ship when she was on the gridiron at Cardiff in January last, her bottom was then perfectly tight. He confessed his surprise that a steamer should spring a leak in her bottom.

The positions of the sea cocks and connections were peculiar, and such as are found in old vessels only. There was in the forecastle a sea cock, without protection, which served as an inlet to the forward tank, which drained into the main tank. There were 2 sluices in the bulkhead of the engine room worked from the deck, the key of which hung in the lamp room. It does not appear that either the master or the engineer took the pains to ascertain whether these sluices were open or shut. Neither did the engineer take the trouble to ascertain whether the drain cock of the water ballast tank, which led into the engine room, was closed. Had this been open, the great rush of water into the engine room would be accounted for.

The following are the questions submitted to the Court:

1. Whether, when the vessel left Cardiff, she was in good and seaworthy condition, and properly manned?

2. Whether the pumps were sufficient and in good order?

3. Whether her cargo was properly stowed?

4. Whether she was overladen?

5. Whether she had sufficient freeboard?

6. Whether the sea cocks and connections were properly fitted, whether they were properly and efficiently protected, and whether they were properly and sufficiently examined from time to time by the chief engineer, and particularly when water was found in the vessel?

7. What was the cause of the vessel suddenly making water about 7 a.m. of the 19th November?

8. Whether any possible effort was made to ascertain the position of and stop the leak?

9. Whether every possible effort was made to keep the water under?

10. Whether the vessel was prematurely abandoned?

11. Whether the vessel was navigated with proper and seamanlike care?

And, finally,

Whether the master, officers, and engineer are, or either of them is, in default, and whether blame attaches to the owners?

The following are the answers given by the Court:—

1. We were imperfectly informed as to her real condition, and are unable to express an opinion upon it. Under the circumstances we consider that she was fairly manned.

2. The pumps seem to have been sufficient for the size of the vessel, and in fair order.

3. The cargo was properly stowed.

4. She was fully laden but not overladen.

5. She had sufficient freeboard.

6. The arrangement of sea cocks and connections was common at the time she was built, but it is not a desirable one, and would not be sanctioned at the present day. They were not protected at all, and it does not appear that they were examined at any time by the chief engineer.

7. It appears that at 7 a.m. the engineer discovered that the main water ballast tank was full of water, and that the water was up to the crank pit in the engine room, but it does not appear to the Court that the vessel received any external damage which would account for such a state of things, and no evidence was given or explanation offered to show how the water found its way in.

8. Nothing whatever was done to ascertain whether there was a leak at all, and except the presence of water there is no evidence to show that any leak existed.

9. The engine room pumps were put on, but nothing else was attempted.

10. In the opinion of the Court, she was prematurely abandoned. She was not far from the land, and some further exertions might have been made to save her, and might, in their opinion, have been successful.

11. With the exception of the want of effort to save her, there is no reason to blame the navigation of the vessel.

Finally. The master is to blame for abandoning the vessel prematurely, and for failing to make himself better acquainted with the condition of the arrangements of his ship, and we find him in default accordingly. The chief engineer was guilty, in our opinion, of gross carelessness, and we find him also in default. As both the master and the chief engineer have no certificates that can be dealt with, the Court, in order to mark its sense of their conduct, orders each to pay the sum of 10l. towards the cost of this investigation.

The Court does not attach blame to the owners.

 

(Signed)

R. O. JOHNES.

R. WILSON,

ABSM. ANDERSON,

WM. C. LANG.

L 367. 2531. 180.—12/85. Wt. 408. E. & S.