Wreck Report for 'Bellingham', 1888

(No. 3712.)

"BELLINGHAM" (S.S.)

The Merchant Shipping Acts, 1854 to 1876.

IN the matter of a formal Investigation held at the Town Hall, Hull, on the 15th, 16th, 17th, and 18th days of January 1889, before E. C. TWISS, Esquire, Stipendiary Magistrate, assisted by Captain E. BROOKS and Captain J. T. BRAGG, into the circumstances attending the damage sustained by the British steamship "BELLINGHAM," of North Shields, through an explosion which occurred on board, off Cromer, on the 9th of December last.

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, that the said explosion was due to want of proper ventilation, which caused a large accumulation of gas in the space above the coal in the after part of the after 'tween decks, and to the store-room hatch having been wrongly taken off, whereby the gas was allowed to pass from the 'tween decks into the storeroom above, and so through the pantry, and thence along the passage into the saloon, where a fire was burning, and by which without doubt it became ignited. The Court finds the master alone in default, and orders his certificate of competency, as master, No. 87,472, to be suspended for three calendar months from this date, but, upon the application of Mr. Hearfield, recommends that a chief officer's certificate be granted him during the period of such suspension. The Court is not asked to make any order as to costs.

Dated this 18th day of January 1889.

 

(Signed)

E. C. TWISS, Judge.

We concur in the above report.

 

(Signed)

EDWARD BROOKS,

Assessors.

 

 

J. THRELFALL BRAGG,

 

Annex to the Report.

This inquiry was held at the Town Hall, Hull, on the 15th, 16th, 17th, and 18th days of January instant, when Mr. Saxelbye represented the Board of Trade, and Mr. Hearfield appeared on behalf of the master, and Mr. Laverack on behalf of the second mate. The chief officer was also a party to the investigation, but appeared in person.

The "Bellingham," official number 79,219, is an iron screw steamer, built at Hebburn-on-Tyne in 1879, and she is owned by Mr. John Coull of Newcastle-on-Tyne, and others, the first-mentioned being managing owner, and she is registered at the Port of North Shields. Her dimensions are:-Length, 260 ft.; breadth, 34 2/10 ft.; and depth of hold, 23 3/10 ft.; and her tonnage, 1,066 tons nett register. She was fitted with two compound inverted direct-acting engines of 180-h.p. combined.

On the 4th of last December she commenced to take in a cargo of coals at the Walker Colliery Company's staithway, situate on the River Tyne, the coals having been worked from the Low Main, Beaumont, and Brockwell seams. The Low Main seam is 161 fathoms deep, the Beaumont 187 fathoms deep, and the Brockwell 202 fathoms deep. All of the above seams are worked with safety lamps, and are gaseous coals, but contain very few pyrites, and are fireable. The pit's mouth is only 500 yards from the spouts and the coals were put into the waggons at the pit's mouth as soon as raised, and sent down to the shoots and shipped forthwith, no time being allowed for the emission of gas prior to their being put on board. The "Bellingham " continued loading on the 5th, 6th, and 7th, and the after hold was filled first, there being three feeders in the 'tween decks on each side; the fore part of the after 'tween decks was then filled; and, by the evidence of the foreman coal-trimmer, the Court is satisfied that there was no space on the top of the coals in this part left for surface ventilation. in the after end of the 'tween decks, from the middle of the hatch, the coals sloped down for about 16 or 18 feet, and then ran level to the after bulkhead, leaving a space above of from 2 to 3 feet, thus forming a reservoir in which gas, evolved by the coals, might be accumulated. The loading of the ship was completed on the 7th.

In the course of the following day, the 8th, all the hatches were put on and temporarily secured, and at about 3 p.m. the ship left her moorings and proceeded down the river, bound for Savona, under the charge of Mr. Michael Lumley, who held a certificate of competency, as master, with a crew of 21 hands all told, and a cargo of about 2,400 tons of coal, including bunkers.

On crossing the bar, the wind was light from N.N.W., and the weather fine, and the sea smooth, and the vessel proceeded on her voyage at full speed at a rate of 8 or 9 knots. The weather continued fine throughout the night, and at about 7 a.m. the following morning, the 9th, the mushroom ventilator for the after 'tween decks, which was 11 1/2 inches in diameter, and fixed on the upper deck just before the front of the poop on the starboard side, was for the first time opened. This ventilator went down into the 'tween decks, and we have been told that it was out of order, and had to be kept open by means of a piece of wood, or tied up with spun yarn. The fore ventilator for the after 'tween decks, which was also 11 inches in diameter, was situate on the port side, about 6 feet abaft the engine-room bulkhead, and was fitted with a cowl, and had been kept open all the time since the vessel left her moorings. At about 8.30 a.m., according to the statement of the master, he ordered the chief officer to have the two after hatches of each hatchway taken off, and, as they two stated, this was then done, but according to the evidence of other witnesses, this order was not given by the master until between 10.30 a.m. and 11 a.m., when he was leaving the bridge, and that, as a matter of fact, the hatches were never off at all before the explosion took place. At about 11 a.m. the vessel was off Cromer and the master then left the bridge, the chief officer being in charge, and went below to the saloon, and, on doing so, ordered the steward to raise the small hatch in the store-room which communicated with the 'tween decks below, and to open the skylight above it. This order we have been told was given at about 11.5 a.m. and was carried out by the steward, but he has informed the Court that he could only raise one side of the skylight since the support on the other side was broken. He then returned to the pantry which adjoined the storeroom, and a few minutes afterwards, on leaving the pantry to go to the mess-room, he was met by a flash of light which nearly blinded him, and which was immediately followed by an explosion from behind. The master, who was sitting before the saloon fire at the time, was thrown violently on to the floor, the force of the explosion driving everything before it aft, and on recovering himself he found that his right arm was powerless. As soon as he could he got on deck through the débris, accompanied by the steward, who told him that the fore and aft bridge was carried away, but too late to prevent him falling off the front of the poop on to the deck below, and on trying to get up he found that his right shoulder was dislocated. He then ordered the engines to be stopped, and then proceeded to the bridge and ordered the boats to be cleared away and the wells to be sounded. These orders were carried out and the ship was reported as not making any water. It was then ascertained that the second mate was missing, and he was afterwards discovered crawling up through the skylight hatchway over the store-room hatch. It was now discovered that the vessel was on fire in the fore part of the poop, and the fire hose was put on and measures were taken to get it under, and in about 20 or 30 minutes it was extinguished. The master then, having regard to the damaged condition of the vessel, deemed it prudent to bear up for the Humber, and the vessel was hauled round to the northward, and a course shaped for it, and at about 9.30 p.m. the same day the vessel was brought to an anchor in Grimsby Roads, when the master, second mate, and steward, all of whom were very seriously injured were landed and sent to the hospital The "Bellingham" was subsequently brought up in charge of a pilot to Hull, where she now lies undergoing the necessary repairs.

To return to the circumstances of the explosion. The second mate stated that he had turned into his berth, which was alongside the store-room bulkhead, shortly after breakfast, and was asleep when the casualty took place, the first intimation of which was his being violently hurled, berth and bulkhead together, into the wing of the vessel. At the same time the mess-room bulkhead which adjoined was blown in also, and he was surrounded with fire. After repeated attempts to escape he ultimately succeeded in getting through the skylight hatchway, but before he effected this he was terribly burned in all parts of the body. At the time of the explosion the steward was blown into the port wing of the vessel, and after much difficulty gained the deck, where it was found that he also was much injured about the body, particularly the head and face.

At the completion of the evidence, Mr. Saxelbye submitted the following questions for the opinion of the Court:-

1. Whether the coal shipped on board the vessel was liable to emit gas for some time after shipment?

2. Whether such coal was properly stowed and trimmed in the after 'tween decks, and, if not, whose duty was it to see that it was properly stowed and trimmed?

3. Whether the after 'tween decks were properly and sufficiently ventilated, and whether a means of surface ventilation was provided which would be effectual, independently of the hatchways, in all circumstances of the weather?

4. Whether the two ventilators to the after 'tween decks were in good order and repair, and sufficient for ventilating the hold, and were they both kept open and uncovered?

5. Whether the master was justified in putting on the main hatches in the after 'tween decks before leaving the Tyne, and keeping them on as long as even he admits he did, namely, until the morning of the 9th December?

6. Whether, from the evidence before it, the Court thinks these hatches were taken off at all after leaving the Tyne and before the explosion?

7. Whether, having regard to the fact that the hatch leading from the after 'tween decks into the store-room had been closed for so long a time, the master was justified in permitting it to be opened when he did, and, if so, was he justified in allowing the saloon fire to be alight at the same time P

8. What was the cause of the explosion?

9. Whether the master and chief and second officers are; or either of them is, in default?

The Board of Trade is of opinion that the certificates of the master and chief officer should be dealt with.

The chief officer having shortly addressed the Court, was followed by Mr. Laverack on behalf of the second mate, and Mr. Hearfield on the part of the master, and Mr. Saxelbye having replied for the Board of Trade, the Court delivered judgment as follows:-

1. From the evidence of Mr. Willis, H.M. Inspector of Mines for the North of England, it has been proved that the coal shipped on board the vessel was liable to evolve explosive gas for some time after it had been worked. The cargo of coal in question was taken direct from the seams where it was worked and shipped at once on board the vessel, and it would therefore emit gas for some time after shipment.

2. The Court is satisfied that the coal was not properly stowed and trimmed in the after 'tween decks. It was the duty of the master either to see personally the coal properly stowed and trimmed, or to give the necessary instructions to the chief officer for this to be done, and in such case the duty of the latter to satisfy himself that those instructions were faithfully carried out.

3. In the opinion of the Court the after 'tween decks were not properly and sufficiently ventilated, and surface ventilation was not provided, which would have been effectual, independently of the hatchways, in all circumstances of the weather.

4. The two ventilators in the after 'tween decks were not, in the opinion of the Court, sufficient for the purposes of ventilation, seeing that in rough weather it would be necessary to screw down the after one, which is a mushroom, whereby an active current would be prevented. The fore ventilator appears to have been a cowl, and in good order, but this cannot be said of the after one, which we were informed was defective in the thread in the cross bar into which the spindle was screwed, which rendered it necessary for the mushroom top when raised to be kept in its place either by wood or other means. The Court is also of opinion that the after ventilator should have been placed immediately before the after bulkhead, and run up through the poop to the upper deck, and fitted with a cowl head. The fore ventilator was kept open, but the after one was certainly not opened until about 7 o'clock on the morning of the explosion.

5. The Court considers that the master was justified in putting on the upper deck hatches on leaving the Tyne, and in keeping them on until he had tested the weather outside, but as soon as he found that the weather permitted it, which he did at once on getting out to sea, he most certainly ought to have removed one or two hatches from each hatchway, and he was not justified in keeping them on so long as he did.

6. The evidence as to whether the hatches were taken off at all, and if so, how long before the explosion, has been very conflicting, but, upon the whole, the Court is inclined to the view that if at all, they were taken off only shortly before the explosion.

7. Under all the circumstances, the Court considers that the master ought not to have ordered the storeroom hatch to be opened when he did, especially having regard to the fact that the hatches and after ventilator had been so long closed, and that there was a fire burning in the saloon.

8. The explosion was due to want of proper ventilation, which caused a large accumulation of gas in the space above the coal in the after part of the after 'tween decks, and to the store-room hatch having been improperly opened, whereby the gas was allowed to pass from the hold up into the store-room, and so through the pantry, and thence along the passage into the saloon, where a fire was burning, and by which, without a doubt, it became ignited.

9. The second officer most decidedly is not in default, nor to blame, but the Court considers that blame attaches to the chief officer for not having satisfied himself during the stowage of the coal that there was a free and uninterrupted space on the surface of the coal in the after 'tween decks; but seeing that he had no instructions from the master with respect to this, it does not fin d him in default. The Court does find the master in default, for reasons already stated in reply to some of the previous questions, and is of opinion that his certificate should be dealt with; but having regard to his conduct after the casualty, it is disposed to adopt as lenient a course as possible, and adjudges that his certificate be suspended for a term of three calendar months only.

 

(Signed)

E. C. TWISS, Judge.

We concur.

 

(Signed)

EDWARD. BROOKS,

Assessors.

 

 

J. THRELFALL BRAGG,

 

54010-230. 180.-1/89. Wt. 23. E. & S.