Wreck Report for 'Catalonia', 1888

(No. 3556.)

"CATALONIA" (S.S.)

The Merchant Shipping Acts, 1854 to 1876.

IN the matter of a formal Investigation held at St. George's Hall, Liverpool, on the 21st and 22nd days of June 1888, before THOS. STAMFORD RAFFLES, Esquire, Stipendiary Magistrate, assisted by Captains FRENCH and HORE, Nautical Assessors, into the circumstances attending the damage sustained by the British steamship "CATALONIA," of Liverpool, through striking a rock near Mizen Head, Co. Cork, on or about the 7th May 1888.

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 vessel struck the rock in this case because the master continued a course too near the land in thick weather. The Court considered the master's error was an error of judgment, and did not deal with the certificate.

Dated this 22nd day of June 1888.

 

(Signed)

T. S. RAFFLES, Judge.

We concur in the above report.

 

(Signed)

A. P. FRENCH,

KENNETT HORE,

Assessors.

Annex to the Report.

This was an inquiry into the circumstances attending the damage sustained by the British steamship "Catalonia," of Liverpool, through striking a rock near Mizen Head, County Cork, on the 7th of May last. Mr. Paxton, solicitor, appeared for the Board of Trade; Mr. Pickford was counsel for the master and officers of the ship; and Mr. Dickinson, solicitor, represented the owners. The "Catalonia" was a screw steamer, built at Clyde Bank, county of Dumbarton, in 1881, of 4,841.00 tons gross, and 3,093.05 tons registered, and of 600 horses-power combined, registered at Liverpool, the property of the Cunard Steamship Company (Limited), Mr. Thomas Boumphrey, of that city, being appointed manager. She was commanded by Mr. Edward Wylie, who holds a master's certificate of competency, No. 27,353, dated 6th June 1868, and she had a crew of 128 hands all told. She sailed from Boston, U.S., on the 28th April last for Liverpool, with 120 passengers and a general cargo of 1,800 tons. All went well till the 7th of May, when they were approaching the coast of Ireland, the weather being fine and clear. The master got observations on that day which placed his vessel in 50° 57" lat. and 11° 27" long. The first officer took observations' also, which agreed with the master's. The second officer got 51° 5" lat. The master then set a course to pass the Fastnet N. 72 E. magnetic, which he calculated to take him two miles south of the Fastnet. They were going full speed, equal to about 12 knots. At 4.30 p.m. the weather began to get rather hazy, and at 5 p.m it was so thick that they began to use the whistle. The master did not then alter his course, for he felt confident of his position, and he was anxious to hear the explosive fog signal on the Fastnet. At 5 p.m. he ordered soundings to be taken by the third officer with Sir William Thompson's apparatus, and he got 34 fathoms. This was rather less than he had expected, for he thought he would have been in 40 fathoms, but he then slowed his engines down from 60 revolutions to 45. He told the officer to go on taking soundings, and about 5.15 p.m. he gave orders to port a quarter of a point, and subsequently he ported a point, then hard-a-port on hearing a whistle. Meanwhile he got a report from the third mate of 24 fathoms, but something had got wrong in the tube, and no reliance could be placed on the sounding, and he ordered him to take it again. At the same time a steamer's whistle was reported by the look-out close on the starboard bow. He steadied, and the next thing they saw was steam from the steamer's whistle, as was supposed, but the master saw they were breakers, and that the sound was simply the echo of their own whistle against the cliffs. He immediately ordered the engines to be reversed full speed, which was done, but before she lost her headway the steamer struck the cliff of Mizen Head, but they backed her out stern first. The bulkhead doors were ordered to be closed, but having sounded throughout, the master found that only the forepeak had filled, but the water did not get beyond the collision bulk-head. After backing out, they steered to the W., and hove to, and in the morning, when the fog cleared, stood to E. and made the Fastnet. They reached Queenstown at 4 p.m., and the following day they arrived in Liverpool about 9.30 p.m. The vessel was put into Graving Dock, when her stem was found broken across from the 20 ft. mark, and several plates of the fore-foot were twisted round and turned back. She was under repairs for 7 or 8 days. On the close of the evidence Mr. Paxton put in the following questions:-

1. Were the errors of the compasses known to the master, and did he apply the proper corrections to the courses?

2. Were proper measures taken to ascertain the vessel's position at noon on the 7th of May?

3. Was a safe and proper course set and steered after noon of the 7th, and was the master justified in continuing the same course after the weather became foggy?

4. Was the alteration made in the course about 5.15 p.m. a sufficient alteration to the southward?

5. Was the lead used with sufficient care and frequency

6. Was a good and proper look-out kept?

7. Was the speed of the vessel properly reduced after the weather became thick?

8. What was the cause of the stranding of the vessel, and was serious damage occasioned thereby?

9. Was the master in default in regard to any of the above matters?

And stated that, in the opinion of the Board of Trade, the master's certificate should be dealt with.

Mr. Pickford called Captain Watson, who gave an excellent character to the master, who had been 14 years in the service of the company, five of which he was in command, and had never met with any accident. Mr. Pickford addressed the Court for the master.

The Court gave judgment as follows:-

1. The errors of the compass were known to the master, and the proper corrections were applied. The errors were also verified by Azimuths taken during that afternoon.

2. Proper measures were taken by the master to ascertain the ship's position by the meridian altitude of the sun and by chronometer sights. The weather was clear and fine, and the observations of the chief officer agreed with the master, but the latitude found by the second officer placed the ship eight miles north of the position determined by the master and chief officer. This should undoubtedly have been an especial reason for care when the weather became thick.

3. A safe and proper course was set from noon of the 7th, the weather being then fine and clear; but when the fog set in it was not a safe course, as it was calculated to take them too near the land.

4. The alteration made in the course at 5.15 p.m. was in the right direction, but the Court could not say that the alteration was sufficient.

5. The lead was used at the proper time, but having got soundings at 34 fathoms-which was less than he expected-he would have been wiser to have stopped his ship and taken an up and down cast, which would have shown him his position of danger.

6. A good and proper look-out was kept.

7. The speed of the vessel was properly reduced after the fog set in.

8. The vessel was stranded because the master continued a course too near the land in thick weather. Material damage was caused.

9. The Court considers that the errors of the master were errors of judgment, and did not touch his certificate. He was probably too anxious to make the usual signals from Brow Head, a practice which the Court considers dangerous in thick weather.

 

(Signed)

T. S. RAFFLES, Judge.

We concur in this report.

 

(Signed)

A. P. FRENCH,

KENNETT HORE,

Assessors.

Liverpool, 22nd June 1888.

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1888.

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