The Shipwreck Archives

The November 1866 issue of the Merchant’s Magazine and Commercial Review came to Captain Knapp of the Evening Star’s defense: “We notice that a daily paper refers to the commander of the steamship Evening Star, which was lost off the coast of Florida on the 3d of October, as an unqualified and inexperienced navigator. So far from this being the case, we know him to be one of the best men in the se...

The Flintshire Observer on the 11th of February, 1892, reported the following: “It is reported that the captain of the Eider is strongly in favour of the view that the ship will yet be saved. It is understood to be this impression which induces him to stay at his post until the ship has been lightened of her cargo. The Queen’s message to the lifeboatmen has been posted on the front of the lifeboat...

The Olean Herald reported on November 20th, 1930 the following piece of news: “The saddest figure among the survivors was Captain T J Jones, 75-year-old commander of the Highland Hope. He was overcome with grief at the disaster, and, landing at Peniche, had to be supported by two of his officers. Captain Jones had acquired an enviable reputation for navigation, and young officers vied for places o...

Robert Crawford, agent of the Northern Navigation Company told reporters of the Winnipeg Free Press on December 11th, 1906 the following: “There will be an inquiry, without a doubt, but there are circumstances when the loss of a vessel cannot be attributed to any failure on the part of any of the men on board. On a day when the wind is blowing fiercely, and when snow is falling to such an extent t...

In 1885 First Lieutenant Fremont of the Third US Artillery swore in front of the third auditor of the Treasury Department the following statement: “In ordering the regiment to the then new stations on the Pacific, where we were to remain for a long period, large supplies were advised to be taken, and an advance of three months’ pay was ordered to be made to enable us to supply our needs and all of...

Captain Pickings of the USS Charleston wrote to the Navy Department on February 8th, 1984: “The Aquidaban was sighted coming in, not flying the admiral’s flag. She was fired at by all the forts, and stood towards and anchored near the Tamandre, returning fire, but only occasionally, with her large guns. It was a remarkable sight to see this vessel come in before all the forts and batteries and see...

The Weekly Mail from the 28th of November, 1908 reported the following: “A detachment of the Malta Artillery is at the Custom House rendering assistance, and a staff of military and naval doctors is doing everything possible for the injured survivors, who have been removed to the naval hospital at Valetta. The direct cause of the disaster cannot yet be stated, but it appears probable that it was d...

In Shipwrecks and Disasters at Sea by Milner and Sowerby, published in 1863, the following account was included: “It appears, that on the night of the 2nd of June, the crew of the Chance were anxious to ascertain whether such rocks as were laid down in the chart, forming St. Paul’s Island, forty-five miles north of the equator, and twenty-nine degrees west, were really to be seen, as many doubts p...

The July 1922 issue of the Pacific Marine Review used the Alaska as an example of how much all ships could benefit from having radio compass equipment: “For two hours prior to the grounding of the Alaska its radio operator had been trying to obtain radio bearings by transmitting to the radio compass station on shore, at Eureka, California, but had been unable to get in communication with that stat...

Ferrier was pressured to tell his story by the newspapers and the Observer on the 18th of November, 1905 reported his statement: “I am a bit surprised to suddenly find myself developed into a sort of hero. You can see I did nothing out of the way. Any one else in the same position would have done the same thing. No; I did not think of any risk. All I felt was there was a man on the wreck, and that...

The Age on July 15th, 1909 announced the arrival of the survivors of the Errol: “Striking evidence of the terrible privations the men had gone through was given when they landed from the Tofua at Druitt-street wharf. They had to be carried ashore, being too weak to sit up. They were placed on mattresses and conveyed to a van, which took them to the Scandinavian Home, where the Norwegian consul (Mr...

The Melbourne Herald reported the following on November 17th, 1928: “Inquires disclose that, although the Vestris was a British ship on a British register, she had not been in England for several years. For that reason the latest certificate of seaworthiness was not granted by Britain, but as a result of United States supervision and a shipping examination on November 8, after the ship had been dr...

The Evening Star on Saturday, July 31st, 1937 reported that the Senate commerce committee had approved a new bill, called the “Safety at Sea” bill: “The passenger list bill, introduced yesterday by Senator Copeland, Democrat of New York as a result of the burning of the City of Baltimore the night before, would require owners of vessels carrying passengers for fire on inland or coastal waters over...

The North Wales Express reported the following on the 9th of February, 1883: “In a recent sitting of the German Parliament, Herr Sonnemann brought forward an interpellation, asking whether, in consequence of the loss of the Cimbria, the Government intended to propose any new regulations or bring about some international arrangements for the prevention of collisions at sea. Herr Sonnemann, in justi...

The Sea by Frederick Whymper, published in 1883, started its story about the Samaritano as follows: “One Sunday night in the month of February, a few years ago, the weather was what sailors call “dirty”, and accompanied by sudden gusts of wind and snow-squalls. Before light broke on Monday morning, the Margate lugger, Eclipse, put out to sea to cruise round the shoals and sands in the neighborhood...

The Coast Seaman‘s Journal on May 20th, 1914 published the following: “Why was it that the “Monroe” foundered so quickly after the collision that there was little time to launch the lifeboats? The steamer had six watertight compartments, only one of which was injured in the collision. The damaged compartment was in the forward end of the ship which, nevertheless, sank stern first. Why? The answer...

The Healesville and Yarra Glen Guardian reported on the 22nd of June, 1907: “The departure was made in the teeth of a terrible gale, but there was as much confidence in the ship as there was in the capacity of Captain Precious, the senior captain of the Great Eastern Company’s fleet. Both had weathered many a storm in the North Sea. Rarely, however, has the North Sea seen such a storm as that whic...

In his first-hand account of the sinking of his vessel, Captain Maclelland would write: “Everything seemed all right when we left the grounds off of Point Pelee late Saturday afternoon and started for Cleveland. It was blowing fairly hard but we were making out in good shape until about supper time. When I noticed we began to have a tougher time making headway and I wasn’t surprised when John Bour...

The Evening Express and Evening Mail reported the following on June 11th, 1903: “Two directors of the Fraissinet Shipping company, to which the Liban belonged, were present. One of them, M. Alfred Fraissinet, came forward and speaking with great emotion, said that this was not the time to discuss the responsibility for the loss of life, but that he courted full inquiry. He could only deplore the c...

On March 7th, 1934 the New York Times reported the following: “The observation was built in 1888, Mr Kuzmier said; adding that deckhands would testify that one side of the boat was so rotten that a rope had to be passed over the deck and fastened to the other side before she could be moored. The boiler leaked badly, he continued, and she had a bad list.” Ship Name: Observation  Ship Nationality: U...

The Grey River Argus on the 29th of September, 1908 reported the following: “The vessel lost at Cape Portland was the Loch Finlas, bound from Port Pirie to Callao. Residents state that at about 9:30 O’Clock on Saturday morning, a barque was seen coming from the direction of Boobyalla Bay. She struck the reef and within half an hour had disappeared.”  Ship Name: Loch Finlas  Year Built: 1885 Tonnag...

The Weekly Wisconsin on November 26th, 1856 reported the following statement by Le Lyonnais fireman Nestor Fabien: “We heard the concussion, but we did not know what it was. In five minutes time the water came rushing into the engine room, carrying the coal along with it. The fires were put out almost instantly. A number of us were engaged all through the night trying to stop the leak, but all to...

The fourth officer of the Europe wrote a letter to his father on September 8th, 1803, disclosing the following information: “we saw a small boat on our starboard-bow, which, upon pearing, we discovered to have only one sail set, and otherwise to be a perfect wreck. No one was observed to be on her deck, until, upon hailing her, a wretched object presented himself, apparently in a most distressed s...

The San Francisco Call on June 7th, 1895 reported the following: “The ship was overloaded, badly loaded, top-heavily loaded - all agree upon that. When the gale struck her she weathered it, but badly. Then she careened. There was a list to starboard, and she did not right again. Men called out to the captain to cut away the deckloading of heavy spars. The captain was obdurate. He knew his business...

The Straits Times on the 11th of July, 1911 reported the following news from the local magistrate’s court: “The full charge was that, on or about June 9, within the Settlement of Singapore, dangerous petroleum was loaded under deck on the steam vessel Karang, a vessel which was not constructed for the carriage of petroleum in bulk and which had not the confining bulkhead of the cargo holds constru...