Ships lost at Sea 1882

[casso]

If a ship was lost at sea due to a collision would there be a board of trade inquiry. If so where would I find the report. I'm interested in 84544 Morning Star out of West Hartlepool. She was in a collision with a Norwegian vessel 'Borntand 27/10/1882 near Bayonne France.

Thanks for any help.

Alan.

[Keith at Tregenna]

Morning Star - a general history
Official No. 84544:

Owners: 1882 Johnson Bros. & Co., West Hartlepool.
Masters: 1882 Robert Verrill.

On a voyage from Bilbao for Rotterdam with a cargo of iron-ore & a total crew of 14 Morning Star was wrecked at Vieux Boucau on 27 October 1882. A huge sea struck the vessel which stove in the main hatches, knocked the bridge & chart house away & broke three boats to pieces. One man was washed overboard, two sailors were injured & the mate’s thigh was broken. The vessel was foundering so they tried to run for land & during this time the badly injured mate had elected to stay in the mess-room & was drowned. Henry Robinson took a line & swam for shore & by this means the rest of the crew were saved but one of the sailors died 18 hours later

Survivors 1882:
Fell
Laverick
Milburne, Thomas F, chief engineer, Middlesbrough
Newton, Frank, able seaman
Robinson, Henry, donkeyman, West Hartlepool
Verril Robert, master, Middlesbrough

Hartlepool History Then & Now

[Doc Vernon]

There would surely be an Enquiry about this incident i am not sure as to how one would go about it but the following Link nay be of use.
I hope you can get futher info somehow
Cheers

https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C38

[j.sabourn]

There would definetley be a full. Enquiry if there was loss of life. Depending on damage to vessels and the amounts to be paid by insurers there would be an enquiry to find who was at fault so as to allot who paid for what. If there was total loss to either or both vessels there would also be a full blown enquiry to find the cause as certificates stood to be suspended or lost. At the enquiry to which I attended for a very brief period, as a member of numast I told them I wanted a solicitor , they said you don’t need one but I insisted one was supplied if only to put the media on notice that any false reporting re myself or crew would be followed through with. The owners of the Company never came near me and I was worried If any blame was apportioned to the unsuitability of the vessel for that particular job I may have been the fall Guy . As master of any ship your name and cert. number is on the Cert. of Registry and to all intents and purposes you are the owner in his absence. Unless you have complete faith in your owner,it is always best to take the best precautions you can . I know myself the media gave me a wide berth , most of the stories you read of that particular enquiry smacks of sensationism , as long as it didn’t effect me , they could fantasise all they wanted., your answer though if loss of life is always a full blown Enquiry. That of course refers to more recent times , if you are seeking info. For the 1880 s I would imagine it would have been an Admiralty court conducted by mainly naval officers, although merchant seafarers may have appeared on the scene by then. Better late than never. Regards JWS.

[Keith at Tregenna]

Could this help?

Thread: Complete Guide to Researching Merchant Navy Records.

https://www.merchant-navy.net/forum/...795=#post16114

[j.sabourn]

Deep seas post on the records and info.available should appease most looking for answers. The paragraph appertaining to certificates of service granted to ex RN commissioned officers I can well acclaim to knowledge of. One character I sailed with had such, but because it did not give him for some reason the authority to go master on a H.T. Passenger vessel he decided to go for a proper cert. of competency. He told me he wished he hadn’t as when saw the subjects he had very little knowledge of and if he had failed he would have lost his cert. of service.
I have mixed feelings on this cert. as does not cover 2 and 1 mate which again have subjects not in the masters cert. A naval officer would have very little knowledge of the care and carriage of cargoes and many other subjects.Even Astral navigation they weren’t the bees knees, and I base this on the 4 years that I also sailed with the same on a naval Auxilary vessel. They would be ideal for the bridge of a passenger vessel as were well up on protocol . One has to speak as one finds. A naval war ship was very unlike a merchant ship. JS

[Keith at Tregenna]

Thanks all helps, I was thinking esp of the deaths at sea etc.

Touch wood, Billy's info will help many.

K.

.

[happy daze john in oz]

During the times of slave trading which England was involved in it was common practice to dump the slaves over the side if time got tough.
Lack of food or water, or if in very bad weather.
They would then make a claim against the insurance for loss of cargo.

But that came to an end, one of the Admirals had a daughter by a colored girl.
When he was about 8 he brought her back to England where she was cared for by her grandfather as her father went away again and was eventually lost at sea.

Through constant lobbying of her grandfather the law was changed, he was a judge and ruled in favor of the insurance companies against the traders who claimed loss of cargo for slaves dumped at sea.

[Doc Vernon]

For a small fee you can get the BOT Enquiry on this site hope this may help you
This may not be the Report you are after but with a Search in the right direction i am sure one can come up with it ??
Cheers

https://www.britishnewspaperarchive....ortorder=score

Morning Star BOT eNQUIRY.jpg

Another here as well ??
https://www.britishnewspaperarchive....rycounts=false

Maritime report.jpg

[Keith at Tregenna]

RE: I'm interested in 84544 Morning Star out of West Hartlepool. She was in a collision with a Norwegian vessel 'Borntand 27/10/1882 near Bayonne France.
.

ID No 1084544 - Type Cargo Ship - Flag GBR - Launch Date 06.05.1882 - Yard No 40 - Builder Irvine - Yard Harbour Dock

Wrecked Vieux Boucou 27.10.1882

Alan, are you certain that there was a collision.

All points to:

1882: Wrecked Only 5 months after being launched she was wrecked at Vieux Boucau on 27 Oct 1882 on passage Bilbao with iron bound for Rotterdam

https://sites.google.com/site/ssmary...p/sister-ships

Morning Star SS was a British cargo steamer that was wrecked on the 27th October 1882 at Vieux Boucau when on route from Bilbao for Rotterdam with a cargo of iron ore.

https://www.wrecksite.eu/wreck.aspx?141532

Tue, 31 Oct 1882
A telegram received through Reuter's agency from
Bayonne, states that the British steamer Morningston (?),
with 715 tons of ore on board, bound from Bilbao for
Rotterdam, was wrecked on Saturday morning on the coast
of Vieux-Boucau, in the Department of Les Landes. The
crew, consisting of 14 men, were saved, but the vessel and
cargo were lost.

Mon, 6 Nov 1882
A telegram received through Reuter's agency from
Bayonne, dated Nov. 4, states that the English steamer
Morning Star, from Bilbao for Rotterdam, which was
wrecked off Vieuxboucan (sic) on the 28th ult., has parted
amidships. Two of the crew are missing, and three others
were seriously injured.

From The Times, 31 Oct 1882:
The Morning Star, English steamer, and the Norwegian vessel
Borntand are reported ashore 20 miles north of Bayonne; crews
saved.

K.