Orizaba (ship, 1886)
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The RMS Orizaba was a passenger ship of the British shipping company Pacific Steam Navigation Company that was put into service in 1886 and was used in passenger and mail traffic from Great Britain to Australia . On February 17, 1905, the Orizaba ran aground with 375 people on board at Garden Island near Fremantle ( Western Australia ). All people on board could be saved.
The ship
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The 6,077 GRT steamship was built at the Barrow Shipbuilding Company in Barrow-in-Furness and was launched on May 6, 1886. According to an article in the Otago Daily Times on June 25, 1886, the launch was watched by 5,000 to 6,000 onlookers. The 144.5 meter long and 15.1 meter wide passenger and mail ship was constructed of steel and had an identical sister ship , the Oroya , which was put into service in the same year . These two steamers were the largest ships of the Pacific Steam Navigation Company to date.
The Orizaba had two funnels, four masts and a single propeller and was powered by triple expansion steam engines that developed 7,000 horsepower and could accelerate the ship up to 14 knots. The Orizaba could accommodate 126 passengers in first class, 154 in second class and 412 in third class. On September 30, 1886 was Orizaba in Southampton for its maiden voyage to Sydney via Suez and Melbourne from.
Downfall
On Monday, February 6, 1905 was Orizaba in Colombo (Ceylon) with 215 crew members, 260 passengers and 2,500 tons of cargo on board for the crossing to Fremantle from. She came from London and Tilbury and was supposed to be calling at Sydney. The command had Captain Robert Archer, who had his captain's license since 1881 .
On February 15, 1905, the Orizaba was 286 nautical miles off Rottnest Island on the coast of the state of Western Australia . The following day, thick billows of smoke hung over the calm sea as the Orizaba approached the town of Fremantle at a speed of 14 knots. Some sources suggested that the smoke may have originated from a bush fire on nearby Garden Island .
When land could finally be made out through the windrows, it was mistaken for Buckland Hill, north of Fremantle, aboard the Orizaba . Around noon on February 16, the view was clear again and land was seen on both sides of the ship. But Fremantle was nowhere in sight. The ship was then stopped so that the depth of the surrounding water could be measured. The crew determined a water depth of 6 to 8 fathoms . Then the Orizaba took up a new course and headed for the open sea.
On Thursday evening, February 17, 1905, as passengers were preparing for dinner, the Orizaba ran aground on the Five Fathom Bank and came to an immediate halt. The engines were immediately returned to full power, but the ship was stuck on the sandbar . News of the accident reached Fremantle almost immediately, from where the tug Gannett was dispatched to take the Orizaba's passengers, their luggage and mail on board. By February 21, Captain Archer and the crew members remaining on board had also been evacuated.
The cargo recovery began immediately. The engine room had been flooded, but the holds remained dry. The day after the stranding, 875 tons of cargo had already been recovered. However, on Monday February 21, 1905, the watertight doors of the Orizaba broke and the ship slid into deeper waters. From then on, further rescue work was carried out by divers. An auction took place on February 28 , during which parts of the salvaged cargo were auctioned off.
An investigation into the accident came to the conclusion that Captain Archer had caused the stranding through incorrect assessments during navigation . He had to bear half of the legal costs. However, it was also found that the plumes of smoke and strong currents had contributed to the accident. The remains of the wreck were still visible on the sandbank in 1907.
The remains of the ship are now 4 to 7 meters deep (position 32 ° 10 ′ 57 ″ S , 115 ° 31 ′ 12.1 ″ E, ). The wreck is one of the diving destinations on the Mandurah Shipwreck Trail.
See also
Web links
- Entry in the wreck database
- Ship description in The Ships List (lower third)
- Description of the sinking and the wreck
- Mention of the launch in the Otago Daily Times of June 25, 1886
Individual evidence
- ↑ WA Heritage Council: "MANDURAH SHIPWRECK TRAIL", page 2 (PDF, 155 kB) ( Memento from September 5, 2017 in the Internet Archive )