Princess Victoria (ship, 1946)
 Princess Victoria
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The Princess Victoria was a ferry built in 1946 by William Denny and Brothers Limited . The ship sank on January 31, 1953 in the North Channel between Scotland and Northern Ireland in heavy seas, triggered by the hurricane that also caused the flood disaster of 1953 . The accident occurred after a water ingress due to serious construction defects on the locking gates of the vehicle deck and the resulting transfer of the cargo. Only 44 people out of a total of 179 passengers and crew were rescued.
The ship
On February 8, 1945, the London, Midland and Scottish Railway Company submitted a preliminary construction request to the William Denny and Brothers shipyard in Dumbarton for a replacement for the one operated since 1939 on the route between Stranraer in Scotland and Larne in Northern Ireland, but already in 1940 by one Mine get sunk ferry Princess Victoria .
The replacement building should essentially be based on the plans of the ship built in 1939, but numerous details have been adapted. The ship was a RoRo ship that was loaded from the stern and had a continuous vehicle deck that was open aft. The open area of the vehicle deck was closed by about 1.50 m high doors that closed off with the stern of the ship, the closed part of the vehicle deck located under the superstructure was additionally secured against the ingress of water by a gate that could be lowered vertically.
The new building was on 27 August 1946 lowered into the water and began on February 28, 1947 its sea trials . The ship left the shipyard on March 7, 1947 and was delivered to its clients in Stranraer the following day. In the course of the dissolution of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway by the Transport Act 1947 , the Princess Victoria passed on January 1, 1948 into the hands of the newly founded state railway British Railways .
The downfall
On January 31, 1953, the heaviest hurricane of the 20th century raged over the Irish Sea and in the sea areas west of Scotland with wind speeds of over 180 km / h. Because he probably underestimated the weather situation and trusted his experience in the sea area, the captain decided to sail early in the morning of January 31, 1953, despite the hurricane that had been raging since the night. Presumably he was prompted by the inaccurate weather report of the weather services, which could not exactly predict the dramatic deterioration in the weather that occurred in the night from January 30th to 31st, 1953 with the methods available for meteorology at the time.
| 07:54 h | The Princess Victoria leaves the port of Stranraer | |
| 09:00 h | The force of the waves pushes in the inward-opening tailgate, water penetrates the ship | |
| 09:46 h | First call for help: No tugs available | |
| 10:32 h | SOS : "Car deck flooded" | |
| 11:00 h | The lifeboat from Portpatrick receives an incorrect position indication | |
| 13:00 h | Engine room on starboard side flooded - "situation critical" | |
| 13:08 h | The ship has a strong list | |
| 13:15 h | "We are preparing to leave the ship" | |
| 13:30 h | A steamship passes the Princess Victoria without making her out | |
| 13:40 h | Passengers are called on deck | |
| 13:58 h | Last message from the ferry operator | |
| Source: BBC |
The heavy storm caused considerable delays during the loading work, which resulted in the ferry leaving the port of Stranraer at around 7.45 a.m. with a 45-minute delay. Even the passage of Loch Ryan , which is sheltered from the wind, proved to be extremely difficult due to the north-west orkan and could only be covered at a very slow speed against storms and currents, so that the north exit of Loch Ryan was only reached after an hour instead of about 30 minutes.
Presumably to get enough distance from land, the master kept a northerly course after reaching the northern end of the bay. Then he had to take a south-westerly course towards Larne. The turning of the ship on this new course resulted in the ship being covered from starboard aft with heavy lakes up to 13 meters high. Around 8:45 a.m., a crew member working on the vehicle deck noticed that large amounts of water were entering through the vertically closing deck doors aft, probably caused by a monster wave . The amounts of water were so large that they insufficiently aware of the scuppers could flow out of the ship. Breaking up the lashing and the strong lurching of the vessel resulted in a shifting of cargo and rapidly to strong impact side . The attempt to close the drop gate at the stern watertight again had to be given up.
At around 9.45 a.m., the Princess Victoria made a first emergency call at the instigation of the captains, as the ship was now unable to maneuver in the Northern Channel and a return to Stranraer was no longer possible. By 10.30 am the situation worsened to such an extent that the ship's management felt compelled to send the SOS emergency call that was customary at the time . Following the storm and current, the ship's command tried to regain control of the ship, at least temporarily, after the crew had managed to regain control of the ship at around 11 a.m. to reach Belfast Lough . The port of Larne could no longer be called due to the accident and the extremely bad weather. During this attempt, the heavily lurching ship, which was largely abandoned to the sea, took in more and more water.
After the emergency call was sent, a broad-based rescue operation was initiated by motor lifeboats of the British coast guard and the British navy , which immediately sent the destroyer contest to the scene of the accident.
The extremely bad weather, combined with the very high seas and poor visibility, meant that the ship's command had temporarily lost their bearings. Inaccurate and incorrect position information was the result. But it can also be attributed to the inadequate radar equipment from today's perspective that the wrecked ferry, which is heavily floating in the Northern Channel, could not be found in time because the search teams were initially in the wrong area.
After the engines had failed due to the ingress of water around 1 p.m. and the list of the ship had become so large that it was no longer possible to move on the ship without ropes, the ship's management decided at around 1.40 p.m. to give the order to leave Ship to give. When attempting to deploy the lifeboats , a boat occupied by women and children was destroyed by the sea hammer, and other passengers were washed off deck when leaving the ship. All women and children on board were killed. Shortly after the last radio message at 1:58 p.m., the ship sank in the Northern Channel near the Copeland Islands , approx. 20 nautical miles south of the original course, together with the ship's command still on board, including the master.
Only 44 people could be saved. The crew of the lifeboat Sir Samuel Kelly , which was then stationed in Donaghadee (Northern Ireland) under the command of Captain Hugh Nelson, managed to take 31 survivors on board and bring them safely ashore in a breakneck mission under the most difficult weather conditions and very heavy seas.
The investigation
During the official investigation of the accident, the main cause was considered to be the completely inadequate construction of the rear doors closing the car deck and the drop gate closing the closed part of the car deck. British Railways was also accused of having used a ship unsuitable for the sea area, which had also been damaged several times since its commissioning in 1947.
Awards
The foreman of the lifeboat Sir Samuel Kelly , the then 63-year-old Captain Hugh Nelson, and others were honored for his outstanding achievements and his daring in the rescue operation . a. awarded the Medal of the British Empire . The radio operator David Broadfoot, who was killed in the sinking of the ship, was posthumously awarded the Cross of St. George during an audience by the Queen for his self-sacrificing performance, which led to the rescue of the 44 survivors . The Order of the British Empire was awarded to the captains of the merchant ships Lairdsmoor , James Alexander Bell, Pass of Drum Jungs , James Kelly and the Orchy , Hugh Angus, involved in the search and rescue operation . The crew members of the destroyer contest , Stanley Lawrence McArdle and Wilfred Warren, who jumped into the churned sea during the rescue operation to find survivors, were awarded the George Cross.
literature
- David John Lyon: The Denny List Part IV . Ship Numbers 1274-1505 and Appendices I-VIII. 1st edition. National Maritime Museum, Greenwich (London) 1976.
- Hocking, Charles: Dictionary of Disasters at Sea During the Age of Steam: Including Sailing Ships and Ships of War Lost in Action, 1824-1962 . 1st edition. Lloyd's Register of Shipping, London 1969, ISBN 0-900528-03-6 , pp. 566/567 .
Web links
- Entry at derbysulzers.com (English)
Individual evidence
- ^ Holland flood February 1, 1953 on saevert.de
- ^ Greg McKevitt: Ferry disaster victims remembered. In: BBC News. January 30, 2003, accessed January 26, 2013 .
- ^ Karen Atkinson: Princess Victoria sinking remembered 60 years on. In: BBC News. January 25, 2013, accessed January 26, 2013 .
- ↑ Neil Greenlees looks at a new book on the Princess Victoria sinking at www.lisburn.com
- ↑ Princess Victoria Disaster Remembered 50 Years On . ( Memento of the original from April 23, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. on Larne Ferry Web
- ^ The tragedy of the Princess Victoria . ( Memento of the original from November 19, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF) In: BEAM Magazine , No. 32, 2003-2004, p. 36
- ^ Greg McKevitt: Ferry disaster victims remembered . BBC News Online, Jan. 30, 2003
- ↑ donaghadeelifeboat.co.uk ( Memento of the original from August 21, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ^ Princess Victoria By Bob O'Hara
- ↑ bbc.co.uk
