_LCCN2014690211.jpg) Oceana | |
| History | |
|---|---|
| Name | Oceana |
| Owner | P&O |
| Operator | P&O |
| Port of registry |  Belfast |
| Route |
|
| Builder | Harland & Wolff,Belfast |
| Yard number | 201 |
| Launched | 17 September 1887 |
| Completed | 26 February 1888 |
| Maiden voyage | 19 March 1888 |
| In service | 19 March 1888 – 16 March 1912 |
| Identification |
|
| Fate | Sunk in collision withPisagua on 16 March 1912 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Passenger liner/cargo vessel |
| Tonnage | |
| Length | 468.4 ft (142.8 m) |
| Beam | 52.0 ft (15.8 m) |
| Draught | 26 ft6+1⁄2 in (8.090 m) |
| Depth | 26.8 ft (8.2 m) |
| Installed power | three-cylindertriple expansion steam engine, 7,000 ihp (5,200 kW) |
| Propulsion | singlescrew |
| Sail plan | four masts |
| Speed | 16.5knots (30.6 km/h; 19.0 mph) |
| Capacity |
|
| Notes | sister ship:Arcadia |
SSOceana was aP&Opassenger liner andcargo vessel,launched in 1887 byHarland & Wolff ofBelfast and completed in 1888. Originally assigned to carry passengers and mail betweenLondon andAustralia, she was later assigned to routes between London andBritish India. On 16 March 1912 the ship collided in theStrait of Dover with thePisagua, a 2,850 GRTGerman-registered four-masted steel-hulledbarque. As a resultOceana sank offBeachy Head on theEast Sussex coast, with the loss of 17 lives.
Ordered byP&O from theHarland & Wolff shipyard inBelfast asYard No. 201, the 6,610 GRT vessel waslaunched on 17 September 1887, and handed over from fitting out after running trials on 26 February 1888. The 468.4-foot (142.8 m) ship had abeam of 52.0 feet (15.8 m), fourmasts, twofunnels and a singlepropeller. Her three-cylindertriple expansion steam engine produced 7,000indicated horsepower (5,200 kW), giving her a top speed of 16.5knots (30.6 km/h; 19.0 mph).[1] She had accommodation for 250 first class passengers and 159 second class, and 4,000 mtons cargo capacity.[2][1][3]
Oceana made her maiden voyage from London on 19 March 1888, sailing toMelbourne andSydneyviaColombo,Ceylon. After upgrading and refitting in 1904, she began her last voyage on this passage on 12 May 1905, after which she was placed on the London toBombay route.[2][1]
On 13 June 1894, formerPremier of South Australia,Sir John Bray died onboard during his return toAdelaide from London following the completion of his term as South Australia'sAgent General.[4]
AuthorMark Twain traveled from Sydney to Ceylon aboardOceana in 1895 as part of his travels described inFollowing the Equator. He remarked of the ship:
ThisOceana is a stately big ship, luxuriously appointed. She has spacious promenade decks. Large rooms; a surpassingly comfortable ship. The officers' library is well selected; a ship's library is not usually that . . . . For meals, the bugle call, man-of-war fashion; a pleasant change from the terrible gong.[5]
On 15 March 1912Oceana finished loading for her next trip to Bombay in thePort of Tilbury, under the command of Captain Thomas H. Hyde,RNR.[2] Aboard were 41 passengers, a complement of 220 crew and apilot.[6] She was also carrying £747,110 worth of gold and silveringots: £3 million at 2010 values.[7]
The next day she was proceeding west through theStrait of Dover at nearly full speed. The sea was calm although there was a strong headwind. In the opposite direction approached thePisagua, a 2,850-ton German-registered four-masted steel-hulledbarque.[8][9] Commissioned, owned and operated byF. Laeisz ofHamburg, she was on her way fromMejillones,Chile to Hamburg with a cargo ofnitrate, sailing under full sail at a speed of almost 20 knots (37 km/h).[10]
The two ships sighted each other when they were about a1⁄2 nautical mile (1 km) apart.[2] The captain ofPisagua burnt a warning flare, which was seen by the crew and senior officer on duty on thebridge ofOceana, who then gave the order to turn toport. The pilot from Tilbury and for the Strait of Dover, Mr Penny,[10] who was boardOceana in the charthouse, came to the bridge and realized that this manoeuvre would not be enough to avert a collision.[2][10] He called "hard to port", but beforeOceana could get out of the course,Pisagua struckOceana amidships, making a 40-foot (12 m) gash in her side.[2][9] The collision was 4nautical miles (7.4 km; 4.6 mi) off ofBeachy Head.[2]
The pilot ordered the immediate closure of all thewatertightbulkhead doors onOceana, whilst the captain ordered all crew and passengers to theirboat stations to stand by to abandon ship.[2] Sending out an immediate distress signal, theLondon, Brighton & South Coast Railwaypassenger ferrySussex attended the scene,[11] while two other paddle steamers and RMSRuahine stood by.[12] While awaiting rescue, the crew tried to lower one of thelifeboats, but it crashed into the sea and capsized, resulting in the loss of seven passengers and ten crew.[6]Sussex managed to take on board 241 of the remaining passengers and crew.[8][13]
Although listing,Oceana was taken in tow by theNewhaven tugAlert, stern first, at 08:00.[2][10] But by 10:00 she had developed an adverse list, enough to raise her propeller out of the water. Captain Hyde and the crew who had stayed aboard to help the tow now abandoned ship to theAlert, and watched from the tug as she sank in less than 20 minutes.[6]Oceana sank close to the seaside resort town ofEastbourne in shallow water, settling on the sea bed with her masts and the tops of her funnels showing out of the sea at low tide.[2][10]
Pisagua drifted off leeward after the collision, but managed to survive with severe damage to the bow andforemast.[2][10] Towed toDover for immediate sea-going repairs, she was then towed toHamburg where she was condemned.[9] She was rebuilt as awhale factory ship and operated by Søren L. Christensen,. On 12 February 1913,Pisagua was stranded atLow Island,South Shetland Islands.[9] Although insured forNOK 318,000, she was subsequently condemned and written off at a loss to her owners.[9]
After the sinking, P&O sued Laeisz, claimingdamages for the loss ofOceana. Judgement was given thatPisagua was not at fault, due to a combination of factors, including thatOceana was obliged to give way toPisagua under the "steam gives way to sail" rule.[14] The subsequentBoard of Trade Inquiry, which reported on 13 July 1912, reached similar conclusions, suspended the chief officer's certificate of competency for six months and censured the master.[6]
The day after the collision and ship's sinking, P&O agreed with the insurers' salvage team to send divers to recover the gold and silver ingots.[2][8][7] Divers initially entered the Captain's cabin and opened his safe, to recover the keys to the ship's five strongrooms. This enabled them to open three of the five strongrooms, while the other two were opened with alump hammer andcold chisel. The salvage operation lasted ten days.[2][10] A notable history item of the day, the salvage operation was filmed by theNatural Color Kinematograph Company, using the "Kinemacolor" system, the first successful colourmotion picture process.[15]
In July 1912 theRoyal Navy blew up the wreck as it posed a danger to shipping.[2]
Oceana is today a popularwreck diving site.[16] 15 nautical miles (28 km) east fromNewhaven at50°42.32′N00°25.75′E / 50.70533°N 0.42917°E /50.70533; 0.42917, at low tide the wreck lies in less than 24 metres (79 ft) of water, upright and standing 10 metres (33 ft) above the sea bed.[8][10] Resting on an even keel on a gravel seabed, the bows are upright and mostly intact. Her superstructure has collapsed, but her sides are vertical and complete with portholes. Divers can see inside the engine room from above to see the four boilers and the 10-metre-high (33 ft) 7,000 ihp triple-expansion steam engine.[8] Being close to the shore, the wreck attracts a large amount of sea life.[8]
Divers have found single gold and silver ingots since, the last being recovered in 1996.[7] The ship was carrying a memorial plaque to 800 men of the1st Nottingham Regiment who had died in India from 1819 to 1838, mainly from local diseases.[17] The plaque was recovered by divers Geoff and Jamie Smith from theTunbridge Wells Sub-Aqua Club in August 2009, and after restoration and preservation presented to 2nd Battalion theMercian Regiment in October 2009. It is currently displayed in the regimental museum inNottingham Castle.[17]
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Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in 1912 | |
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