LOSS OF STEAMER IN IRISH SEA

Press, Volume LXXXIX, Issue 27065, 13 June 1953, Page 2

LOSS OF STEAMER IN IRISH SEA

Inquiry Finds Vessel Unseaworthy (N.Z. Press Association—Copyright) LONDON, June 11. A Belfast court of inquiry found today that the British Railways’ steamer Princess Victoria sank in the Irish Sea with the loss of 133 lives last January because of her unseaworthy condition. The tribunal of four, in a unanimous decision, found that there were two reasons for the ship’s condition—the inadequacy of the stern doors and the inadequacy of the clearing arrangements \ for water on the freeboard deck.

The stern doors of the ship burst open in an 80-mile-an-hoUr gale which whipped up mountainous seas on a voyage from Stranraer, Scotland, to Larne, Northern Ireland.

The report said the failure of these doors caused the flooding of the ship’s car space, from which there was no adequate provision for clearance. There was an increasing list to starboard, ending in the ship capsizing and foundering. The report said the master was justified in sailing, having regard to the weather forecasts and gale warnings he had received. There was no-one in the whole organisation with the sole duty of looking after the wellbeing and structure of the ship. The superintendence of the ship left much to be desired. The report stated that the loss was caused by the default of the owners and manager in the following respects:

(1) Failure to provide stern doors sufficiently strong to withstand heavy seas reasonably to be expected from time to time in the North Channel. (2) Failure to provide adequate freeing arrangements for seas which might enter the car space from any source.

(3) Failure to take precautionary steps after the incident of November, ISSI (when the stern doors were damaged and the car deck was flooded). In a tribute to the heroism of the ship s wireless operator, David Broadfoot, and all those who gave valuable ■rescue services, the report stated: ‘‘lf the Princess Victoria had been as staunch as the men who manned her, then all would have been wel] and this disaster would have been avoided.”