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THE HONGKONG GOVERNMENT GAZETTE, 24тп FEBRUARY, 1894.
GOVERNMENT NOTIFICATION.—No. 66.
99
The following Finding of the Marine Court of Inquiry into the collision of the British Steam-ship Hangchow, Official No. 91,878 of London, and an unknown vessel, is published.
By Command,
Colonial Secretary's Office, Hongkong, 23rd February, 1894.
FINDING.
G. T. M. OBRIEN, Colonial Secretary.
We find that the British Steam-ship Hangchow, Gfficial No. 91,878 of London, of which CHARLES JAMES DERBY was Master, the number of whose Certificate of Competency is 08,040, left Hongkong in ballast bound for Shanghai on the morning of the 8th February.
That all went well till about 11 P.M. when off Breaker Point the Hangchow was in collision with an unknown vessel.
It appears from the evidence that the mast-head light of the unknown vessel was first sighted by the Second Officer about a point on the port bow and he after watching it for some little time concluded that the vessel carrying it was closing him and he therefore ported about a point. About five minutes after this he saw the three lights of the approaching vessel about half a point on his port bow and not more than two ship's lengths off, he then ordered the helm hard aport and reversed the engines going down himself at that time to call the Captain. About a minute from the time of his reversing the engines the collision took place, the Hangchow striking the stranger a slanting blow about amidships on the starboard side.
There being no evidence from the other side the Court do not concern themselves with expressing an opinion as to the causes which led to the collision, merely observing that the action of the Second Officer in porting on the first occasion probably did not increase the danger of the position.
After the collision the vessels cleared cach other and the position of each relative to the other after this would be problematical except for the evidence of the Captain--for the only two certificated officers carried were busily engaged in seeing the Captain's orders with reference to the management of the Hangchow carried out and had no time to observe the movements of the other vessel;-but it seems that the two did not separate far, probably not more than four or five ship's lengths, a blue- light was shown by the stranger and answered by the Hangchow, but how these were understood is not clear.
The stranger's red light was afterwards seen by the Captain of the Hangchow only and that dis- appeared on the starboard bow about 15 minutes after the collision.
The Hangchow steamed slowly ahead until about 1.30 A.M. when after a consultation with his officers the Captain decided to put back to Hongkong for repairs.
The damage sustained by the Hangchow is described in a letter (put in marked A) from the Superintendent of the Dock to the Captain and was confined to a broken stem and a hole between the 16 and the 20-foot draught line extending about 5 feet inwards, there was little or no damage above this.
This damage, we are of opinion, might have been caused by collision with a deeply laden ship and as such a ship the S.S. St. Asaph bound from Moji to Hongkong was at or about this spot when the collision took place, and as she has not been heard of since, the conclusion is forced on the Court that she was the other vessel that was in collision, and it would appear that if so the same has proved fatal to her.
We are of opinion that the Master of the Hangchow fully recognized the duty of "standing by" after the collision as long as the safety of his own vessel and the lives on board were not unduly endangered thereby, also that the steps taken by him were all taken with this end in view; but while recognizing the danger to the Hangchow, we regret that the Master should have decided to leave the scene of the disaster without even more strenuous efforts being made to discover what had become of the other vessel.
The Court do not deal with the Certificates of the Master or Officers and they are therefore returned to them.
Given under our hands at Hongkong this 19th day of February, 1894.
R. MURRAY RUMSEY, Retd. Com., R.N.,
President of the Court.
SELBY LILBURN, R.N.,
Staff Commander.
J. R. HILL,
Master, Brit. S.S.“ Tacoma.”
H. DEANS,
Master, Brit. S.S. “Taichiow."
D'A. DE STE. CROIX,
Master, Brit. S.S." Wing Sang."