his clothes and sticking them into the; hole, nor of ramming down pillows. The ramming down of nome clothes or pillows might have helped, but he did not think it would have stopped the leak. He never thought of putting anything down, he hd nobody to consult. What he did do was to get the valve discon- noted from the spindle, but he was unable to do 80.
By Mr. Goldring-He was quite positive that he was never shown round the ship with the second engineer or the No. 1 Chinaman. The second engineer gave no further ordor to him, but to go down and look at the ballast-tank valve. There was nothing to indicate what was the tank valve; the ship was strange to him. He had not been shown the valves. He had not been on ships of a similar build on this coast. On his last ship, on which he was second engineer, the connections were different. The tank that he remoyed should never be removed except in dock. There were other valves between the engine-room platform and the
opened, valve he
but he never thought to look at them! This was the first time he had opened a valve like this. It was the first mistake he had ever made. When he was second engineer he always looked after the valves himself and did not trust that to the third engineer,
The witness at the conclusion of his evidence was shown the letter already put in and stated to have been written from him to Captain Reid. He admitted having written it.
The Court adjourned at 12.45. On resuming
at 2 o'clock,
THE HONGKONG WEEKLY PRESS AND have known that the tank had been filling since the morning.
Captain Welsh--He left no orders and there- fore did not expect anything to be done about the valves during his absence.
Examination resumed-He left no orders because he did not know that this work was going on. Had he left orde.s he would have insisted on the second engineer being present. orders relative to the filling of the ballast By Mr. Gould-He never got any written tanks; they were always verbal and he took authority of the captain. them from any officer provided he had the
By Mr. Master-It was n t customary for the second engineer applying for leave from him to go on shore, but the chief usually did
know:
By Mr. Goldring-It was the second engineer who was going to show the third round on the next day. He might have done so on the day of the mishap without witness knowing it. If a man had been shown the connections only once and witness had been second engineer he would certainly have gone with him to see tɔ the examination of the valves.. There were marks by the valves to indicate what they were. Duncan McKellar, second engineer, said he held a first-class ticket. issued at Glasgow in 1885 He had been in the Pakshan 6 weeks. On the 2nd of June he received orders from the chief About officer to open the after ballast-tank. 12.40 he went to open the tank and he told the third he would show him the connections. Witness opened the son-valve in his presence and then closed it and made him open it again
and they went on board the ship. On the way the third told him what he had done and that he was very sorry. He was positive as to the orders he left with the third engineer. It was absolutely incomprehensible to him how the third did the very opposite of what his orders were and left undone what he was told to do.
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(June 21, 1902.
the rise of the water in the engine rows.com- partment and its appearance in the after hold.
This closed the evidence.
Mr. Goldring asked for sú adjournment in order to procure as a witness on his client's be half the No. 1 Chinese fireman who had seen the second e:gineer showing the third round the connections in the engine room.
His Worship stated that the tourt could not permit of an adjournment.
Mr. Goldring then addressed the Court, J. McArthur, the third engineer, stated that the evidence given by the second engineer was just a statement made to clear himself. ' It was not the case that he (the third engineer) ever - tonched a val、e in the engine room during that day or that the second engineer showed
him the valves.
The finding of the Court was as follows:- We find that the British ss. Pukahan, 82893, of which James George fteid was master, whose certificate of competency as n.aster is 094439, was lying at a buoy in Hongkong Harbour on the evening of 2nd June, that the ship had on board undischarged cargo consisting of 700 bags of rice; she had also about 207 tons of bunker coal, that about 7 p.m., owing to the removal by the third engineer of the cover of the sea-connection for the ballast-tank, the ship began to take in water, and the attempts to stop it being ineffectual she sank at ber moorings in about 7 fathoms of water. It appears from the evidence that the master was on shore, that the chief engineer also went on shore at 6 p.m., and the second officer also went on shore at 6,3 1, leaving the duty of filling
In
They then went to the intermediate valve: be the ballast tank to the third engineer, who bad opened and closed it and then the third opened only been in the ship a few hours. The second James McDonald, the chief engineer, was
it again. When witness was going ashore in states that he distinctly told the third engineer called. He deposed he held an extra-chief's
the evening about 2.25 he thought the to examine the valve in the intermediate box ticket granted in 1889 af Hongkong. He had
tank ought to be about full. On getting and not to touch the sea-connection; and the been 2 years in the Phan. 13 months as
it sounded he found that it Was not Court finds it diffien't to make this statement chief. He went ashore about 6.30. Every-
filling up roperly; there was only half | correspond with the action of the third engineer, thing was satisfactory. He returoed again
the amonnt there should have been. He who almost immediately went down and did not about 9 and ou approaching the steamer saw
thought there must be mu obstruction some-touch the intermediate valve-box and did take she was listed much to starboard and deep in where and asked the third to lift the in- the cover off the s a-connection, as admitted the water. When he got on board he was told
termediate box-cover and see if there was any by himself. The Court, having heard and that water was coming fato the engine-room
wood or waste; he told him to be sure and see carefully considered the evidence, is of opinion He went to the engine-room, with the Chines that the ses valve was closed before he that the ship sank as the result of one serious donkey-man who told him what had been lifted the cover. Then witness left the ship, blunder of the third engineer, followed by a done, which was the removal of the ballast telling the third where he was going. About series of hardly less serious faults on the part donkey sea injection cover. There was 3 or 49.30 the third engineer came on shore for him of others. It is impressed by the apparent want feet of water over the platform on the port
of resource shown by those concerned. side, and considerably more on the starboard
Hongkong it is difficult to imagine not being due to the list. He went on deck to try and get
able to engage the services of almost any aksistance to put a pillow or something in the
number of steam launches at almost any hour valve and throttle the inrash but could not get
of the day or night, and a tow of about 1,000 it. He asked the second officer for assist-
yards would at any rate have got the ship into ance. Shortly afterwards he had to knock
3 fathoms less water than she went down in. off the donkey. About 9.40 the No. 1
No signals were made to attract att ntion and to bim and foreman and another came
no application made to the shipe close by for assistance. The Court considers that the leaving of the third engineer in charge of the important duty of examining the valves connecting with the ballast-tank was a serious error on the part of the second engineer, and indeed they are unable to acquit the chief engineer of all re- sponsibility on this score, for the Court is of opinion that he ought to have been aware of the fact that the ballast-tank was being, filled. The absence of the crew is one of the contribu tory causes of the loss of the ship. Had there been more help, more might have been done; and here again it is clear that app ication to the adjacent ships might have had beneficial effect. The Court, however, is of opinion that these faults of commission and omission do not amount to a wrongful act or default, and the certificates of the master and officers and engineers are not therefore dealt with.
The Court rose.
they went below to try to throttle the valve with a pillow. No, 1 dived several times but could make nothing of it. About 10 o'clock the second and third engineers returned to- gether. He asked the third his reason for meddling with this valve | The third engineer said he was very sorry; he had made an awful mistake in taking off the wrong plug. The second engineer stated that his reason for giving the order for the examination of the tank valve was that the tank was running up slowly. About 11 o'clock he left in a launch standing by for assistance but he did not think she would last and she went down before he returned. He gave no orders when he left the ship before going on shore, and heard nothing about the ballast tank until the second and third engineers came on board about 10 o'clock. The rules about engineers going on shore were that one engineer and one fireman must be on board The orders to fill the ballast-tank might have been given to the second without being given to him; when the orders were given the chief must always ultimately hear of it. The third engineer had only joined the ship aud was to be shown round next day. When witness was going on shore he did not know the second was also going on shore. Had he been on board he would not have allowed this ballest-tank injection valve to be taken off. It was not judicious to leave the examination of a valve with a sea-connection to an engineer who had been only a few hours on board the ship.
By Lieut. James-It was possible that valves might be opened in his absence but they would let him know about it. He certainly ought to
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1.
By Lieut. James-Suppose the third engineer had taken off the intermediate valve and ot closed the rea-valve the water would have come in just the same. If he had closed the sea valve and taken off the cover he did take off, the result would have been just the same.
By Captain Beetham He was of opinion that some good would have been done by thrusting pillows or a mattress down the valve, if the pressure was not too great,
By Mr. Master-There was no list on the ship before the water came in; if there was a list, inflowing water would follow the list. He explained to the third engineer the working of the sea-valve and pointed out the danger of tampering with it.
By Mr. Goldring-There was no European with them when he showed the third engineer round the valves; but there were Chinamen working about, and the No. 1 brought him a lamp and a hammer. He had not heard of any examination which had been made of the ship by divers.
James McDonald, chief engineer (recalled)- The bridge over the valve was he believed a removable one. He was not sure that the cover could have been taken off with safety, the valve having been previously shored down.
J. S. Lowingdon, second officer (recalled)- He knew that there was a period after the tarpaulin was put over the bows during which the water ceased to rush in, by the marks on the ladder. He took no soundings in the engine-room, because of the list. He took soundings repeatedly fore and aft and found water aft but that was after the time when the inrush had stopped. He did not think there was any connection between the stoppage of
The following paragraph is taken from the Nagasaki Press: It is reported on theauthority of a Japanese merchant who has just arrived at Nagasaki from Hankow that Meirs, Jarding, Matheson and Co. are preparing to open a ro steamshipservice between Kuchow and Cha in Hanan province, with the Indo-China Steam Navigation Company's steamer Changwo (1,060 tons gross), in order to com steamers to be run on the Hanan Steamship Co., which is at present calling. on its shares.” We learn already on the run referred company's steamers are not yet in
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