Prince Oscar Voyage History

Completed January 1865; Official No. 51403.
Owners: 1864 SR Graves, Liverpool; 1883 A Gibson & Co, Liverpool.
Masters: 1865-72 William Barton Long (C.N.14388 Liverpool 1856); 1873-77 T Powles; 1878-81 C Brooks; 1882-84 G Farmer; 1884-95 Henderson.
Bound from South Shields for Iquique with a cargo of coal & a crew of  23 the Prince Oscar was in a collision with an unknown vessel in the Atlantic about 350 miles from Brazil on 14 July 1895.  Both vessels sank along with six of the crew of the Prince Oscar & all that were aboard the other vessel.  The unknown vessel is thought to be the four-masted barque, Lord Downshire, owned by Thomas Dixon & Sons of Belfast which had on board a crew of 25 seamen & eight apprentices. This is due to the voyage duration of the Lord Downshire putting it in the same place as the Prince Oscar and the absence of the vessel and crew however this has not been proven.

The ship Dharwar was bound from London for Port Phillip under Captain Steven. The voyage was fraught with heavy weather & hurricanes & an accident that had caused the death of one of the crew. They crossed the equator on 12 July 1895 & four days later, in latitude 12S longitude 32W, a ship’s boat was seen being tossed about on the waves. The Captain immediately ordered his ship’s course be altered to pick up the seventeen occupants, crew of the Prince Oscar, who would not have survived much longer. They were suffering severely from exposure, hunger & thirst. When their needs had been administered to, they related their harrowing story. On the night of 13 July the darkness was intensified by thick, drizzling rain when they were in a collision with another vessel. Several of the crew were in their bunks when they felt a jarring shock which caused them to rush on deck without collecting any personal effects or clothing. The Prince Oscar began to settle down stern first so rapidly the crew barely had time to launch the two boats, climb in & push off. Five of the crew were pulled down with the ship & only one came to the surface to be pulled into one of the boats. Of the vessel they had collided with there was no sign so they did not know whether she had escaped or foundered. Although glad to be alive the survivors realised they had no provisions or fresh water & some were scantily dressed. Further disaster then struck when the smaller of the two boats which held four men became filled with water from the heavy sea. As the larger boat reached them the small boat capsized & two of the men were unable to keep a grip on the wreckage & were whirled away.  After spending almost three days in the open boat, on 16 July, some of the crew, by now becoming delirious, were rescued by the Dharwar.

As the Dharwar was bound for Melbourne & the survivors wished to get back to Britain as soon as possible they were transferred to the Capac to be taken to New York & from there to London.

Captain Henderson later made the following statement:

‘The collision happened at middle watch on the night of the 14th ult., when there was a fresh south, east breeze, with rain squalls, while it was also excessively dark. I was down below, and the chief mate was in charge of the hatch. We were under main and topgallant sails, and were running in the wind at about 6½ knots an hour on the port tack. About 12 30 the look, out reported a large vessel away half a point on the port bow. She was entirely without lights, while we were showing our lights. The stranger seemed to be sailing all right, going from port to starboard, and continued to do this until within 2½ points ahead of us on the starboard bow. Then she suddenly changed her course, and flashed a red light when within about two ships' lengths of us. The vessels struck almost instantly, and our bows were torn completely in twain, while the stranger disappeared beneath the water. We could not see any sign of life about her or hear any cries for help. The vessel could not be made out clearly, but she appeared to be a four-masted barque. I have not since heard of any such craft missing, & I believe there are no reports of such.’ In reply to the suggestion that the stranger might have been a derelict, Captain Henderson said; ‘It certainly seems very mysterious, but she was under full sail, and had not the slightest appearance of being a deserted ship. After the collision we took to the boats, as we were sinking rapidly. Our crew was 23 all told. We only succeeded in lowering two boats, commanded, one by myself & the other by the chief mate. Almost immediately after the boats touched the water and only seven minutes after the collision, the Prince Oscar careened over and disappeared, carrying down five men who had failed to get into the boats. One was picked up by the mate's boat, but the four others were drowned, carried down by the suction of the whirlpool caused by the ship as she sank. We were then about 380 miles from Brazil. A heavy swell was running until long after daylight on the 15th, and we were in constant danger of being capsized. The other boat was about 3 miles distant. We kept her in sight till late in the afternoon, when she appeared to labour heavily, and we drew towards her. About 5 o'clock, just before we reached her, the mate's boat capsized in a heavy sea, and all who had been in her seemed to cling to the keel. When we reached them, however, we found that two men had failed to secure a hold of the boat, and had been carried away. We saw no trace of them. The weather moderated but little next day, and our danger was the greater because of the increased number in the boat. Late in the evening, however, we were picked up by the sailing ship Dharwar, and the men's severe sufferings were ended. We were afterwards transferred to theCapac and carried to New York.’ One of the seamen states; ‘I saw the strange ship approaching like a shadow about two minutes before the collision. Though nobody could be seen aboard her, she was under pretty full sail, and from the way she was handled there must have been somebody on board. Almost as soon as we struck she went down, and never a cry did I hear. I was told off for the mate's boat, but it was a terrible rush, & I nearly lost my life. I was lowering the boat when the tackle suddenly snapped, and she plunged into the water. I had no chance of getting into her then. The Prince Oscar commenced to careen over, & I ran aft, thinking to see some way of saving myself. Before I could discover anything I found myself going under the water with the ship. I soon lifted from the vessel, but was whirled round and round in the suction. I am a strong swimmer, but my attempts to strike out were of no use. The whirlpool force pressed my arms to my side and kept them there stiff. I rose to the surface half filled with water, but was sucked down again, only descending about two fathoms. This time, however, when I rose again I caught at a piece of wreckage and clung to it till picked up by the mate's boat. The sea ran high, and I could not have held out much longer.’

Captain Stevens of the Dharwar was later presented with the Liverpool Shipwreck & Humane Society medal for rescuing the survivors of the Prince Oscar.