Hecla

Official No. 67559: Code Letters NPRM.

Owners: 1874 Fritz Herskind, Hartleool: 1885 Herskind & Co (Herskind & Woods) West Hartlepool: 1892 Acties (Mail & WM Holby) Christiana, Norway-renamed Hekla

Masters: 1874-82 Robinson: 1883-86 Tulloch: 1887-92 G Tornquist: 1894 C Andersen: 1895 LA Overguard: 1898-1902 HS Jespersen.

York Herald Wednesday 11^th November, 1874:
The somewhat unusual spectacle of a double launch took place yesterday afternoon, at the building yard of Messrs. W. Gray and Co. One of them, built to the order of Messrs. Herskind and Co., has a gross register tonnage of about 1.175 tons. She was christened the Hecla. The other ship, also an iron steamer, is to the order of Mr. Middleton, of West Hartlepool, and has a tonnage of 696. She received the name of the Rose Middleton.

Northern Echo, Wednesday 12^th November, 1879:
REMARKABLY RAPID PASSAGE OF A WEST HARTLEPOOL STEAMER. Word has been received at West Hartlepool of the arrival at Constantinople, at midnight on the 28th ult., of the screw-steamer Hecla, commanded by Captain Robinson, having made the passage from Newport, Monmouthshire, in just fourteen days and sixteen and a half hours, and called at Malta on her way to discharge. Such a feat was never known before. The Hecla is the property of Messrs F. Herskind and Co., of West Hartlepool, and was built by Messrs W. Gray and Co. in 1874, being supplied with engines of 110 horse-power by Messrs. Blair and Co., of Stockton- on-Tees, and her register tonnage being 748 tons.

Hekla was bound for Bilbao with a crew of 17 all told when she sank after a collision off South Shields on 23 April 1902. The collision was with a new Adelaide steamer, Dilkera, which was on her trial trip. 10 of the crew were rescued by the Dilkera. 7 lives lost.

Lives lost April 1902: Ditriksen, a boy; Hille, chief engineer; Larsen, 2^nd engineer; Mereassen, Niels, seaman.

Fritz Herskind owned ships from the early 1870's. Herksind & Woods was formed in 1884 between Fritz and Peter Herskind and James Jabez Woods. The partnership was dissolved by mutual consent on the 20th August 1892. On 31st August 1892 the Company became known as Herskind & Co. with the main shareholders Fritz and his father Peter.

Five of Fritz's early ships were built by Matthew Pearse and two by Ropner. All of his subsequent ships were built in West Hartlepool and all appear to have been purchased new.