Tom Bell - a general history

Official No. 65502: Code Letters JWNK.

Masters: 1874 John Stratford (CC No.28379).

Tom Bell sailed from Galatz on 8 November 1874 with a total crew of 20 & a cargo of 5341 quarters, or about 1050 tons of wheat, partly in bulk, partly in bages, & was bound for Rotterdam, her draught of water at the Sulina mouth of the Danube being 17 feet 2 inches aft & 15 feet 9 inches forward, & she had an animated clear side of 2 feet (no actual measurement was taken). She is said to have been at that time sound & seaworthy in all respects.

She called at & again left Constantinople on 12 November, up to which date the weather was fine. After leaving port there was a fresh breeze & squally weather until 16 November when she was abreast of Cape Matapan, from which they took their departure. Between the 16th & 19^th days of November she appears to have encountered heavy weather causing the vessel to labour heavily, & on the 16^th, according to the evidence of the chief engineer, the stern post was starting working first sideways & then up & down about half an inch. The rudder post was working sideways & 3 or 4 rivets were started round the trunk which continued until the time of stranding. At 11.30pm on 19 November Delamara revolving light was sighted, being just visible. The vessel was then steered for that light. At 2am the engines were eased, & the vessel kept dodging under the land, her estimated distance therefrom being 6 or 8 miles. At 5.20am on 20 November land was sighted one point on the starboard bow. The helm was put to port with the engines at slow, &, in 5 minutes the vessel struck on the Mousciar Reef off Malta, raising her bow 5 feet; the engines were then reversed at full speed, but the vessel remained immoveable & heeled over to starboard. Signals of distress were exhibited, rockets & blue lights were displayed, but no response was given from the shore. Finding that the ship was filling with water, the master & crew left in their own boats & were picked up by HMS Hearty & taken to Valetta.

The Court remarked on the irregular & imperfect way in which the log had been kept. There was no record of distances run, nor of the position of the vessel at noon. The Court found that the light on Delamara point was seen at a distance of 15 miles & was kept in sight until the stranding showing that the atmosphere was clear. No attempt was made to sight the light at St Elmo Castle, which, if sighted, would have shown the position of the vessel, & is the leading light for clearing the dangerous reefs at the south-east & east extremities of the island. Instead of doing this, the master trusted to an estimated distance of the light on Delamara point, which he should know was always a difficult matter to determine at night; & he took no soundings to guide him. Although he had a chronometer on board, no observations were taken for ascertaining the longitude, nor were observations taken for finding the local deviations of the compasses.

The Court found the master in default, but taking into consideration the good character he had always borne from his employers, & that as a rule he appeared to have been a careful navigator, the Court were induced to deal leniently with him. Therefore his certificate was suspended for only six calendar months from the date of the inquiry.

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