Famous sinkings

[Guillermo]

I propose a thread on famous ships accidental sinkings (Other than Titanic's, please!) where posters may inform on famous ships' sinkings known to them and the investigations on the causes, if known.

We've discussed previously the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald ('Random Picture' thread), and I think it could be an interesting matter for a dedicated thread.

To begin with, here the Reina Regente, an Spanish battleship last seen the 10th of March, 1895, at Gibraltar strait. 402 lost their lives. She was lost during a severe storm after living the african port of Tanger, most probably due to partial flooding and subsequent losss of stability. There's a believe that she previously had lost steering.

Definitive causes are not yet really known as the ship wreck has never been founded (Too deep). I have a wonderful book (original official report) with lots of drawings and stability calculations, printed in 1896. A delight for an NA. But I have found nothing in internet.

I'll scan some of the drawings and curves and post them here.

She was built at Thompson's shipyard (Clydebank, UK) in 1888. Two other units were afterwards built in Spain, following her design.

Here a link to her main characteristics (in spanish):
http://www.revistanaval.com/armada/buques0/rregen1.htm

[jehardiman]

Ok, lets try the ones you can learn from...

SS EASTLAND; lack of stability at pier, 841 lost


SS MORRO CASTLE; Fire, 137 lost


HMS VICTORIA; Lack of subdivision, 358 lost


RMS EMPRESS OF IRELAND; Lack of subdivision, 1012 lost


SS GENERAL SLOCUM; Fire, 1021 lost


Give me some time and I'm sure I'll think of more.

[jehardiman]

More to learn from

M/V ESTONIA; Unrepaired damage leading to downflooding and loss of stability; 852 lost


M/V ROCKNES; Improper loading with uncontrolled free surface after minor grounding resulting in loss of stability, 18 lost


SS MONT_BLANC and SS IMO; Amminution explosion in Halifax Harbour after collision; more than 1500 lost, 9000 injured


SS GRAND CAMP and SS HIGH FLYER; Fire causes a fertilizer explosion in Texas City, Texas, aided by attempting to supress the fire with steam, 581 known dead, 113 missing/not identified, 5000 injured

[Guillermo]

Strange...
I receive this warning message from Boatdesign.net:

"Ok, lets try the ones you can learn from...

SS EASTLAND;
http://www.eastlanddisaster.org/a2aa1.jpg

SS MORRO CASTLE;
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...o_Castle_1.jpg

HMS VICTORIA;
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...s_victoria.jpg

RMS EMPRESS OF IRELAND;
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...of_Ireland.jpg

SS GENERAL SLOCUM;
http://www.general-slocum.com/webima...TripNorthr.jpg

Give me some time and I'm sure I'll think of more."


SO WITH THE LINKS, BUT WHEN VISUALIZING THE POST IN INTERNET, LINKS DO NOT APPEAR

THE SAME FOR YOUR SECOND POST

[jehardiman]

Check your browser settings

[marshmat]

Interesting note:
The Mont Blanc / Imo incident, aka the Halifax Explosion, caused the largest man-made explosion on record - until Hiroshima.
There was an extensive inquiry into this incident; in the end it was discovered that failure to follow the applicable collison regulations was to blame. Ships in Halifax Harbour were supposed to be under the command of pilots from the local harbour authority; the Imo's captain apparently failed to obey the pilot's instructions. Following the crash, the Mont Blanc's pilot attempted to steer the ship out of the city, then to scuttle the ship, and finally to simply hoist the munitions flag- but the crew and captain had already launched the lifeboat and were about to make a mad dash for shore. It goes to show the importance of the COLREGS and why, these days, we ALWAYS FOLLOW THEM!

[safewalrus]

Marshmat, mate

I was always lead to believe that until that fatal day there were NO 'ColRegs' (other than local lore) the collision was the reason that they were brought about - Maritime lore I guess, but your right this is why we try to follow them (there are still numpties who don't!!)

[marshmat]

Right, Walrus. No COLREGS as we know them today, but within the harbour there were regulations governing right of way, channel usage, etc. That's why Halifax required harbour pilots on all out-of-area ships. The pilot, who knew the harbour regulations, was supposed to be in charge of the vessel while it was in the harbour. When, as in the case of the Imo, the crew listened to the captain instead of the pilot, things tended to go bad.

[Guillermo]

Something interesting on the EASTLAND disaster:

"A series of modifications had steadily increased the top-heavy tendency of the vessel.....she turned turtle the first time a full passenger load was taken aboard after the last modification. Ironically, the fatal addition was more lifeboats."

"No tests were performed by the builders or the inspectors to calculate the actual metacentric height of the Eastland until years after the disaster."

"We believe the Eastland disaster was a tragedy that was essentially waiting to happen. It wasn't a matter of if it would capsize at some point in time. It really was just a matter of when."

More info on the EASTLAND at:
http://www.chipublib.org/004chicago/.../eastland.html
http://www.bellsystemmemorial.com/eastland.html
http://www.eastlanddisaster.org/timea2a1.htm
http://www.genealogytrails.com/ill/c...ddisaster.html
http://www.wttw.com/main.taf?p=1,7,1,1,12

Deepening in the causes of the capsizing:
http://www.eastlanddisaster.org/causes.htm
http://www.eastlanddisaster.org/educproj20010330.pdf

Raising the EASTLAND:
http://www.inficad.com/~ksup/pm_oct15.html

[Guillermo]

Another big tragedy: The SULTANA's
Boilers explosion. More than 1500 lost.
http://www.rootsweb.com/~genepool/sultana.htm

Also ANDREA DORIA's:
Collision with freighter Stockholm.
http://www.andreadoria.org/

[yipster]

cant find it now but must have a pic of this dude leaning against a harold of free enterprise 10 liveboat on my way to england before that jumbo crashed nextdoor
seriously!

lesson: dont leave tho bow doors open and when you do dont make speed in shallow waters ( higher bow wave )

[marshmat]

Lessons learned so far.......
- Stability is important! Both intact and damaged! So pay attention to it!
- Follow the colregs, dammit!
- Fire + Boats = Bad
Seems to cover most of the wrecks mentioned here so far....

[jehardiman]

Originally Posted by Guillermo

Also ANDREA DORIA's:
Collision with freighter Stockholm.

Actually, I think of the ANDREA DORIA as a success story. Setting aside the cause of the collision (loss of situational awareness by both bridge teams), the actual designed in safety measures functioned as they should. The only causalties were killed in the initial impact, and though the DORIA was nearly severed, and secondary damage perforated WT bulkheads, she remained afloat long enough to evacuate all personnel.

[Tad]

This one is interesting

http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/e...23/hondapt.htm

[Sander Rave]

The Willem Ruys was the flagship of the Royal Rotterdamse Lloyd in the 1950's
it could hold 840 passengers. Building of the 23K tonne ship started in 1939 and was idle during W.O.II the ship was finished in 1946. Nice detail: my great grandfather was carpenter on this ship.

See pictures:http://www.rotterdammers.nl/kleingrut/galerij12.htm
http://users.skynet.be/verganeglorie...illem_ruys.htm

Her history in a nutshell:

January 1938
Ordered to be built, but lay uncompleted on the stocks at N.V. Koninklijke Maatschappij "De Schelde", Vlissingen, for the duration of the war.

1947
Launched and delivered to N.V. Koninklijke Rotterdamsche Lloyd, Rotterdam.

January 1964
Sold to Achille Lauro, Naples.

1965
Renamed Achille Lauro.

August 29, 1965
Suffered considerable damage after a serious fire while at Palermo.

April 1966
Back in service.

May 19, 1972
The bridge and accomodation was damaged by fire.

April 1975
Collided with the livestock carrier Yousset which was sunk.

December 3, 1981
A fire occurred in a bar and three passengers were killed during the evacuation.

October 1985
Taken by Arab terrorists in the Mediterranean who murdered an American passenger.

November 30, 1994
Caught fire off the coast of Somalia en route from Genoa to the Sychelles. The ship was abandoned without loss of life.

December 2, 1994
The burnt out hulk sank.