Adjutant Voyage History

Masters: 1894-95 Richard Oakley: 1900 C Modersitzki: 1900-10 AE Harding: 1911-14 E Hutchings.

Crew August 1894: Grassam, J, chief officer.

Adjutant left Ibrail, Romania on 20 July 1894 on a voyage for Hamburg with a cargo of 3,200 tons of grain & a total crew of 23. She struck rocks & was stranded on the coast of Morocco on 4 August 1894.

Wreck Inquiry Adjutant November 1894: before Mr RHB Marsham, with assessors Captain Ward & Captain Ronaldson. This was an inquiry as to the stranding of the British steamship Adjutant at Basse Point on the coast of Morocco on August 4 last. Mr. Arthur Russell appeared for the solicitor to the Board of Trade (Mr W Murton) Mr HW Nelson for the captain & Mr W Batham for the owners. Adjutant was a steel screw steamer of 2,393 tons built at West Hartlepool in 1893, registered at the Port of London & owned by the General Steam Navigation Company. She left Ibrail on July 2nd last with a cargo of about 3,200 tons of grain & a crew of 23 hands on a voyage to Hamburg. At 10 35pm on August 4 the vessel went ashore during foggy weather on Basse Point in Benzus Bay on the coast of Morocco. Assistance having been obtained from the shore, a large part of the cargo was discharged & on August 10 the ship was floated & taken to Gibraltar. Captain Richard Oakley, the master, detailed the circumstances of the voyage, & said that on August 4 they were in the Mediterranean approaching the Straits of Gibraltar. After passing Cape Sabinal on the coast of Spain the weather became foggy & the engines were slowed down. At about 8pm on the 4th the gun at Gibraltar was heard abeam & at 8 45, as the fog continued dense, he determined to return to the Mediterranean. The course was accordingly altered to east-NE the engines still going slow. At 9 15pm the fog lifted & he saw the light on Europa Point about three miles distant. He then put the ship upon a west by south quarter south course, & proceeded at full speed. This course was continued until 10 5pm when it was altered to west by south quarter south, & five minutes later it was again altered to west half north. At 10 15, the weather having thickened, the engines were slowed, & at 10 20pm they were put at half speed. At 10 35 witness left the bridge to consult his chart, but very shortly afterwards he was called back by the mate, who had been left in charge, & who, having seen breakers ahead, had hard a-ported & reversed the engines full speed; but the vessel struck & remained fast on Basse Point. Being asked how he accounted for the stranding, witness said that the only cause he could suggest was that he misjudged his distance from Europa Point light. He did not use the lead-because he did not consider that it would be of any use. It was about 10 35pm when the ship struck, & the fog was then very thick. Replying to Mr Nelson, the witness said that he had no opportunity of checking his distance from Europa Point light by means of a four-point bearing, & at that time it was impossible for him to have used the lead, because no lead line would have reached the bottom. The distance from the 100-fathoms line of soundings to the place where the ship went ashore was half a mile, & just outside the line there was a depth of 150 fathoms. The currents in the Straits of Gibraltar were very irregular, & sometimes made a great noise. J. Grassam, chief officer, & several other members of the crew were also examined.

 The Court found that proper measures were taken to ascertain & verify the position of the vessel when Cape Sabinal was passed on August 4. A safe & proper course was thereafter steered up to 7 40pm, when the fog became thick & the land obscured. No measures were taken to ascertain & verify the position of the vessel at or about 8pm, when Europa Point signals were heard, no means being then practically available for that purpose. At 9.15pm, when Europa Point light was sighted, a bearing of that light was taken, which was the only measure then available. The line of 100 fathom soundings being close to the coast, & the master having no reason to suppose that he was approaching it, was justified in not using the lead. Having regard to the state of the weather, the vessel was not navigated at too great a rate of speed. The cause of the casualty was that the master under-estimated his distance from Europa Point light at 8pm & again at 9 15pm & was set to the southward by the current, which was stated on the chart to be irregular near the coast. The vessel was navigated with care, but the Court thought that it would have been more prudent, considering the state of the weather, had the master not tried to proceed through the Straits while uncertain of his position. Neither the master nor either of the officers was in default.

Adjutant Yardbook - page 1 of 2.

Adjutant Yardbook pages.

This section will, in time, contain the stories of more than 450 merchant ships built or owned in the Hartlepools, and which were lost during the First World War. As an illustration of the truly global nature of shipbuilding, these ships were owned by companies from 22 different countries, including more than 30 sailing under the German flag at the outbreak of war.