25 



COLLISIONS AT SEA. 



COLLISIONS AT SEA. 



COLLISIONS AT SEA. The accidental contact of vessels which 

 traverse the ocean and the numerous channels and roadsteads of 

 Europe, is a painful feature of commerce ; because the extension of 

 commerce must increase in fearful ratio the chances of calamities which 

 are known as collisions at sea. 



These calamities present to us danger to human life in a new aspect. 

 Its novelty consists not so much in the peculiarly frightful nature of 

 accidents of this class, as in the causes which produce them. In the 

 olden time, or even within the memory of the present generation, when 

 ships ran foul of each other, it was seldom that loss of life attended 

 these mishaps ; and in the Channels the amount of damage would 

 frequently extend, perhaps, to the loss of an anchor or two, the start- 

 ing of a butt-end, or, perhaps, a crash not difficult to patch up until 

 some port could be gained. The form of our shipping in those days 

 was rather adapted to the carrying of burthens than for speed ; and 

 consequently, from the fuller lines of the bow of the ship the blow 

 was distributed over a greater surface of timber, when ships were, 

 moreover, built with greater strength. 



Now, however, not only do ships, as a general rule, possess increase 

 of speed, but then* lines are so adjusted as to present the least possible 

 resistance in their forward end, and their bows are absolutely wedge- 

 like. Nor is this all ; for instead of the fore-part of the stem-piece 

 itself being 12 or 14 inches in thickness, many iron steamers of thou- 

 sands of tons burthen present no more breadth of stem at the fore-part 

 than belongs to a London wherry. Hence, in these times, circum- 

 stances seem to conspire towards the increase of danger in collisions ; 

 and from the combined influences of increased speed and the sharpness 

 of stems, vessels at sea are really and daily in danger of being literally 

 cut in two. In reading tales of chivalry, our horror may have been deep 

 at the description of prowess and strength which would cleave a man 

 to the brisket : shall we be unmoved now, when we hear of a fine 

 ship being in like manner, and without any warning, cut through 

 timbers and bulkhead, and windlass and deck, almost to the fore-mast 

 itself ? Yet such hat occurred, and is always threatening. In the col- 

 lision between the Mail and the Excelsior, off Birkenhead, in 1856, 

 even worse than this happened, for the whole of the unfortunate 

 passengers who were sleeping forward were in one instant crushed, and 

 mangled, and destroyed in the general wreck, from the cuttiny-dmcn 

 blow of a sharp stem ! 



Thus collisions at sea must be viewed as evils of very great magni- 

 tude, requiring energetic and watchful legislation for their prevention ; 

 for, in addition to the changes in the mere forms of shipping referred 

 to, another element of mischief is looming in the fast-diminishing 

 distance, it is the increased size of shipping. Collisions, it is true, 

 have only hitherto sent dozens of our fellow-creatures suddenly into 

 eternity ; but the period is at hand when these dozens may become 

 hundred*, perhaps thousands, unless some more powerful influences are 

 called into more active operation to prevent it. It is peculiarly the 

 duty of a Cyclopaedia to grapple impartially with any question in arts 

 and sciences resulting from proyresi, and to examine the various subjects 

 of its contents, in order to detect new features which menace, or to 

 watch known aspects which indicate changes; and this subject will 

 Ungly receive our proper attention. 



The great difficulty of the question of collision is perhaps the pre- 

 vailing erroneous idea that it is merely a nautical question ; while, in 

 reality, it affects directly the whole community, as passengers of ships 

 are the members alike of coast-resident and inland families ; and it 

 is remarkable that ships carrying only their ordinary crews seem to 

 have been leas liable to the accidents under consideration than those 

 carrying passenger*. 



An extraordinary fact'has been elicited from the careful investigation 

 of accidents which occurred in 1856. One would naturally have 

 expected to find that collisions would especially occur during the time 

 of fog or haze, or certainly in the hours of darkness ; but the editor of 

 the ' Nautical Magazine ' has produced a statement or abstract in that 

 valuable periodical, in which we find the following table of the col- 

 lisions in 1856. (' Nautical Mag.,' Nov., 1857) : 



STATE OF WIATHER. BT DAT. 



BT NIOHT. TOTAL COLUHOXS, 



Dark . 



Dark and clear 



Very dark . 



Hazy . . 



Cloudy 



Thick and foggy 



Clear . 



Unknown 



(6A.M 



to 6 P.M.) (0 P.M. to 6 A.M.) 



31 



2 4 



5 



11 80 



20 



5 19 



36 81 



2 10 



Total . . .66 



250 



11 





 5 



92 

 29 

 24 

 117 

 12 



318 



From the above it actually appears that the yreatcr number of collisions 

 occur in dear weather, and the least number in dark or thick weather. 

 To whom, then, can we, in a spirit of impartiality, impute culpability ? 

 When mariners themselves are so seriously implicated, we can only 

 turn imploringly (as in the cause of humanity) to the authorities 

 themnelves. It is easy to accuse even these of neglect, but it would 

 roally be difficult to convict them even of indifference. The collection 

 f materials for the above table is of itself a proof that the government 



of the country is alive to the importance of the question, that the 

 naval heads of the Board of Trade are anxious to remedy this crying 

 evil, this standing blot upon our seamanship and vigilance. The only 

 inference an impartial public can draw is, that the onus and odium of 

 the fault must rest, in a great measure, with the officers of ships them- 

 selves. It is well to consider if the comparative exemption of ships 

 of war from collision arises from better discipline better look-out. 

 From the above it is evident that, 



1st, More attention is called for on board merchant-ships generally ; 



2nd, The rules of the road by day may be defective ; 



3rd, The rules of the road by night may be defective also. 



Probably legislation can only partially present a remedy for the 

 defect first mentioned. Surely it is beneath the dignity of a British 

 sailor, either to run into or be run into by any craft that floats. There 

 was a time when vigilance formed the very key-stone in the character 

 of the English seaman ; it is hoped the present generation will main- 

 tain this character. It may be that the changes from sailing to 

 steaming have unsettled the habits of seamen, and that, in the con- 

 fusion, accidents, for a time unavoidable, may occur ; but is it not 

 reasonable to expect that every merchant vessel should have at least 

 one able seaman in each watch whose duty and responsibility should be 

 to prevent collision ? Surely precautions and responsibilities which 

 attach to railway officials, might without hardship be enforced on, 

 and attached to, officers of the mercantile marine, where such very 

 serious interests of life and property are at stake. But legislation may 

 be greatly assisted by some conventional, better-understood rules 

 among ship-masters themselves ; as for instance, larger steamers, being 

 often difficult to steer readily, and drawing more water, should claim a 

 proper consideration from smaller ones. A few examples made by the 

 Board of Trade, in the salutary punishment of obstinate or unyielding 

 masters of small craft, might, in river or estuary navigation, partially 

 remove danger. 



As regards the second assumption, namely, defective rules of the 

 road by day, it is extremely difficult to know where to place the limit 

 between stringent law and freedom of judgment. Nay, it may even 

 be demonstrated, that compliance with any known law or rule as to the 

 movement of the helm, irrespective of the judgment of the helmsman, 

 would prove in many cases disastrous ; and those who attempt by 

 diagrams to illustrate any proposed rule, ought to remember that, in 

 order to render then- illustrations acceptable and useful, the vessels 

 must not only be supposed to answer their helms with equal readiness, 

 but their speed must be precisely similar. A discretionary power in 

 commanders, by day, seems to be more valuable than all regulations, 

 excepting such good old ones for sailing-vessels as starboard tack hold 

 on, port tack give way, &e. ; and for steamers, a good look-out, a 

 good man at the helm, and passing each other on the port side, <c., ought 

 to be enough. 



In crowded rivers or channels, something might be done towards 

 the greater safety of navigation. Something is, in fact, called for, on 

 account of the various customs which prevail in certain districts ; but 

 a knowledge of them seems to be confined to the localities. And com- 

 mittees and others who have approached the question of collisions at 

 sea, all seem to have neglected to give due prominence to the want of 

 attention to that which is the root of evil, namely, that when ships 

 are approaching in opposite or oblique directions, no collision would be 

 h'kely to take place if one commander knew what the other was about to do 

 with his helm. Positive safety hinges on this. 



So little however is this precious hint known or sought for in general, 

 that, absolutely, a man-of-war steamer navigating the Thames, and 

 meeting a river steamer, would use signs to her helmsman having 

 opposite significations in each vessel ; that is to say, for instance, the 

 naval commander extending his hand to signify to his helmsman 

 port, might be understood by the river steamer's rule to be about to 

 starboard the helm. There is no rule of the road as enforced by 

 law to prevent this : if any exists, the writer distinctly assures the 

 public that it is not generally known, and even naval officers are left to 

 their own judgment in this matter. And again, as if still further to 

 complicate this serious question, a commander in each service will give 

 his order by hand, according as he is fitted with a wheel or a tiller ; for, 

 as an example, motion of the hand generally indicates the direction in 

 which motion is to be communicated to the part of the steering appa- 

 ratus which is touched by the hand [STEERING APPARATUS], and the 

 spokes of the wheel move in a direction contrary to that of the tiller. 

 Without the aid, therefore, of some further legislation, can we hope to 

 prevent collisions ? It may, moreover, be remarked, that if two persons 

 are meeting carelessly on a pavement, collision is only avoided by one 

 of the two knowing in proper time what the other is about to do. The 

 same remark applies to shipping : a ready means of knowing in, time 

 the intended motions of an opponent seems indispensable to safety. 

 Some such rule, therefore, as the following is much wanted : When a 

 commander (throughout the world, if possible), seeing another vessel 

 approach, extends his right arm horizontally, let it signify to his own 

 helmsman starboard the helm ; let the extension of his left arm 

 signify to his own helmsman port your helm. His opponent, seeing 

 this, could act on the moment, and would know what to do accordingly. 

 If in a steamer and about to stop her, let both his arms be held up 

 while he gives the word. Accidents by day could, under such simple. 

 rule, scarcely occur. 



