March 19, 1885] 



NATURE 



47i 



attendant circumstances. In localities where large quantities 

 have for some time been stored in the usual casks or barrels, 

 there Ls no difficulty in " striking oil" by sinking a well in the 

 immediately adjacent ground, in consequence of the large 



1 leakage of the spirit or oil which must unavoidably 

 occur. Even in the absence of leakage from the openings of 

 the barrels, or from any accidental imperfection, considerable 

 diffusion of the volatile liquid, and consequent escape by evapor- 

 ation ths ■ ' itself, must occur in large petroleum- 

 1! much exposed to the sun, and in the holds 

 of ships where the temperature is generally more or less high. 

 Even the precaution adopted of rinsing the barrels before use 

 with a stiff solution of glue is not effectual in preventing the 

 the spirit from these causes, as the effect of alterna- 

 tions of temperature upon the barrels must tend to reopen any 



places temporarily closed by the glue. Even at very 

 extensive depots, where special arrangements were adopted to 

 maintain the stores uniformly at a very moderate average tem- 

 perature, the loss of petroleum spirit from leakage and evapora- 

 tion was estimated, ten years ago, to amount to about 18 per 

 cent, of the total stored, while the average loss from the same 

 hi petroleum oil was about 9 per cent. By the intro- 

 duction, from time to time, of improvements of the arrange- 

 ments, the loss of spirit by leakage and evaporation has been 



iiderably reduced, amounting to less than S per cent, in 

 well-const) , while at some petroleum stores, more 



especially in Germany, the loss of oil from leakage is now said 

 nut to exceed I per cent. 



As in the case of the loss of coal-laden ships by explosions on 



the high seas, such loss has probably, in many cases, been due 



at of gas from the cargo, and to its diffusion 



rts of the ship more or less distant from the 



coal, producing an explosive atmosphere which might become 



ignited by the conveyance or existence of a light or fire, where 



it-, presence was not deemed dangerous ; so also it is not im- 



probable that the supposed Lss by effects of weather of missing 



els may have occasionally arisen from fire, 



caused in the first instance by the diffusion of vapour escaping 



from u ugh the air in contiguous parts of the ship, 



and the accidental ignition of the explosive atmosphere thus 



-ibility of such disasters has been demonstrated by the 

 repeated occurrence of accidents of this class in ports or their 

 vicinity. A very alarming instance of the kind occurred in 1871 

 on the Thames off Erith. Two brigantines had nearly com- 

 pleted the discharge of their cargoes of petroleum spirit 

 ('•naphtha"), when another vessel, the Ruth, from Nova 

 . containing upwards of 2000 barrels of the same material, 

 together with other inflammable cargo, anchored alongside 

 them. This ship had encountered very severe weather, and it 

 had been necessary to batten down the hatches; the cargo in 

 the hold had consequently become enveloped in the vapour 

 which had escaped from the casks. On the removal of the 

 hatches, an explosive mixture was speedily produced by access 

 of aii, and, through some unexplained cause, became ignited 

 ly after the vessel anchored. A violent explosion followed, 

 and the vessel was almost instantly in flames, the fire being 

 rapidly communicated to the other two ships, which were with 

 I y saved, after sustaining considerable injury, while the 

 Ruth, in which the fire raged uncontrollably, was after a time 

 towed to a spot where she could burn herself out and sink 

 without damage to the other shipping. Three of the crew were 

 seriously injured by the explosion, and the mate was blown to 

 stance into the water. 

 In June, 1S73, a vessel (the Maria Lee), laden with 300 barrels 

 of petroleum and other inflammable cargo, was destroyed by 

 fire on the Thames near the Purfleet powder magazines, con- 

 .rou.nt upon the explosion in her of a mixture of petroleum- 

 Hi and air; and a similar accident occurred about the same 

 time in Glasgow harbour. In the case of the Maria Lee it was 

 clearly proved that the vapour resulting from leakage and evapo- 

 ration of the spirit in the hold had diffused itself through the 

 ship during the night, which was very h t, the hatches having 

 been kept closed and covered with tarpaulin, in consequence of 

 the occurrence of a thunderstorm. Upon the captain entering 

 his cabin in the after part of the ship early in the morning (and 

 probably striking a light) a loud explosion took place, and flame 

 was immediately seen issuing from the fore-part of the ship. 



A very similar casualty to the • foregoing occurred at Liver- 

 pool four years afterwards, in a small vessel laden with petroleum- 



spirit, which proved not to have been at all adapted by internal 

 construction for the safe carriage of such a freight. The cargo 

 of 214 barrels of spirit had been stowed on board, and the 

 hatches were put down and covered with tarpaulin. The cabin 

 and forecastle of the smack were below deck, and were only 

 separated by a thin partition from the hold. The loading had 

 been completed between six and seven o'clock in the evening, 

 and at about eight o'clock the captain went into the cabin and 

 kindled a lamp. A man upon deck, who with another was 

 injured by the explosion and fire, saw the light burning in the 

 forecastle, and almost immediately afterwards the deck was 

 lifted and the man was thrown some distance, while flame issued 

 from the hold. The captain was terribly burned, and died 

 shortly afterwards. In vessels which are constructed for the 

 American petroleum trade, the cabins and forecastles are all 

 upon deck, that part of the vessel which carries the freight, 

 between decks, being as completely as possible separated from 

 the other parts of the ship. 



In some instances, ships laden with petroleum oil have become 

 inflamed, in an unexplained manner, without the occurrence of 

 any noticeable explosion, as was the case last year with a large 

 vessel (the Aurora) in the port of Calcutta, after she had dis- 

 charged more than half her cargo of 59,000 cases. The vessel 

 burned for nine hours, the river becoming covered with burning 

 oil as she gradually filled with water; the direction of the wind 

 and the condition of the tide -at the time of her sinking fortu- 

 nately prevented the fire from reaching the shipping higher up 

 the river. 



There is no doubt that, while with cargoes of the more volatile 

 petroleum products, classed as spirit, the greatest precautions 

 are necessary to guard against the possible ignition of more or 

 less explosive mixtures of vapour and air which will be formed 

 in the stowage spaces of ships, and which may extend to other 

 parts of the vessels unless very efficient ventilation be main- 

 tained, ships laden with the oils produced for use in ordinary 

 petroleum or paraffin lamps, and which, yielding vapours at 

 temperatures above the standard fixed as a guarantee of safety, 

 incur comparatively very little risk of accident, provided simple 

 precautions be observed. If, moreover, by some act of careless- 

 ness, or some accident not guarded against by the prescribed 

 precautions, a part of such cargo does become ignited, the 

 prompt and, as far as practicable, complete exclusion of air 

 from the seat of fire, by the secure battening down of the 

 hatches, will most probably save the ship from destruction. 

 There are numerous records of vessels having discharged cargoes 

 of petroleum oil, many barrels of which have been found greatly 

 charred on the outside, occasionally even to such an extent that the 

 receptacle has scarcely sufficient strength remaining to retain its 

 contents. A remarkable illustration of the controllable nature 

 of a fire in a petroleum-laden ship was furnished by the ship 

 Joseph Fish, laden with refined petroleum, lubricating oil, and 

 turpentine, which, a fortnight after leaving New York (in Sep- 

 tember, 1S79), was struck by lightning during a heavy squall, 

 the hatches being closed at the time. Smoke at once issued 

 from below, and the force-pumps were set to work directly to 

 keep the fire down. The hatches were removed for examination 

 as the fire appeared to gain ground, but were immediately re- 

 placed, and, after further pumping, as the fire appeared to 

 increase, and an explosion was feared, the crew took to their 

 boats, remaining near the ship. Eight hours afterwards they 

 were picked up by a pa-sing ship, which remained near the 

 Joseph Fish until daylight. Her captain then returned on board, 

 and as he found that the fire appeared to be out, the crew re- 

 turned and the ship resumed her v lyage, reaching the port of 

 London without further incident, except that, during the use of 

 the pumps for removing the water, considerable quantities of 

 petroleum and turpentine were pumped up with it from the 

 hold. When the cargo was discharged, a large number of the 

 barrels bore evidence of the great heat to which they had been 

 exposed ; several casks had gone to pieces, and the staves of 

 others were charred quite hali'-way through, although they still 

 retained their contents. 



The lecturer had occasion, ten years ago, to dwell upon the 

 recklessness with which fearful risks were incurred, in some 

 cases no doubt ignorantly, but in others scarcely without a know- 

 ledge, on the part of those who were responsible, of the nature 

 of the materials dealt with, by transporting volatile and highly 

 inflammable liquids together with explosive substances in barges 

 or other craft, and in doing so, moreover, without the adoption 

 of even the most obvious precautions for guarding against access 



