NATURE 



49 



THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 18S3 



THE "AUSTRAL" JUDGMENT 



THE inquiry into the sinking of the mail-steamer 

 Austral in Sydney Harbour has probably attracted 

 more attention than any other case which has come before 

 the Wreck Commissioner's Court since it was established. 

 Not merely those specially interested in or connected 

 with shipping but the public generally were desirous of 

 knowing how it happened that a magnificent sfeamship 

 of the most recent construction should have foundered at 

 anchor in smooth water and in a dead calm. It is satis- 

 factory, therefore, to find that the causes of the accident 

 have been discovered, and that they do not affect the 

 reputation of the ship, nor the credit of her designers. 

 The circumstances of the accident are briefly these : — The 

 Austral had completed her second outward voyage, had 

 discharged nearly all her cargo, and had partially refilled 

 her coal-bunkers. A collier came alongside to continue 

 the coaling, and the work was proceeded with during the 

 night. In order to facilitate coaling, and to keep the 

 interior of the ship clean, coal-ports had been formed in 

 the sides, the height of these ports above water when the 

 ship was upright being about five feet. The coaling was 

 rapidly done, and no proper supervision was exercised by 

 any of the officers of the ship ; consequently a consider- 

 able weight of coal was introduced on the starboard side 

 without any corresponding weight being placed on the 

 port side, and the ship was gradually heeled over. At 

 length such an inclination was reached that the sills of 

 the after coaling-ports were brought to the sea-level ; 

 water began to enter the ports and to pass freely into the 

 interior of the ship, and in fifteen to twenty minutes from 

 the time the alarm was given she sank. No one appears 

 to have observed the dangerous proximity of the coal- 

 ports to the water until it was too late to save the vessel. 

 Had there been ordinary care and watchfulness the 

 accident would not have occurred. 



This last statement can be inade with certainty in view 

 of the scientific evidence respecting the stability of the 

 Austral given in the course of the inquiry. After the 

 vessel had been raised and brought home the owners 

 commissioned a competent naval architect, Mr. Elgar, to 

 thoroughly investigate her conditions of stability at the 

 time of the accident, and under various circumstances. 

 As a basil for this investigation an inclining experiment 

 was made on the vessel, and the vertical position of her 

 centre of gravity was ascertained. Simple calculations 

 enabled the investigator to pass from the experimental 

 condition of the ship to all other conditions brought under 

 review, and to place before the Court ample materials for 

 answerin^' the question — Was she a stable vessel ? This 

 answer was distinctly in the affirmative ; indeed there is 

 no room tor doubting that with proper management, and 

 the occasional use of the water-ballast with which she 

 was provided, the Austral possessed sufficient stability. 

 It is unnfcessary to enter into details as to her " stiffness '' 

 and range 'f stability in various conditions of lading; but 

 it may be Aonh stating that, according to the evidence, 

 had the coai-ports been closed and all weighti on board 

 Vol. XXIX. — No. 733 



secured, she would have been practically uncapstzable at 

 the time of the accident. 



It would be out of place here to discuss the finding of 

 the Court as regards the responsibility or blameworthiness 

 of the owners, officers, and other persons connected with 

 the management of the ship. One broad general prin- 

 ciple laid down by the Commissioner in his judgment may 

 be considered with propriety, since it affects not merely 

 the owners of the Austral, but shipowners as a body. 

 Mr. Rothery is strongly of opinion that shipowners should 

 cause investigations to be made of the stability of their 

 ships, and should furnish captains with the results of 

 these investigations for information and guidance. In 

 the case of the Austral no such investigations were made 

 until after the accident, and what happened with her is 

 the common case with ships of the mercantile marine. 

 There has been a remarkable advance in the applications 

 of scientific methods to merchant-ship construction of 

 late years, and the consideration of probleins of stability 

 has been forced upon the attention of shipbuilders and 

 shipowners in many cases. But the adoption of the 

 Commissioner's opinion would involve a much greater 

 extension of scientific method and exact calculation than 

 has yet taken place. 



Shipbuilders necessarily have no control over the load- 

 ing of the ships they build ; and in most merchant 

 ships the stability is practically determined by the 

 nature and distribution of the cargoes carried. Up 

 to the present time exceedingly little information is on 

 record as to the actuil stability of laden merchant ships ; 

 and their loading usually has to be done under very 

 hurried and difficult conditions by men possessed of great 

 practical experience, but having little or no acquaintance 

 with the principles of stability. Owners have hitherto 

 been content to depend almost exclusively on experience 

 with previous vessels in determining the ditiiensions of 

 new ships, and have not set much store on the result of 

 scientific calculation. Builders, on the other hand, re- 

 cognising their want of control over the working of the 

 vessels, have refrained, for the most part, from making 

 detailed calculations of stability. Even the leading firms 

 have chiefly confined attention to experimental and other 

 investigations which would be useful in preparing subse- 

 quent designs ; and in most cases the owners have not 

 had communicated to them any facts which may have 

 been ascertained respecting the stability of ships. Mr. 

 Rothery maintains that all this should be changed : that 

 fuller investigations should be universally made, and the 

 results furnished by the owners to the captains. 



The great, if not paramount, importance of due con- 

 sideration being given to the stability of merchant ships, 

 and particularly of cargo-carrying steamers, is recognised 

 by the most eminent authorities. Mr. Rothery in his 

 recommendation indorses what has been said and written 

 repeatedly of late years. But while there is a very general 

 assent to the proposition that something should be done 

 to secure a due amount of stability and to prevent im- 

 proper or excessive loading, there is not a similar agree- 

 ment respecting the means to be employed. For example 

 some of the professional witnesses at the Austral inquiry 

 expressed doubts as to the wisdom of placing in the 

 hands of merchant-ship captains the results of calcula- 

 tions for stability expressed in the forms of " metacentric 



