NATURE 



485 



THURSDAY, MARCH 25, 1880 



THE INSTITUTION OF NA VAL ARCHITECTS 



THE recent annual meeting of the Institution of Naval 

 Architects was remarkable chiefly for the number 

 of interesting papers affecting the mercantile marine. 

 There were three of special interest, viz., "On Causes of 

 Unseaworthiness in Merchant Steamers," by Mr. Benja- 

 min MarteH, Chief Surveyor to Lloyd's Register; "On 

 Cellular Construction of Merchant Ships," by Mr. W. 

 John, also of Lloyd's Register j and on "Steel in the 

 Shipbuilding Yard,'' by Mr. W. Denny, of the well-known 

 firm of W. Denny and Bros., Shipbuilders on the Clyde. 



The subject of Mr. MarteU's paper was, in view of the 

 recent agitation in Parliament and elsewhere, deemed of 

 such importance that the Council, contrary to the usual 

 rule, devoted the whole of one day to its discussion. 

 Certainly no better authority could be found to guide 

 public opinion in forming a correct estimate as to the 

 true causes of the numerous recent losses of grain-laden 

 vessels, than the author of this paper. The public, led 

 in this matter by the not too-well informed zeal of Mr. 

 Plimsoll, has too hastily ascribed these losses to the 

 prevalent custom of lading grain in bulk, without adequate 

 provision having been made for preventing the shifting of 

 the cargo to one side, or the other, of the vessel, in case 

 heavy weather should be encountered. Without ignoring 

 this cause of loss in ill-designed vessels, Mr. Martell takes 

 a far wider view of the matter, and ascribes these nume- 

 rous disasters to the following ten principal sources : — 



" 1. Weakness of structure from deficient scantlings, 

 combined with faulty construction in arrangement and 

 workmanship, together with inferiority of material. 



" 2. Deterioration, causing local defects and unsea- 

 worthiness. 



" 3. Absence of proper control over cocks, valves, and 

 pipes connecting the engines and boilers with the sea. 

 Also a want of proper arrangement of bilge pump suc- 

 tions, and of suction pipes from sea and bilge, whereby 

 water, from inadvertence or carelessness, can be run from 

 the sea into a vessel. 



" 4. Faulty and deficient pumping arrangements, pre- 

 venting the accumulated water being pumped from the 

 wings in turn of bilge, after a vessel, from shifting cargo 

 or other cause, has become inclined. 



"5. Breaking down of machinery, and the consequent 

 falling off of the vessel into the trough of the sea. 



"'6. Bad navigation — leading to collision or vessels 

 running ashore. 



" 7. Inefficient protection of openings in the deck. 



" 8. Hasty and improper loading, particularly of grain 

 cargoes in bulk, and deficiency of shifting boards or bulk- 

 heads, or other means to prevent cargo from shifting. 



•' 9. Disproportionate dimensions of steamers, com- 

 bined with undue height of double bottom, thereby 

 causing, with some description of cargoes, deficiency of 

 stability. 



" 10. Overloading." 



Each of the foregoing causes has no doubt at some 

 time or other claimed its victims, but as the first six are 

 thoroughly well understood already, the paper deals 

 chiefly with the fifth and the last four. 



The breaking-down of machinery has probably been 

 the cause of more disasters than is generally suspected. 

 It is well known that the first-class Transatlantic steamers, 

 Vol. xxi. — No. 543 



provided with the most powerful engines, have often in 

 very heavy weather as much as they can do to keep their 

 course in safety. It will readily be seen that under- 

 engined cargo steamers must under similar circumstances 

 adapt themselves to a safe and practicable course, and 

 can, when steaming full power ahead, only just manage to 

 keep their positions, and may even in spite of all exer- 

 tions drift astern. If in these cases the engines thus 

 heavily strained become temporarily disabled, the vessel 

 will refuse to answer her helm, and she will inevitably fall 

 off into the trough of the sea, and be placed in the greatest 

 danger. The same thing will happen, even if the engines 

 work well, provided anything goes wrong with the 

 stearing-gear, which is often of an intricate character. 



The seventh source of danger, viz., inefficient protec- 

 tion of openings in the deck, should be, one would think, 

 easy enough to provide against, by properly covering and 

 inclosing all hatches, stokeholds, &c. But the inclosing 

 of these spaces is discouraged by the operation of the 

 Tonnage Laws. The following extract will throw light 

 on this question : — 



" The same may be said of the protection round the 

 openings of the engine and boiler space. The best pro- 

 tection possible is an inclosed bridge house around the 

 engine and boiler openings ; but as the law at present 

 stands, it encourages the ends of this bridge superstructure 

 being left open instead of being closed by iron bulkheads. 



" I was much struck with this a few months ago, when 

 I officially visited a large number of steamers in course 

 of construction in the North for the Atlantic trade, and 

 on pointing out to the owners or builders the desirability 

 of continuing the bridge house to the sides of the vessel, 

 and inclosing it so as to secure effectively the casings 

 round the engine and boiler openings against heavy- 

 Atlantic waves, I was invariably met by the observation 

 that it would add too much to the working expenses of 

 the ship, as this space would be measured for tonnage." 



This clearly is a case for legislative improvement. 



The eighth cause, viz., the improper loading of grain 

 cargoes, is the one which, above all others, engrosses 

 public attention at the present time. There is no doubt 

 but that grain, when loaded too hastily in bulk, will settle 

 very considerably, thus leaving empty spaces between the 

 upper surface of the grain and the decks, rendering the 

 cargo liable to shift in bad weather. In such cases, if the 

 vessel have but a small margin of stability, she may only 

 too probably capsize. Mr. Martell describes the method 

 of loading and packing grain in various types of steamer, 

 and the means which are adopted in order to prevent the 

 cargo in the hold from settling and from shifting. The 

 efficacy of these means depends largely upon the way in 

 which they are carried out. It is commonly supposed 

 that by earning the grain wholly in bags, this source of 

 loss would be obviated completely. Mr. Martell, how- 

 ever, tells us that a cargo composed partly of grain, and 

 partly of bags, can be made just as safe as one containing 

 nothing but bags ; and that on the other hand the loading 

 of all grain in bags will not cure the evil, if the vessel be 

 deficient in stability, and if the other causes of danger be 

 overlooked. 



This question of deficient] stability seems to us of the 

 most vital importance, and we commend the following 

 expression of opinion of Mr. Martell to the attention of 

 Mr. Plimsoll and the Board of Trade : — 



