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THE WRECKET "ROTTERDAM"
The Evening Times, August 5, 1897, Thursday
Steamer Goes Ashore.
St. Johns, N. F., Aug. 5.
The Dutch tank steamer Rotterdam, bound from New York to Rotterdam, with oil, went ashore on Mistaken point, near Cape Race. In a dense fog. She has been towed off by the steamer Barcelona, and an examination showed! that her bottom was badly damaged.
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The Evening Telegram, August 6, 1897, Friday
Arrives in Port, accompanied by the "Barcelona"
- Some details of the ship and the occurrence hawser made fast to the mainmast
- They part, owing to the great strain.
On Wednesday evening we gave a report of the wreck of the Dutch steamer Rotterdam, Captain Voege, at Mistaken Point. To-day we give some details. The ship left New York, bound for Rotterdam, on Friday, July 30 th; cargo: 1,787,520 gallons of petroIeum, or about the equivalent of 5.500 English tons. Fine weather, with intermittent fog, was experienced till on last Tuesday evening. Then a dense fog closed down upon the ship, but, nevertheless, full speed, 11 knots, was maintained, and the ship ran ashore, bow on to the rocks at 11 o'clock Tuesday night.
The result of the contact hardly needs to be told, and can very well be realized. The damage was great, and captain and crew soon knew to their grief that they had got in the wrong place, and it was their particular business to figure out how they did get there, whether fog, current, reckoning, cornpas-ses, judgment, or land was at fault. Distress signals, in the shape of rockets, were sent up, and the S.S. Barcelona, Captain Campbell, which left Halifax for St. John's at 7.30 o'clock on Sunday morning, came upon the scene very shortly alter the accident and lay bv the distressed ship.
Mr. Walsh, the chief officer of the S.S. Barcelona and four of her crew, boarded the vessel about 3 o'clock in the morning to ascertain what could be done in the way of assistance. Subsequently, at daylight, Capt. Campbell boarded her to talk over matters with Captain Voege, and to arrive at a conclusion as to assistance, The Barcelona began towing at 5.30 in the morning, and then, indeed, begau difficult work.
The exact place the Rotterdam lodged was Shingle Beach Cove, between Mistaken Point and the Drook. Having struck the point of land she lay along broadside, port side to land, and was, at the same time, pretty well land bound astern. Her bow faced east, and the Barcelona towed on a hawser from her stern and headed about S. by E. as, she did so. There was a big tumble on at the time, and some venturesome work was done by the rescuing ship. The Rotterdam,s engines were set fuIl speed astern to tug and back off; the Barcelona's full speed ahead to help off, in angle, style, and to prevent stern collision. The Barcelona's work became entirely risky, and the risk was increased by the fact that she drew 22-4 feet of water, and by the parting of cables, by reason of the very great strain. She nearly lodged on a ledge at one time, and it was only by most skilful seamanship she was got clear. An idea of the strain may be obtained from those facts, The Rotterdam lay firmly imbedded on the rocks with a very large hole in her bottom; the Bar-celona's enginestowing at full speed; her "bits" unable to withstand the pressure, and so, the hawsers were made fast around the mainmast, and that spar vibrated at times as if it were going to go out of her; further-more, the cables parting - a 12-inch manilla hawser snapped twice, and a 4 3/4 inch steel hawser gave way once, it completely stranded out to one part from the strain. The length of the steel hawser out in one time was 120 fathoms, a length admitting of a certain amount of elasticity, even in steel, is an extra powerful strain. The Rotterdam was towed off about 11 o'clock Wednesday forenoon, aud, it appears she was the first ship of any that ever got firmly fastened on, to float out of the place again. No doubt she, too, would leave her ribs there but for the speedy and beneficial assistance of the Barcelona. It would not have taken many more hours to finish her; as it was she would not have floated after getting off, but for the fact that she was a tank ship. Over half the cargo of petroleum went out of her, and three powerful pumps, used at the petroleum, were brought into requsition for pumping water, and they each put out about 300 tons of water per hour.
The Rotterdam passed Cape Race at 12.30 p.m. on Wednesday, steering her own way, the Barcelona passing 20 minutes later, aud both ships steamed slowly inward, arriving into St. John's at 8.30 p.m. The Rotterdam is 3,137 tons nett, about the largest tank steamer that ever came here. She carries two smokestacks, and has a spacious saloon and retiring rooms, giving quite an air of refinement to a mere carrier of cargo.
Messrs. Bowring Brothers are agents for the ship, and will do the business as they always do, in a satisfac-tory manner The remaining cargo will be shipped hence, The Barcelona's bill for assistance will certainly be a heavy one, particularly, too, as she was coming, not alone with a heavy cargo, but also with mails and pas-sengers, and speedy arrival was one of the essentials of the passage. However, arbitrators or the courts will decide upon that question.
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