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VESTRIS DISASTER
Board of Trade Inquiry
Vessel Overloaded
Officials Found Blame-
worthy
LONDON, July 31.
The most protracted marine In-
quiry in British history culminated
to-day in a long report on the dis-
aster to the liner Vestris, which
foundered on November 12 last year
off the American coast with a loss
of more than 100 lives. In the re-
port the Commissioner (Mr. Butler
Aspinall, K.C.) answers seriatim 58
questions asked by the Board of
Trade.
Mr. Aspinall, In his report, expresses
the opinion that one of the chief con-
tributory causes of the sinking of the
Vestris was overloading. Some blame,
he said, must be attributed lo Mr.
Woods, the registered manager of the
owners, because he failed to take fur-
ther measures to prevent overloading
when informed that the vessel had pre-
viously sailed overloaded. He also
found that Mr. David Cook, represent-
ing the New York agents, did not take
proper steps to prevent overloading, and
he recommended that Cook be ordered
to pay £500 costs. Mr. Wheeler, marine
superintendent, was also blameworthy
in a lesser degree, and Mr. Heasley,
assistant superintendent, blameworthy
in a still lesser degree.
Mr. Aspinall found that Messrs. Cook,
Wheeler, and Heasley were guilty of
wrongful default, which contributed to
the vessel's loss.
DELAY IN CALLING FOR HELP.
The captain, the report states, should
have sent out an S.O.S. six hours
earlier. If he bad done so one or more
ships would certainly have arrived be-
fore the Vestris sank. He may 'have
been unduly optimistic, and thought the
ship would yet be saved, but his action
regarding the boats was open to criti-
cism.
Mr. Aspinall points out, however, that
ns both the captain and the first officer
were drowned valuable evidence was
lost. The owners should cancel in-
structions respecting S.O.S. signals,
leaving captains with wider discretion.
Ho says: "The Vestris was not in a
safe condition on leaving Hoboken, and
no steps were taken to bring her to the
proper marks before putting to sea. She
was unfit to encounter sea perils."
Among other contributory causes
were the ship's tenderness, insuffici-
ent margin of stability and reserve
buoyancy, heavy weather and high
wind producing a list. Her cargo\and
coal were properly loaded, and suffici-
ently secured, but the coal should not
have been carried in the upper chutes.
Half-doors and the upper deck were not
watertight, and certain deck hatches
were not battened down. The water
reached tlie lower bunkers, causing a
. list, and also probably prevented the
pumps from wot king efficiently. Also,
when the list reached a certain angle,
the water entered the upper deck
through the scuppers.
NO LACK OF DISCIPLINE.
It was Impossible to say if the ab*
hence of .definite orders to go to the
boat stations and abandon ship caused
loss of life The reason why more
boats did not leave the ship was pro-
bably that tbe disaster came before it
was expected. Tliere was no lack of
order or discipline among the crew.
There was some disorganisation, be-
cause, owing to the ship's list, passen-
gers and crew went in boats other than
those allotted. Women and children
were placed In the port boats in mistake
for the application of the traditional
order: "Women and children first."
Tho chief officer was amiss regarding
a certain hatchway, but it did not
amount to a wrongful act or default.
Neither the chief engineer nor the own-
ers, nor Woods were guilty of a wrong-
ful act or default. There was no fault
to find with the ship's equipment or
machinery. The lifeboats were sea-
worthy, and launching and manning ar-
rangements were efficient.
The Court rocommeuded that Board
of Trade rules applying to emigrant
ships should be extended to all fore'ign
going passenger ships, and Consuls
should observe the droughts of British
ships leaving fo-eign ports, and report
to the Board of Trade.
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