New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1883-01-08
DISASTERS TO STEAMSHIPS.
Np,pry 200 LOST LAST YEAR.
.,onr THAN TWO THOUSAND LIVES LOST Win
NUM- ,,,osv1s-cAusRs OF 1HE DISASTERS.

,rho l;st eiyes total OF 2S4 steamships anu ia'to
,iver steamboats, which have met WITH olsas'ei
Only n few OF these have been toated ana repa'io"
again. The aggregate tonnage was $4,000 Us
M these the British vessels numbered 1'&' 90
total Of 236,516 tons; American IT., anu i'o' 90
ions; Austrian 2, and 1902 tons; beiS,'n - 40
a247 tons; Gillian l. 097 tons; pani'. ,,,s
tons; Dutch g. {. 22S tons; French TO- 80 D.
C.,,nan II IA 735 tors; Italian J. 1913 IONS I'"'-
- > ose TONS. Spanish II, 9.037 tons; s"e-
81 . o 900 tons: Grrek /. 1880 tons; unknown
.a'ianoI,0, 40 OF this list III were stranded %
- emit bv collision 4 were destroyed by eHph'
.,on 10 foupdered 3 capsized. were oulneu'
80 sruk nv ice. were abandoned ID siIA'ne
and,tion and % are missing. The totai hulluei VI
lives lost was 1902.
,..o.;.,, Of ,ese vessels that have met disaster
80, Emo Yards of certain marine undertakers
~, th ,yost coast of England yards that have be-
come Notorious for the mortality lists o. Their shps
n,any of them we're old iron steamers, originally
$50, which were cut in two and heightened. vi
,bo long list 1879 were sO-called waer-Dallast
vessels Some of them had water ballast trimming
Tanks placed at both ends Of the vess'i Others had
,xater-ballast compartments fitted either forward
~ abaf, the engines and boiler spaces, ana occa-
,ionallv both forward and aftwhlch are irequeh'iy
nsed as cargo spaces Still others had watt-oaias'
snaces in the bottom OF the vessel. confined 10 one
hold or fitted in both the fore and ait hoios' Oh
were provided with water-balast IN the iongituHi-
nal construction along the bottom OF the vessel
The losses of some of these vessels may also DC
ottyibuted so excessive efforts for speed. In the
coustrl,cliou of vessels now too often everything
else is considered secondary tothe one great opect-
10 get the utmost speed possible. Feloel'y' con-
stantly increasing velocity IN steamships
demanded. and proper attention to the strength oi
the materials used is not always gwen IL ~
question whether in many cases the iron slpS oui'
cow nosses in proportion TO their ize, the stanch-
ness and buoyancy requisite TO withstaDu ''o oio
ments that must be battled with on the ocean,
Sch disasters rs have occurred to tine Atlantic the
(;rosscr Kurfurst. the Pommerania the Htrder. the
Tscambia and the Bahama point TO some fault
IN their construction or else to absence OF proper
regnla iops in regard to the use Oh
The safety appliances which should form part OF
the pau of every iron vessel. This is demonstrated
also in the loss of so many of the ocean tramps'
Tbere are almost as many different plans pursued
IN the construction of the water-tght compartments
in iron ships as there classes of these SHIPS Inc
absolutely safe bulkhead must be an unbroken par
,i,on from the keel to the main deck, with valves
opening into the bilge so that the water NAV run
from one commitment INTO another when required.
tn | roe number Of vessels the bulkheads only
,eacb 70 the tween docks" and in some only 10 the
lover deck. Many of the bulkheads have doors
GINNING from one compartment INFO the other to
facilitate the loading and unloading OF freight ana
if is question whether these are not frequently
left insecure when the vessel sails These are con-
slant source of danger unless the strctest resuia
lions and the most viglant wat h are observed.
Not one 4 a hundred OF those who take passage on
an ocean steamship knows anything about tne
strength of the vessel TO which he ntruss MS me-
and he would seldom obtain any ntelnglDle lhIor-
nation If be inquired about the matter Inc we'll
earned popularity of some OF the Leading lines OF
staosh,ns ia due to the construction of the vessels
as well as TO the care taken In their management
Iron.as material for shipbullding is preferred 10y
ouneA because it Is cheaper IN the end than wood,
and. afrsr the first expense OF con-
structon is incurred, is kept In
order at much less expense. Many OF the
,omense ships and steamers OF the present day. are
models of symmetry and a certain kind of beauty.
Rut often there Is one doubtful point about hem
the eo-called watertight bulkheads. Are they
Uater-tightH In other words are they seawortny
Have they always proved themselves TO DC such
an the recorded accidents7 The ships built within
the past five years show Improvement In ths ie-
spect but IL must never be forgotten that the
pressure on q bulkhead. when 1t comes INTO use I'D
case of accident is enormous. AS rule these DuK-
heads consist of a series of somewhat neht IRON
mates extending across the whole breadth of the
shin ard the full depth OF the lower hold, in many
cases 16 BIZ 30 feet This great PARTITION is often
Hpnnorted simply by rather light vertical angle
irons about four feet apart In many ships there
appeafs TO be nothing about this great breakwa'er
10 stop il from giving way amidships IN vertical
line between any TWO angle-irons, except the con-
neetion al TOP and bottom, two points perhaps hf-
teen feet apart In any ship of more than thirty
feet beam bukhead, TO do effective service in case
NJ collision should have a STOUT central support.
springing vertically from the keeson and attached
above to the deck.
great deal has been said against the
Oew law inst gone into operation. whereby
ali steamships coming within the iuIisdc-
ton OF the United States are compelled
10 submit TO the same inspection laws as
the vessels of the United States are subjected to-
Great Britain compes American steam and sailing
passenger vessels to comply with her inspection
laws or else refuses them clearance ndexperence
has shown that similar restrictions should be APP
pied to foreign vessels sailing from American ports.
Unless an inspection law isrgdy enforced the most
sarous abuses prevail. For instance. 1t has been
proved that there is no attention paid to The Plm-
soll Mark the limit 10 which vessel should be
loaded 1t is claimed in England that II is moved
M or down at the owners convenience, and some
owners say that they can II they choose paintit
On the funnel The vessel goes TO sea- founders, or
d posted as missing. Take. for instance. the Bal
lima, which sailed from Liverpool for Lorne, on
January 8. never TO be heard from again. and upon
which forty persons were lost The British court
found upon investigation, that she had not sufficient
stability, and II she shipped heavy sea on deck
there was every probability either that she
would turn over or 90 down. The court also found
that size was overladen, and that her Pims II Mark
was far ont of sight Then there was the British
steamship Escambia, which sailed from San Fran
;isco with q cargo Of wheat on June 10, and cap