The Brattleboro reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1907-1912, 1907-04-05
LOSSES ON THE SEAS.
Thirty-Nine Steamships and Eighty
Two Sailing Vessels Last Year.

That the plants of marine underwriters
in regard to the great number OF casual
ties on the deep in the year 1906 have
been by no means ill-founded is now
demonstrated by figures issued by, the
Bureau Neritas, in which it is shown
that eight-two sailing vessels OF all ma
tons and thirty-nine steamships sue
cumbed to the multifarious perls which
the waters of the seven seas provide.
Each year such recaptulation OF disas-
ter is published. and curiously enough the
relative proportion of the various kinds
of accidents appears to vary little. For
instances, in cases of total loss strandlng
always claims the largest share of vic
tins, both as regards sailing vessels and
steamships, while in cases Of serious ac-
cident wind-jammers and steam'dnven
craft are found to have suffered more
from collisions than from any other cause.
Last year more American sailing yes,
sells were lost than saiEcarrying craft OF
any other nation, the count being %.
Great Britain came next with 10, and then
came Norway with II losses. Denmark
lost two sailing craft, five French yes,
sells were lost, two of Germany, three of
Greece. nine Of Italy, three of Russia, and
four of Sweden. OF this total of 50
vessels lost, six sailed from ports and
were never again seen, being designated
in the Veritas list as missing.
One American steamship was lost last
year, one Belgian, II British, one Danish,
two French, three German, one Italian,
four japanese, four Norwegian, one Por-
tuguese, two Russian and two Swedish.
Stranding was the main cause OF loss
among sailing vessels, as already pointed
out. Forty-three sailing vessels were lost
through running ashore when they should
have stayed out to sea, four foundered in
the Deep and six were abandoned in small
boats. No serious case of fire on board
a ship propelled by wind power seems
to have occurred last year. Eighteen
steamships were stranded, three were lost
through collision, four were destroyed by
fire, four foundered, and 10 were con.
demned and sent to the scrap heap. OF
sailing vessels, % were condemned and
either broken up or made over in barges.
Collision heads the accident list this
wear, as usual. Forty-seven windjammers
were seriously damaged because oceans
or harbors or rivers were not wide
enough for two vessels to get out of eacn
others way, or because of fog or storm
Thirty-one sail vessels were stranded, but
hauled into deep, water; two were slight,
" damaged by fire, "a sprung leaks, 81
were injured in storms. One hundred and
twenty-one steamships were in collision
last year, but did not sink; 81 were
stranded, % were damaged by fire, seven
sprung leaks, &c were seriously injured
through stress of weather, and defective
engines and boilers caused injuries to 10
vessels.
That the first months of the present
year augur i'll for relief, so far as insur-
ance men are concerned, may be gathered
bv a glance at the list of casualties which
the Maritime Register prints for the last
two weeks in February, which, following
the records for the first six weeks of the
new year, are enough to warrant expedl-
ton in the movements making for a radi-
cal increase in insurance rates. No less
than So vessels have been seriously in
iured since Feb. II, through fire, strand
ing, collision, or stress of weather. The
Norwegian bark D. H. Morris was total
" lost through stranding, the Norwegian
steamship Eva was cut in two in New Or
leans by French warship, the steamship
Hugona, stranded, was a total loss, as
were the schooners Priscilla and Mary Z.
of Maine. Five total losses in two weeks
is calculated to make the most phleg- |
matte insurance man nervous. :,
Reports of wreckage, of floating hulls
in steamship lanes, of masts and spars
and other debris, are brought in by al
most every arriving vessel. The most
curious report is that of the steamship
Hungarian, which arrived at Portland
from Glasgow last week. OFF Portland
Head in a tremendous gale, according to
the captain, the lookout sighted three |
masted schooner, deserted apparently, |
with sails neatly slowed and wheel lash
ed, scudding before the storm as though |