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Shipwrecks and Salvage 1871-96
This article covers all the
ships that were wrecked in the 25 year period from 1871.
It also mentions some of the temporary strandings. The
latter were mostly by ships passing through Narrow
Strait when coming from the West and which went aground
off Sheikh Berkhud. The shipwrecks had three things in
common: the ships were all coming from the East; most of
them ended up on or near Azalea Point; and most were
wrecked at around four in the morning. Also relevant was
that for half the year there was a strong East-West
current into the Red Sea, the effects of which masters
may not have compensated for sufficiently.
On 9 January 1871 the steamer Vern ran aground and
remained fast for a couple of days. During 1872 three
steamers went aground off Perim, but all were got off.
In 1873 the steamship Azalea was shipwrecked on the
eastern side of Perim on what was to be named Azalea
Point.
On now to August 1881 when the
Spanish steamer Leon of 1650 tons went aground off the
NE shore of Perim. She came off five days later,
assisted by the steam tug Mercury which happened to be
at Aden in connection with the stranding of the steamer
Duke of Lancaster. She was got off by unloading 300 tons
of cargo and throwing overboard 60 tons of coal. This
event would be a useful pointer to the money-making
possibilities of basing a salvage vessel or tug
permanently at Perim.
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The
next shipwreck was on 19 November 1882 when the
2012 ton steamer Ischia ran onto Azalea Reef.
She was subsequently beached on the North side
of Perim Island and became a total wreck. (It is
presumably the wreck of the Ischia that can be
seen in this photograph from the Hume
Collection, taken in June 1883. Following an
enquiry her master was given a reprimand for an
error of judgement. |
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In the early hours of 22 December
in the same year another steamer, the Hutton (2,323 tons
and built in 1871) was stranded 300 yards South of
Obstruction Point and also became a total wreck. She was
on a voyage from Bombay to Port Said carrying a cargo of
linseed. A diary of the loss of this ship can be seen by
searching on Google for ‘S.S. Hutton wrecked in the Gulf
of Aden’. It is perhaps relevant that the lowest and
strongest tides of the year at Perim occur during the
December equinox. The cannon balls in the next
photograph were picked up off Sheikh Berkhud over 400
yards from the normal low tide mark during the 1963
equinox.
On 24 April 1884 the OC Detachment
reported that the steamer Sir William Armstrong had run
ashore on ‘Turtle Reach’, close to the wreck of the
Ischia, at 0400 hours on the 18th. She was got off only
after some 40 tons of coal had been dumped overboard.
Her captain reported that the Perim light was poorly
lit. However the Port Officer at Aden (responsible for
the functioning of Perim lighthouse) was able to produce
the eight most recent reports of the light, which ships’
masters were encouraged to submit, which covered the
period 14 March to 1 April. All but one had first seen
the light at 20 miles distant, or over; the eighth had
seen the light at 18 miles and even he had reported that
light as being ‘very good’.
On Christmas Day 1884 Lieutenant
Merewether cabled Major Hunter, the 1st Assistant in
Aden, that the steamer Raisby was hopelessly aground on
Azalea Rock, and that every assistance had been given.
The Raisby, a steamer of 1,502 tons built in 1881, was
on her way to New York with a cargo of tea, silk and
Japanese wares when she hit at 0540 hours. In the early
stages of the rescue operation the Assistant Resident
signalled the French warship Brandon which was passing
through Narrow Strait, hoisting the two flags asking her
to render ‘immediate assistance’. The Brandon took no
notice, although she must have seen that the other
vessel was in distress. A Board of Enquiry, consisting
of Captain Squire (the Managing Agent of the Perim Coal
Company) , the captain of the Raisby and the captain of
a steamer coaling at Perim, visited the wreck and
decided that it was impossible to save the vessel.
In 1890 two ships went aground off
Perim. The first on 7 July was the Bleville with a cargo
mainly of sugar. No salvage steamer was in Perim harbour
but some lighters were sent to her assistance. After
about 500 tons of cargo had been offloaded the ship was
pulled off and towed into Perim harbour by the French
gunboat Etoile.
The second incident was far more
serious. At 0430 on 5 December the P&O steamer Hong Kong
with a valuable cargo of block tin, tea and silks was
stranded on Azalea Reef. At eight that morning when the
Managing Agent of the Perim Coal Company went aboard her
to agree salvage terms the situation did not seem very
serious as the ship was not taking water. During the day
the P&O steamer Shannon stood by until she was relieved
by another P&O ship, the Assam. Neither of these two
ships nor the Perim Coal Company’s small 91 ton salvage
ship Meyun had any hope of pulling the Hong Kong off.
That evening the weather worsened and by the next
morning she had settled down more firmly. She was to
become a total loss, but with the assistance of about
400 coolies from the Coal Company most of her cargo was
saved. At the subsequent enquiry the Master of the Hong
Kong had his certificate suspended for 6 months for a
grave error of judgment.
Some months later the SS Hocheimer
went aground on sand off Perim’s northern shore. When
the Assistant Resident went aboard her the next morning
he found that the Managing Agent had just left. The
Assistant in his report stated that the Captain ‘owing
to the shock he had received appeared to have lost his
head and to be irresponsible for his actions.’ He had
agreed to one third of the value of his ship and cargo
(estimated total value £100,000) being paid to the Coal
Company although it was obvious that the ship was in no
danger and that in all probability she would float off
at the next high tide. Lighters were sent to the ship
and after 400 tons of cargo had been offloaded, she
floated off without assistance that afternoon and sailed
into harbour.
In the period 1894-96 three ships
were stranded off Sheikh Berkhud, the northernmost part
of the island and where the water was fairly shallow for
a long way out, especially at low tide, but fortunately
where the bottom was sandy. All three, the Enoch, the
Austrian steamer Burma and the Alphonse Parran were all
got off within two days, some of their cargo having been
off-loaded.
The main salvage effected by the
Perim Coal Company during 1895 was after the SS Hamish
had stuck fast on a rock off Great Hanish Island on 20
May. Her mate was sent in a passing buggalow to Perim to
bring assistance but when the salvage tug arrived on the
scene the ship had been abandoned by the captain and
crew. The Perim Coal Company took possession of the ship
and salvaged it and the cargo. |
