SS Vestris
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

SS ''Vestris'' was a 1912 steam
ocean liner An ocean liner is a passenger ship primarily used as a form of transportation across seas or oceans. Ocean liners may also carry cargo or mail, and may sometimes be used for other purposes (such as for pleasure cruises or as hospital ships). Ca ...
operated by
Lamport and Holt Lamport and Holt was a UK merchant shipping line. It was founded as a partnership in 1845, reconstituted as a limited company in 1911 and ceased trading in 1991. From 1845 until 1975 Lamport and Holt was headquartered in Liverpool. The founder ...
Line and used on its service between New York and the River Plate. On 12 November 1928 she began listing about off
Hampton Roads Hampton Roads is the name of both a body of water in the United States that serves as a wide channel for the James River, James, Nansemond River, Nansemond and Elizabeth River (Virginia), Elizabeth rivers between Old Point Comfort and Sewell's ...
,
Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...
, was abandoned, and sank, killing more than 100 people. Her wreck is thought to lie some beneath the North Atlantic. The sinking attracted much press coverage at the time and remains notable for the loss of life, particularly of women and children when the ship was being abandoned. * * The sinking and subsequent inquiries may also have shaped the second
International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea The International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) is an international maritime treaty that sets minimum safety standards in the construction, equipment and operation of merchant ships. The International Maritime Organization ...
(SOLAS) in 1929.


Building

In 1911–13
Workman, Clark & Company Workman, Clark and Company was a shipbuilding company based in Belfast. History The business was established by Frank Workman and George Clark in Belfast in 1879 and incorporated Workman, Clark and Company Limited in 1880. By 1895 it was the UK ...
of
Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...
, Ireland built three
sister ship A sister ship is a ship of the same class or of virtually identical design to another ship. Such vessels share a nearly identical hull and superstructure layout, similar size, and roughly comparable features and equipment. They often share a ...
s for Lamport and Holt. was launched in 1911, in January 1912 and ''Vestris'' in May 1912. The trio were similar in size to that Sir
Raylton Dixon Sir Raylton Dixon (8 July 1838 – 28 July 1901), was a shipbuilding magnate from Middlesbrough on the River Tees who served as Mayor of Middlesbrough. Background and early life Dixon was one of the seven children of Jeremiah II Dixon (1804â ...
& Co built for Lamport and Holt in 1909. ''Vauban'' and ''Vestris'' had passenger accommodation slightly larger than that of their older sister ''Vandyck''. Since 1906 Lamport and Holt policy was to name its passenger liners after artists and engineers beginning with "V", they became known as "V-class ships". ''Vestris'' was built as yard number 303 and launched 16 May 1912 and made her maiden voyage on 19 September 1912 from
Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
to River Plate. She had five double-ended boilers to supply steam to a pair of quadruple-expansion engines. These drove twin screws and gave her a speed of .


Service history

''Vandyck'', ''Vauban'' and ''Vestris'' were intended for Lamport and Holt's service between
Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
and
Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...
''via''
Vigo Vigo ( , , , ) is a city and Municipalities in Spain, municipality in the province of Pontevedra, within the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Galicia (Spain), Galicia, Spain. Located in the northwest of the Iberian Penins ...
,
Leixões The Port of Leixões ( pt, Porto de Leixões, ) is one of Portugal's major seaports, located 4 km north of the mouth of the Douro River, in Matosinhos municipality, near the city of Porto Porto or Oporto () is the second-largest city i ...
and
Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...
. But in 1911 the
Royal Mail Steam Packet Company The Royal Mail Steam Packet Company was a British shipping company founded in London in 1839 by a Scot, James MacQueen. The line's motto was ''Per Mare Ubique'' (everywhere by sea). After a troubled start, it became the largest shipping group ...
had taken over Lamport and Holt. RMSP chartered ''Vauban'' for a new and quicker service between
Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...
and the River Plate, leaving Lamport and Holt unable to compete. RMSP returned ''Vauban'' to Lamport and Holt by the end of 1913, but effectively forced L&H out of the route between Britain and the River Plate. Lamport and Holt then transferred ''Vandyck'', ''Vauban'' and ''Vestris'' to strengthen its service between New York and the River Plate via Trinidad and Barbados, where they became the largest and most luxurious ships on the route. But soon after
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
began, the German cruiser captured and sank ''Vandyck'' on 26 October 1914. ''Vestris'' was chartered as a
troop ship A troopship (also troop ship or troop transport or trooper) is a ship used to carry soldiers, either in peacetime or wartime. Troopships were often drafted from commercial shipping fleets, and were unable land troops directly on shore, typicall ...
to cross the Atlantic Ocean from the USA to France. On 26 January 1918 a
torpedo A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, and with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, su ...
narrowly missed her in the
English Channel The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" (Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), (Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kana ...
. Soon after WWI, ''Vasari'', ''Vauban'' and ''Vestris'' began a triangular passenger service, sailing counter-clockwise from New York to the River Plate, from there to Liverpool and then by charter to
Cunard Line Cunard () is a British shipping and cruise line based at Carnival House at Southampton, England, operated by Carnival UK and owned by Carnival Corporation & plc. Since 2011, Cunard and its three ships have been registered in Hamilton, Berm ...
from Liverpool to New York. In 1919 ''Vestris'' completed this circuit six times. By 1923 the three ships offered regular fortnightly sailings on the triangular route. In September 1919, ''Vestris'', carrying 550 people, suffered damage from a fire in her coal bunkers. The crew fought the fire for four days before either or escorted the ship to
Saint Lucia Saint Lucia ( acf, Sent Lisi, french: Sainte-Lucie) is an island country of the West Indies in the eastern Caribbean. The island was previously called Iouanalao and later Hewanorra, names given by the native Arawaks and Caribs, two Amerindian ...
in the West Indies. Several days later the fire was extinguished. In 1922 the
Royal Mail Steam Packet Company The Royal Mail Steam Packet Company was a British shipping company founded in London in 1839 by a Scot, James MacQueen. The line's motto was ''Per Mare Ubique'' (everywhere by sea). After a troubled start, it became the largest shipping group ...
briefly chartered ''Vestris''.


Sinking

On 10 November 1928, just before 16:00, ''Vestris'' left New York bound for the River Plate with 128 passengers and 198 crew. Her
ballast Ballast is material that is used to provide stability to a vehicle or structure. Ballast, other than cargo, may be placed in a vehicle, often a ship or the gondola of a balloon or airship, to provide stability. A compartment within a boat, ship, ...
tanks had not been pumped out, the hatches of her
bunkers A bunker is a defensive military fortification designed to protect people and valued materials from falling bombs, artillery, or other attacks. Bunkers are almost always underground, in contrast to blockhouses which are mostly above ground. T ...
were buried under coal but had not been battened and secured, and she was overloaded below her load line marks. She may even have been listing slightly when she left port. On 11 November she ran into a severe storm that flooded her boat deck and swept away two of her lifeboats. Part of her cargo and bunker coal shifted, causing the ship to list to
starboard Port and starboard are nautical terms for watercraft and aircraft, referring respectively to the left and right sides of the vessel, when aboard and facing the bow (front). Vessels with bilateral symmetry have left and right halves which are ...
. About 19:30 that evening a heavy wave caused her to make a lurch further to starboard. Overnight the water rose to the level of the floor-plates in the stokehold. Water was coming in through the ash ejector pipe and through some half-doors on her upper deck. The ship took on water faster than her pumps could remove it. By the morning of Monday 12 November she was rapidly shipping water and was almost on her beam ends. At 09:56 ''Vestris'' sent an SOS message giving her position as latitude 37° 35' N. and longitude 71° 81' W., which was incorrect by about . The SOS was repeated at 11:04. Between 11:00 and noon, while the ship was off
Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk ( ) is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. Incorporated in 1705, it had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 census, making it the third-most populous city in Virginia after neighboring Virginia Be ...
, her
Master Master or masters may refer to: Ranks or titles * Ascended master, a term used in the Theosophical religious tradition to refer to spiritually enlightened beings who in past incarnations were ordinary humans *Grandmaster (chess), National Master ...
gave the order to abandon ship. With the ship listing to starboard and the weather battering her on her
port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ham ...
side, he ordered the port lifeboats to be launched first. The passengers included 13 children and 37 women, and they were put in the first boats to be loaded. But the boats were still in their falls as the ship sank. Number 4 boat was never released, and was dragged down with the ship. Number 6 boat was cut away from her falls but stove in and sank. Number 8 boat was damaged while being lowered, managed to get clear of the ship, but was swamped and sank. Another of the port boats was successfully launched, then a
davit Boat suspended from radial davits; the boat is mechanically lowered Gravity multi-pivot on Scandinavia'' file:Bossoir a gravité.jpg, Gravity Roller Davit file:Davits-starbrd.png, Gravity multi-pivot davit holding rescue vessel on North Sea ferr ...
broke free from the ship's boat deck, fell onto the lifeboat, sank it and killed several of its occupants. All of the children and 27 of the women were killed. At about 14:00 ''Vestris'' sank at lat. 37° 38' N, long. 70° 23' W. There were still people on the ship. The Master was last seen walking down the port side of his ship, not wearing a lifebelt, and saying "My God. My God. I am not to blame for this." His
Chief Officer A chief mate (C/M) or chief officer, usually also synonymous with the first mate or first officer, is a licensed mariner and head of the deck department of a merchant ship. The chief mate is customarily a watchstander and is in charge of the ship ...
also perished. The first ship to come to the rescue did not arrive until about 17:45. Other ships joined her that evening and early on the morning of 13 November. They were the steamships ''American Shipper'', ''Myriam'', and ''Berlin'' and battleship .


Death toll

''
Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...
'' and ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' reported that from the complement of 128 passengers and 198 crew on board, 111 people were killed: The same total was given at the Official Inquiry into the loss of ''Vestris''. * 68 dead or missing from a total 128 passengers. 60 passengers survived. * 43 dead or missing from a total of 198 crew members. 155 crew survived. None of the 13 children and only ten of the 33 women oth stewardesses and eight passengersaboard the ship survived. The captain of ''Vestris'', William J Carey, went down with his ship. 22 bodies were recovered by rescue ships. The father of future
Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...
pitcher
Sam Nahem Samuel Ralph "Subway Sam" Nahem (October 19, 1915 – April 19, 2004) was an American pitcher for the Brooklyn Dodgers (1938), St. Louis Cardinals (1941), and Philadelphia Phillies (1942 and 1948). His professional baseball playing was interrupt ...
was among those who drowned when the ship sank. Also two Indianapolis 500 starters in the 1928 race were among those dead.
Norman Batten Norman Batten (April 30, 1893 – November 12, 1928) was an American racecar driver active in the 1920s. He is one of two drivers that won the Indy500 the year before becoming a Rookie in the Indy500, when Norman provided relief help for Peter De ...
(finished 5th in 1928, his 3rd Indy 500 start) perished along with
Earl Devore Francis "Earl" Devore (December 2, 1889 – November 12, 1928) was an American racecar driver. Devore and fellow driver Norman Batten Norman Batten (April 30, 1893 – November 12, 1928) was an American racecar driver active in the 1920s. ...
(18th in 1928, finished 2nd in 1927).


Aftermath

Press reports after the sinking were critical of the crew and management of ''Vestris''. In the wake of the disaster, Lamport and Holt experienced a dramatic drop in bookings for the company's other liners and their service to South America ceased at the end of 1929. Many inquiries and investigations were held into the sinking of ''Vestris''. Criticism was made of: * Overloading of the vessel. * The conduct of the Master, officers and crew of the vessel. * Delays in issuing an SOS call. * Poor decisions made during deployment of the lifeboats, which led to the two of the first three lifeboats to be launched (containing mostly women and children) sinking with ''Vestris'' and another being swamped. * Legal requirements governing lifeboats and out-dated life-preservers. * Lack of radio sets in nearby vessels at the time. Lawsuits were brought after the sinking on behalf of 600 claimants totaling $5,000,000. ''Vestris'' sinking was covered by
Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...
reporter
Lorena Hickok Lorena Alice "Hick" Hickok (March 7, 1893 – May 1, 1968) was a pioneering American journalist and devoted friend and mentor to First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt. After an unhappy and unsettled childhood, Hickok found success as a reporter for the ...
. Her story on the event became the first to appear in ''The New York Times'' under a woman's byline.


References


Sources and further reading

* * * * *


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Vestris, SS 1912 ships 1928 in Virginia Maritime incidents in 1928 Shipwrecks of the Virginia coast Steamships of the United Kingdom Ships of the Lamport and Holt Line