STV Royston Grange
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SS ''Royston Grange'' was a Houlder Line
refrigerated The term refrigeration refers to the process of removing heat from an enclosed space or substance for the purpose of lowering the temperature.International Dictionary of Refrigeration, http://dictionary.iifiir.org/search.phpASHRAE Terminology, ht ...
cargo liner A cargo liner, also known as a passenger-cargo ship or passenger-cargoman, is a type of merchant ship which carries general cargo and often passengers. They became common just after the middle of the 19th century, and eventually gave way to conta ...
steamship A steamship, often referred to as a steamer, is a type of steam-powered vessel, typically ocean-faring and seaworthy, that is propelled by one or more steam engines that typically move (turn) propellers or paddlewheels. The first steamships ...
that was built in England in 1959. In 1972 she collided with the tanker ''Tien Chee'' in the Río de la Plata. The resulting fire killed all 74 people aboard ''Royston Grange'' and eight people aboard ''Tien Chee''. ''Royston Grange''s burnt-out hulk was scrapped in
Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...
in 1979. Royston or Roystone Grange is an 18th-century farmstead next to the site of a medieval monastic grange at
Ballidon Ballidon is a village and civil parish in the Derbyshire Dales district of Derbyshire, England, on the edge of the Peak District National Park. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 79. The population at the 2011 Census remained les ...
in
Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the nor ...
, England. Houlder Line had named ships after several English granges, including Royston, since the 1890s. This ship was the company's fifth and last ''Royston Grange''.


Building

Hawthorn Leslie (Shipbuilders) Ltd. built ''Royston Grange'' in 1959, launching her on 23 June and completing her that December. She was long, her beam was and her depth was . She had a single
screw A screw and a bolt (see '' Differentiation between bolt and screw'' below) are similar types of fastener typically made of metal and characterized by a helical ridge, called a ''male thread'' (external thread). Screws and bolts are used to fa ...
, driven by two steam turbines via reduction gearing. Between them the two turbines developed 8,500 shp and gave her a speed of . ''Royston Grange''s holds were refrigerated to carry perishable cargo such as meat and dairy products. Her refrigeration system was electrically powered and its refrigerant was freon gas. Her refrigeration room was at the starboard side of her engine room. The gas was compressed, then cooled and injected into a large evaporation cylinder which then supercooled brine that was circulated through the evaporator. The supercooled brine was pumped at three temperature levels to the various cargo holds where the brine circulated through fan blown radiators to cool the cargo. ''Royston Grange''s superstructure was in two separate parts. Her bridge was amidships, above accommodation for her deck officers and 12 passengers. Accommodation for her crew and engineering officers was slightly aft, and also included her four lifeboats. The hatch to one of her
holds A hold (abbreviated HLD, H or HD) is awarded to a relief pitcher who meets the following three conditions: :1. Enters the game in a save (baseball), save situation; that is, when all of the following three conditions apply: :: (a) He appears i ...
separated the two parts of her accommodation. Such a division of the superstructure was not unique for ships of her era, e.g.
Royal Mail Lines 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 ...
' and "Three Graces" ''Amazon'' (1959), ''Aragon'' (1959) and ''Arlanza'' (1960). But it was very unusual for a Houlder Line ship. Hawthorn Leslie built a
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 ...
and running mate, ''Hardwicke Grange''. She was launched on 21 October 1960 and completed in March 1961. The two ships carried chilled and frozen produce from the River Plate ports of
Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
and
Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...
to
London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
,
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 ports in the
Bristol Channel The Bristol Channel ( cy, Môr Hafren, literal translation: "Severn Sea") is a major inlet in the island of Great Britain, separating South Wales from Devon and Somerset in South West England. It extends from the lower estuary of the River Seve ...
.


Collision and disaster

In May 1972 ''Royston Grange'' loaded a cargo of chilled and frozen beef and butter in
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 ...
. She embarked 12 passengers, including six women and a five-year-old child, and left port bound for London. At 0540 hrs on 11 May ''Royston Grange'' was in the Punta Indio Channel, southwest of
Montevideo Montevideo () is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Uruguay, largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2011 census, the city proper has a population of 1,319,108 (about one-third of the country's total population) in an area of . M ...
, Uruguay, under the direction of an Argentine
maritime pilot A maritime pilot, marine pilot, harbor pilot, port pilot, ship pilot, or simply pilot, is a mariner who maneuvers ships through dangerous or congested waters, such as harbors or river mouths. Maritime pilots are regarded as skilled professionals ...
, in dense fog. Also in the
Punta Indio Punta is an Afro-indigenous dance and cultural music originating in the Caribbean Island of Saint Vincent And The Grenadines by the Garifuna people before being exiled from the island. Which is also known as Yurumei. It has African and Arawak ...
channel, inbound to the River Plate, was the
Liberia Liberia (), officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to its north, Ivory Coast to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean ...
n- registered tanker ''Tien Chee'' carrying 20,000 tons of
crude oil Petroleum, also known as crude oil, or simply oil, is a naturally occurring yellowish-black liquid mixture of mainly hydrocarbons, and is found in geological formations. The name ''petroleum'' covers both naturally occurring unprocessed crude ...
. ''Tien Chee'' was also under the direction of an Argentine pilot. According to maritime rules, the two ships should have passed each other's
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 ...
sides. But ''Royston Grange''s bow struck ''Tien Chee''s port side, rupturing the tanker's number seven wing tank. ''Tien Chee''s cargo caught fire, which almost instantly spread to ''Royston Grange'', and the butter in the latter's cargo contributed to the intensity of the fire. The collision also ruptured ''Royston Grange''s refrigeration tanks. ''Royston Grange''s passengers and many of her crew would have been asleep. The effects of the fire killed all 61 of her crew, all 12 passengers and her Argentine pilot, and also eight Chinese members of ''Tien Chee''s crew.
Argentine Naval Prefecture The Argentine Naval Prefecture ( es, Prefectura Naval Argentina or PNA) is a service of Argentina's Security Ministry charged with protecting the country's rivers and maritime territory. It therefore fulfills the functions of other countries' coa ...
cutters Cutter may refer to: Tools * Bolt cutter * Box cutter, aka Stanley knife, a form of utility knife * Cigar cutter * Cookie cutter * Glass cutter * Meat cutter * Milling cutter * Paper cutter * Side cutter * Cutter, a type of hydraulic rescue to ...
rescued from ''Tien Chee'' 32 surviving members of her crew and her Argentine pilot. The majority of the crew and half the passengers in ''Royston Grange'' were British nationals, exceptions being a Dutch boatswain and an American able seaman from the crew, an Australian, a New Zealander, two Germans and two Argentine passengers. The collision swung ''Tien Chee'' across the channel, grounding her and blocking all traffic in or out of Buenos Aires. Uruguayan tugs with water hoses doused the fire aboard both ships.


Aftermath

Houlder Line flew 130 relatives of the victims to Uruguay for a mass funeral of the victims. On 20 May 1972 their remains, mostly little more than ashes and charred bones, were buried in six urns in two communal graves in The British Cemetery Montevideo. The funeral was followed by a memorial service in London on 8 June at the parish church of
All Hallows-by-the-Tower All Hallows-by-the-Tower, at one time dedicated jointly to All Hallows (All Saints) and the Virgin Mary and sometimes known as All Hallows Barking, is an ancient Anglican church on Byward Street in the City of London, overlooking the Tower of ...
. One of the windows of All Hallows now includes a
stained glass Stained glass is coloured glass as a material or works created from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant religious buildings. Although tradition ...
panel commemorating all who died aboard ''Royston Grange''. ''Royston Grange'' was initially towed to Montevideo. The recovery of her smouldering hull by the
Uruguayan Navy The National Navy of Uruguay () is a branch of the Armed Forces of Uruguay under the direction of the Ministry of National Defense and the commander in chief of the Navy (''Comandante en Jefe de la Armada'' or COMAR). History Independence Unde ...
led to confrontation with the Argentine patrol boats ARA ''King'' and ARA ''Murature'', which had been ordered to tow the wreck to Buenos Aires. This was one of a series of maritime incidents that prompted the governments of Argentina and Uruguay to negotiate a new treaty on their maritime frontier, which was concluded the following year. In March 1974, ''Royston Grange'' was towed to
Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...
, where her scrapping began on 20 May 1979. ''Tien Chee'' was scrapped at Buenos Aires in August 1976.


Investigations

Argentina, Liberia and the United Kingdom all investigated the disaster. Argentina initially detained ''Tien Chee''s master, pending the outcome of its investigation. The Liberian inquiry concluded that ''Tien Chee''s master and pilot, in an attempt to get enough water for her deep draught, had probably navigated too far to the south side of the channel, forcing ''Royston Grange'' farther south onto the shelf that formed its southern boundary. The bank deflected ''Royston Grange'', causing her to shear to port and strike ''Tien Chee''. The officers of ''Royston Grange'', it concluded, were probably not to blame, although there may have been some human error in trying to avoid the collision. The master and pilot of ''Tien Chee'' probably should not have entered the channel in the first place in the tidal conditions prevailing at the time. The report severely criticised the lack of maintenance of the channel. In 1972 the United Kingdom held a preliminary inquiry under the
Merchant Shipping Act 1894 A merchant is a person who trades in commodities produced by other people, especially one who trades with foreign countries. Historically, a merchant is anyone who is involved in business or trade. Merchants have operated for as long as indust ...
. In 1973 the UK's National Physical Laboratory also conducted tank tests to understand the technical circumstances that led to the collision. In June 1973 in the
House of Commons of the United Kingdom The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the upper house, the House of Lords, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. The House of Commons is an elected body consisting of 650 me ...
, opposition MP John Prescott claimed that Argentina did not comply with an IMCO recommendation that interested parties should be allowed to attend the inquiry into the disaster. The Minister of State for Aerospace and Shipping, Michael Heseltine, stated that UK inspectors were not allowed access to ''Tien Chee'' or to take statements from witnesses pending the holding of the judicial inquiry, but were later shown a record of the proceedings and given a report of the inquiry. They were also invited to attend the final stages of the administrative tribunal. Heseltine also said he was "favourably impressed by the quality of the Liberian Board's findings", and considered that a further inquiry by the United Kingdom would be unlikely to reach different conclusions.


See also

*
MV Derbyshire MV ''Derbyshire'' was a British ore-bulk-oil combination carrier built in 1976 by Swan Hunter, as the last in the series of the sextet. She was registered at Liverpool and owned by Bibby Line. ''Derbyshire'' was lost on 9 September 1980 durin ...
*
Doña Paz Don (; ; pt, Dom, links=no ; all from Latin ', roughly 'Lord'), abbreviated as D., is an honorific prefix primarily used in Spain and Hispanic America, and with different connotations also in Italy, Portugal and its former colonies, and Croatia ...


References


Bibliography

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External links

* – photographs of ''Royston Grange'' before and after the collision {{DEFAULTSORT:Royston Grange 1959 ships Burials at The British Cemetery Montevideo Cargo liners Maritime incidents in 1972 Maritime incidents in Argentina Maritime incidents in Uruguay Merchant ships of the United Kingdom Ships built on the River Tyne Shipwrecks in rivers Steamships of the United Kingdom Ships sunk in collisions Ships lost with all hands