Launched by Harland & Wolff on 26th November 1870. White Star initially
suggested that she would sail to South America sometime in January 1871.
This anouncement proved to be premature and completely inaccurate -
Atlantic was not taken over by her new owners until 3rd June
1871 and her maiden voyage (Liverpool - New York) began on the 8th day
of the same month.
On her 19th voyage - having left Liverpool on 20th March 1873 (commanded
by Capt. J. H. Williams) carrying 28 Saloon Class, 577 3rd Class,
including 78 children, and 178 Steerage who joined the ship at Cobh (Queenstown)
- plus 142 crew. Atlantic encountered heavy gales, ran short of coal
and headed for Nova Scotia.
Either due to poor visibility or bad seamanship, the crew failed to sight
a landmark that was normally visible for about 20 miles - the Sambro Lighthouse.
At 3.00 a.m. on 1st April 1873, Atlantic was off course and steaming
at 9 knots; she ran aground on Marr's Rock, Meagher's Island. Though 3rd
officer Brady and Quartermasters Speakman and Owen swam ashore to fix ropes
that facilitated the escape of those on board, 585 people drowned or died
of exposure. Many of the victims climbed into the rigging to escape the waves,
but succumbed to exhaustion and the cold of a biting wind before they could
be rescued.
At a subsequent enquiry held at Halifax (Nova Scotia), White Star denied
a suggestion that Atlantic had sailed with an insufficient stocks
of fuel. The findings declared that shortage of coal had contributed to the
accident. Despite confirmation of this opinion by an enquiry held in England,
the Board Of Trade Comissioner accepted Captain William's statement that
Atlantic had coal at the time of her loss and had been diverted by
bad weather rather than lack of fuel. Blame for the accident was finally
laid on Captain Williams himself; he was censured for sailing too close to
a shoreline that he did not know well enough and his Master's credentials
were suspended for two years.
Atlantic had been insured internally by White Star itself, so the
disaster represented a considerable loss of capital to the company. Two ships
- Asiatic and
Tropic - had to be sold to redress the
balance. |
