Hector - a general history

Official No. 44550: Code Letters TVMW.

Owners: 1863 Edward Temperley, Gourley & Co (Villiers Street) Sunderland; 1864 & 1872 chartered for one voyage to British Colonial SS Co, London; 1888 WH Loveridge & Co, West Hartlepool; 1889 R Livingston Conner & Co, West Hartlepool.

Masters: 1864-66 J Thompson; 1867-72 R Newton; 1873-74 T Sheen; 1880 Groves; 1881-85 John Lax (b. 1844 Chester-le-Street); 1887-88 Thomas Alfred Harris (C.N. 01814); 1889 JJ Mehegan; 1890 Richard Geddes (b. 1839 Hartlepool); 1891-93 JJ Mehegan; 1893-94 JE Remmes; 1895 R Dodd; 1897-99 I Cooper.

Board of Trade Wreck Report 19 July 1888.

‘The Hector left Hebburn-on-Tyne on the afternoon 29 June 1888, with a cargo of between 2600 and 2700 tons of coal, under the command of Thomas Alfred Harris. At the time of leaving, the vessel drew between 22 and 23 feet forward, and 23 feet 6 inches aft. She was in good condition and well found, and supplied with four boats, with the pumps in good order. The complement of the crew was 27 hands all told, but when the vessel sailed she was short of hands, having no second mate on board, and no cook, and either two or four able seamen absent, the remainder of the crew who were on board consisting of the master, the chief officer, three engineers, boatswain, carpenter, donkeyman, sven fireman, and either four or six able seamen. The master stated that he kicked the second mate ashore for intoxication, and that the other hands had not turned up, but he said that he had made arrangements to wait outside until fresh hands had been sent out in a steam tug after him. When the vessel got to sea a strong breeze from N.E. to N.N.E. was blowing with a heavy sea, which gradually increased during the night. According to the arrangements made, the tug Ulysses came off with the remainder of the crew, but owing to the strong wind and heavy sea then running, her master refused to go alongside, but said he would lie-by until daylight. About 11 p.m. 45 fathoms of mooring chain was either rolled or washed overboard, and subsequently about 70 fathoms of rope was lost in a similar manner, part of which got foul of the propeller, which became jammed. The engines were moved ahead and astern, and for a short time the propeller was freed, but about 4 a.m. some more rope was washed overboard, and it again became so jammed that the engines never moved afterwards, and remained disabled in spite of the efforts of the crew to free them, the crew in their efforts getting practically no assistance from the master or chief mate. At daylight a signal of distress was hoisted, and the tug Star of Hope came up. The master of the tug asked 2001. to take hold, and the master of the Hector offered 25l., gradually coming down to 2l. 10s. The chief engineer, seeing from the master's condition that he was unable to make any agreement, took the matter into his own hands, and arranged that the amount of payment for the services to be rendered should be decided by arbitration ashore; this was agreed to, and the crew took the rope on board, and also took charge of the vessel. About half-an-hour afterwards the steam tug General Gordon was engaged on the same terms to assist. These two steam tugs towed the "Hector" towards the Tyne, off which port they arrived about 3.40 p.m. of the 30th of June, and at this time the towline of the Star of Hope parted. This was replaced by the Hector’s wire rope, and then the towing hook of the Star of Hope gave way. The towline of the General Gordon then parted, and before anything further was done the "Hector" went ashore on the South Pier end, and afterwards became a total wreck, part of the crew being taken off by the North Shields lifeboat, and the remainder by the South Shields lifeboat. The first question asked, namely, what was the cause of the casualty, in reality involved, the gist of the investigation, and the reply thereto placed both the master and the chief officer in grave default, because through their practically total neglect of, as well as inability to perform, their duty, the loss of this vessel (happily without the loss of life) must be attributed. From the very outset no order or discipline seems to have prevailed; the decks were left uncleared, the watches were not set, and what is still worse both the master and chief mate were more or less under the influence of drink. In consequence of the deck remaining uncleared the coils of rope went overboard and fouled the screw, which was in reality the beginning of the end. The condition of matters seemed to go from bad to worse; no officer was in charge, no one on watch, no one placed on the look-out, and no attention was paid either to the steering of the vessel or to the parcelling of the tow ropes, or generally to the navigation, which naturally resulted in the stranding of the vessel. Under these circumstances the Court suspended the certificates of both the master and chief officer.’

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