Salute Hull's bravest men - a look back at disasters involving fishing vessels from the port

For decades Hull fishermen sailed to some of the most hazardous waters on earth.
The dangers they faced were immense. The death toll in the fishing industry the highest for that of any occupation.
Here Yorkshire Pride looks back to the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s at tragedies which befell vessels from the port...

1951:
St Leander (H19), 658 tons, owned by Thomas Hamling and Company, of Hull. Lost January 9 in the River Humber.

St Leander was waiting with other vessels to enter St Andrew's Dock . She was back home from the Norwegian Coast with a catch of about 1,400 kits on board.
Also at anchor nearby was another Hull trawler, the Davy.
It was dark and on the Humber there was a strong flood tide. The vessels collided.
Davy was extensively damaged on her bows, but managed to edge to safeth alongside the West Pier.
St Leander was not so fortunate.
Badly holed below the waterline she started to flood, listing heavily and drifting into the darkness.
On the dock the harbourmaster heard the crash as the vessels collided and immediately ordered oil barges and harbour tugs to the vessel.
First on the scene was an oil barge, the Gainsborough which took off 17 members of the trawler crew, including her skipper M Shaughnessy.
Three other crewmen who had jumped into the river were picked up by otgher barges.
Meanwhile St Leander continued tio drift followed by tugs which eventually took her in tow off Barton Ness. While returning her to Hull, however she grounded on Hessle Flats.
It was the end of her. By early morning of January 11 she was submerged and a total loss.
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1952:
Norman (H289), 628 tons owned by Hellyer brothers of Hull. Lost October 4 off Greenland.

On a lonely outpost in Greenland known as Norman Rock 20 Hull fishermen died in thick fog when their vessel grounded.
Norman left St Andrew's Dock on September 17 under the command of Skipper Jack Dukes.
On the fateful morning of her loss - at about 7.30am - she grounded on rocks, sending out a distress call as her crew attempted to launch the lifeboats. It was a futile task. The port boat was wrecked by the sea as they fought to launch it. The starboard boat overturned.
The Norman began to list, her crew thinking she was going over into deep water jumped overboard in a bid to reach the temporary safety of the rocks. But the tide was too strong for them.
One young crewman - Norman Spencer the deckie learner, did however managed to scramble onto the rocks where he remained for about seven hours until rescued by a Norwegian vessel.
Other vessels, several of them Hull trawlers, tried to reach the wreck of the Norman but were prevented from getting in close by the conditions.
Eight bodies were rescued from the sea, among them that of Skipper Jack Dukes, and returned to the UK.
The Norman remained stuck on the rocks for two more days before before sliding off and sinking.
It was later said that had her crew remained aboard her they may well have been saved.
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1952: St Ronan (H86) 568 tons, owned by Firth Steam Trawling Company. Lost October 12.

St Ronan sailed from Hull in the early afternoon of October 11 with a crew of 20. In command was Skipper John C Gibson.
The following day at about 6pm the mate took charge of the vessel and she passed through the inner sound between the Island of Stroma and the mainland. The channel was unlit and the trawler stranded, becoming a total loss.
The crew were taken off by a Stroma motor boat and landed in the harbour of Mey.
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1954:
Kingston Aquamarine 613 tons, owned by Kingston Steam Trawling Company. Lost north west Norway, January 11.

Kingston Aquamarine sailed from St Andrew's Dock for the White Sea on December 22. Commanded by Skipper Dennis Albert Cornish she had a crew of 20.
The vessel stranded at Stranby on the west side of Steinfjord in the early hours of the morning. Immediately the engines were put on full speed and run fir 45 minutes in a bid to free her.
The attempt failed and a wireless message was sent out calling for assistance.
Water was found to be entering the trawler at the after end of the fish and engine rooms and despite the bilge ejector continued to build up.
It was at 5.30am that the crew left the vessel in two boats. The trawler was a total loss.
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1955:
Lorella, 599 tons, owned by City Steam Fishing Co (managed by J Marr and Sons). Lost northern Iceland, January 26.
Roderigo, 810 tons, owned by Hellyer Bros.

FOR THE FULL STORY CLICK ON 'Vessels died in Arctic hell'

Courage of a dying skipper

1956: St Celestin (H233), 790 tons owned by Thomas Hamling and Co Ltd. Lost May 27, 1956, Bear Island.

St Celestin was fishing on the Bear Island grounds in fine weather with a light southerly wind and a moderate sea.
She made her way easily across the light swell at about half speed - seven knots.
On the bridge Skipper Percival James May was alone, heading towards a 160 fathom area where he proposed to shoot the trawl.
There were several other vessels in the vicinity, one in particular being close to him. It was another Hull vessel, the Arctic Viking, which at the time was fishing.
The vessels collided shortly afterwards, St Celestin quickly sinking. The crew were unable to launch either of her two lifeboats but they did manage to launch and board her two liferafts. All except the skipper were picked up by the Arctic Viking, Skipper May being taken aboard the Grimsby trawler Thomas Tompian.
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1959:
Staxton Wyke (H479), 472 tons, owned by West Dock Steam Fishing Company. Lost in North Sea on August 23.
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1960:
St Hubert (H104), 568 tons. Owned by Boston Deep Sea Fisheries. Lost Norwegian Coast August 29.

For the crew of the Staxton Wyke there was little else to do.
The voyage was almost over. Hull was only a few hours away.
The vessel was sailing easily on a light sea, although surrounded by dense fog. There was a mood of relaxation, of anticipation among her crew. Home at last after three hard weeks...
Below the decks that October night in 1959 Eddie Calvert had gathered his gear together, and was thumbing through a novel to help fill in the time as they pushed ever nearer home.
His mood of wellbeing was shattered as the sound of a klaxon rent the still night air, raucous and eerie in the dense fog. "I thought 'Christ, that's close' and went on deck to see what was going on," he said.
He made it onto the deck at the very moment an 11,000 ton ore carrier called the Dalhanna hit them, ramming straight into the 472 ton trawler and sinking her in just 90 seconds.
"Water was pouring through the portholes on the starboard side. The Dalhanna just seemed to stick there in the side for ages, but really it was only for seconds," said Mr Calvert.
"There was a mad panic. Fortunately we had inflatable lifeboats . I got the aft one over and the skipper and mate the forward one. On the raft where I was we managed to get away from the trawler just before she sank."
The men struggled to tie the two rafts together and then waited helplessly in the fog while the Dalhanna drew close to them.
"We tried to paddle to her but the swell carried us round in a circle. With another member of the crew I went in and started to swim."
A short time later they were hauled to safety aboard the Dalhanna which then made a detailed search of the area for five men who were not accounted for. Other ships joined in but none of the missing men survived.


Shaken, but unharmed after the sinking of the Staxton Wyke, See story above) Eddie Calvert returned to sea after a brief rest and a year later was sailing as bosun in the Hull trawler St Hubert.

He explained: "I was after a mate's job and went on the trip to see what I was made of.
He did well on the voyage - to the White Sea - and his efforts earned him an excellent recommendation from the skipper to the trawler's owners.
He did not sail again on the St Hubert, staying ashore as she left St Andrew's Dock with a glowing reference for a job on the almost new Prince Charles.
August 1960 saw the Prince Charles off the Norwegian coast -the same area where the St Hubert was also fishing.
For summer the weather was poor. Winds of force eight buffeted both trawlers and sea, but conditions were still workable and fishing continued around the clock.
On the St Hubert the men worked and talked about a mystery object they had trawled up and which now lay on the deck. It was cylindrical, about 5ft long and partially covered in concrete. On seeing it the crew had cautiously swept aside the mass of wriggling fish and dragged the object to a safe area intending to dump it well away from the fishing grounds.
The speculation over the object did not last long. Most men agreed that it was some sort of mine. Trawlers often brought them to the surface. But no-one realised that it had suddenly started ticking...
The mine blew with a deafening roar, wreaking havoc across the trawler. The foredeck was wrecked. Hatches were blown open. Most of the port side was ripped away. On the bridge Skipper George Ness received terrible injuries, half his face being torn away as the windows blew in.
With the mate dead and the skipper fighting for his life but still determined to remain in control of his vessel the bosun tried to run before the gale , managing to do so for six hours before the weather proved too much of an opponent and forced them to abandon ship.
Near them was the Prince Charles, alerted to what had happened by radio within seconds of the explosion.
"When we got to her the wind was about force eight. All her port side had been blown away. There was nothing left standing on deck, all the bridge windows had gone. The skipper was very badly injured, but we were able to talk to him on the radio," said Mr Calvert.
"They tried to plug a hole in the hull but it was not very successful and water was going in, even washing fish out of the fishroom and back into the sea. We radioed a doctor but he would not come out - he wanted us to go into Norway."
Despite their efforts to save her St Hubert was doomed. Battered by waves she started to go under and the crew were forced to abandon her. And throughout Skipper Ness repeatedly asked about the safety of his crew.
William Adam, the cook, told of moments of great heroism. "The skipper was very weak and seemed to have no blood left in him. They lowered him into a liferaft and he was still asking if the crew were all right."
In the liferafts the men pulled their way along the side of their stricken vessel as she lay over, fighting to clear her in fear of being sucked down by her.
Then, in another moment of high courage Skipper Bernard Wharam of the Prince Charles, intervened. He edged his vessel towards the dying trawler getting in close enough to allow a line to be thrown to the men in the rafts.
Among the first to be hauled to safety was Skipper Ness. But despite their efforts he was to die within 15 minutes of going on board.
Fifteen days later in Hull Coroner's Court tribute was paid to Skipper Ness whose actions were said to be "in the best tradition of trawler fishing."
The coroner told the hearing: "I should like to put on record his bravery. Although nearly half his face was blown away he continued to command the sinking trawler with his thoughts always for his ship and crew."
And from Mr Calvert, who was with him when he died, came the last word: "He just kept asking me 'are the lads all right?'"

Disaster struck on Christmas Day

1961
Arctic Viking (H452), 533 tons, owned by Boyd Line Ltd., of Hull. Lost North Sea October 18.
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Stella Rigel (H170), 568 tons, owned by Charlston-Smith Trawlers. Lost Norway December 21.

With a crew of 20 under Skipper John Gay Stella Rigel left Hull shortly before Christmas heading for the White Sea.
She hit submerged rocks off the Isle of Vannoy. All crew members got off safely into the liferafts and were picked up by the Norwegian trawler SIV. Skipper Gay remained on board and was later taken off by another Norwegian trawler, the Hansnes.
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1964:
Arctic Adventurer (H381), 565 tons, owned by Boyd Line Ltd, of Hull.

Originally known as St Loman and built at the Beverley shipyard of Cook, Welton and Gemmell, Arctic Adventurer served throughout the war on convoy escort duties.
On the voyage which was to see three of her crew killed she was heading towards the Barents Sea when she was struck by heavy waves and lurched to port. Then a noise said to be like a blowing off was heard followed by a rumbling sound. All lights went out.
The chief engineer was found calling for help and assisted to the bridge. He was badly scalded, as was the second engineer. When other crew members went to investigate they found Fireman Minns lying in the stokehold alleyway, still conscious. He died shortly afterwards. Both engineers also died and the vessel was taken in tow back to Hull.
An inquiry found the cause of the explosion was that the boiler overheated due to shortage of water. It was 27 years old and was originally installed in the trawler St Elstan. In May 1949 it was removed and installed in another vessel, the St Loman.
In view of the damage and the age of the vessel - she was built in 1936 - it was decided to scrap her. She never fished again.
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1965:
Kingston Turquoise (H50), 811 tons, owned by Kingston Steam Trawling Company. Lost Northern Scotland, January 26.

Kingston Turquoise sank after grounding off Scotland while returning from a trip to Iceland. She had 1,500 kits of fish on board.
The vessel grounded near Hoy Island and took just five minutes to sink, the engine room rapidly filling with water and the vessel developing a heavy starboard list.
Two inflatable liferafts were launched by the 20 man crew on the starboard side.
One man decided to jump clear of the vessel and leaped from its high side, but was unable to reach the rafts. Men on the rafts could hear him calling to them but they were unable to reach him.
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1966:
St Finbarr (H308), 1,139 tons, owned by Thomas Hamling Ltd. Lost off the coast of Labrador, Christmas Day.

Fire swept through St Finbarr when she was 100 miles off the coast in a Christmas Day drama that claimed the lives of 12 Hull fishermen.
When the blaze began the vessel was unable to fish because of bad weather. As it was Christmas Day the crew relaxed, the skipper ordering that drinks could be issued.
When the fire was discovered a Mayday call as put out on the VHF to the MFV Orsino which was about five miles away.
But as a second distress call was being made a blast of hot air from the accommodation blew out the doors and windows of the wheelhouse. The fire then quickly spread to the bridge and the skipper gave order to abandon ship. But the crew found it impossible to handle the lifeboat with electric sparks seen on the davit. Those who tried received shocks.
Two liferafts were launched however on the starboard side and three more on the port side.
Twelve men boarded one raft which drifted over to the Orsino which had by now arrived on ths scene, but the weather was bad and two men were lost boarding the rescue vessel. A further 10 crewmen were trapped in the lower deck accommodation and died.
St Finbarr sank at about 1925 hours on December 27.
A court of inquiry recorded that the fire was caused by shorts in the electrical wiring.

Written by The Editor - 19/06/2001 18:57:27

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