The Brief Life of SS Selja

In 1907, a 380-foot cargo steamship was built in Northeast England and christened SS Selja. Sailing the high seas during those times was often a treacherous endeavor. As fate would have it, the relatively new SS Selja was destined to meet her violent demise just three short years later.

On November 22, 1910, heavy fog limited visibility just off the coast of San Francisco. On that day, SS Selja was groping her way through the thick soup, nearing the end of a long run of Transporting goods from China to San Francisco. It turned out to be her final run. 

As luck would have it, the Chinese passenger steamer SS Beaver had just began a voyage out of San Francisco in the same thick fog. Unbeknownst to the captains of both ships, they were on a collision course. 

After finally seeing the impending danger, both captains took immediate and decisive action. They stopped their engines and attempted to back up. But, it was too late. The ships collided violently in the thick fog. Two Chinese crewmen were killed on the SS Selja and it sank. But, fortunately, the rest of the crew was rescued. The SS Beaver fared a little better and was able to limp back into port at San Francisco with all her passengers safe, if not thoroughly rattled!

Recently, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) used an underwater remote-controlled vehicle, equipped with sonar and video cameras, to locate and look at the forlorn SS Selja. She is lying upside down and twisted on her starboard side - her hull broken in multiple places. The wreck has been mostly consumed into the marine ecosystem, becoming home to many fish, sea anemones and various species of plant life.

Following the 1910 accident, the Master of SS Selja, Olaf Lie, sued the SS Beaver and its owners for the loss of his ship. The case went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. However, the maritime court ruled against Lie, declaring that he had been going too fast in the thick fog and was responsible for the mishap. This legal case helped establish the “Rules of the road" for mariners.

In fact, the waters near the coast of San Francisco resemble a graveyard of ships. More than 300 lie at the bottom, having been lost to strong winds, heavy fog, and protruding rock outcrops. Fortunately for today’s ships, sonar and other advanced navigation devices have been developed to lessen these dangers.

The San Francisco area wrecks all have a fascinating story to tell about some of the people who helped build California. Their ships and their willingness to battle the hostile maritime elements helped open America to the Pacific for nearly two centuries. Studying these wrecks is a way to help us link the past to the present.

Cruise Ship History – Three Sisters: Part II

HMHS Britannic

As mentioned in my previous blog, the famous 'cruise ship' Titanic had two nearly identical 'sisters' - and she was the 'middle sister'. Her elder 'sister', HMS Olympic, was featured last time. The third-born 'sister' was christened Britannic and launched in February 1914 - less than two years after the Titantic sank in the North Atlantic.

Like her two older siblings, Britannic was built for the White Star line to work as a transatlantic passenger liner. She was originally going to be named Gigantic, but since she began life in the aftermath of the Titanic disaster, White Star decided 'Britannic' was a luckier name!

HMHS Britannic

Outwardly, Britannic resembled the Titanic - but was a little larger. Like Titanic, she also had an enclosed promenade deck. The major visual difference between the two ships was that the lifeboat davits were much more prominent on the Britannic. 

Below deck, the Britannic was also similiar to her elder sisters. However, instead of having no inner water-tight skin for safety - like Titanic - or a skin that was retrofitted later - as for Olympic - a double skin was instead "built in" for Britannic. In addition, she was powered by the largest marine turbine in the world at the time, developing 18,000 horsepower.

Britannic was not completely fitted out at the time of her launch. Financial and industrial difficulites associated with World War I - which was soon to begin - were factors causing her to be laid up for months in Belfast, Ireland. Like her eldest sister Olympic, Britannic was eventually called to serve her country during the war. In November 1915, she was requisitioned as a hospital ship, becoming HMHS (His Majesty's Hospital Ship) Britannic. She received a coat of bright white paint and large red crosses. The crosses were each lit by 125 lights. In December 1915, Britannic finally departed Belfast to begin her career - little knowing it was going to be a relatively short one!

Captained by Charlie Bartlett, the HMHS Britannic succesfully completed five voyages bringing wounded British soldiers home to England from various ports around the world. However, just after 8 a.m. on November 21, 1916, while sailing to pick up more wounded soldiers near the Gulf of Athens, she struck an underwater mine in the Kea Channel in the Aegean Sea near Greece (some speculate is was a torpedo attack). Despite her "built-in" water-tight double inner skin, six compartments flooded almost instantly. The Britannic began to list.

Captain Bartlett ordered all the watertight doors closed, sent out an SOS, and ordered the ship to be abandoned. Meanwhile, he attempted to beach the ship on nearby Kea Island. Due to its design, and despite the serious blast damage, the ship would have remained afloat. Everyone aboard could have been saved. However, due to two factors, events turned even uglier:

First, the nursing staff on the ship had opened many portholes to bring fresh air into the sick wards. As the listing Britannic limped towards Kea Island, water poured in through the open portholes.

Second, while it is easy to understand that panic and chaos abounded at the time, some of the crew prematurely launched two lifeboats from the port side of the sinking ship without permission or orders. Since the ship was limping towards Kea Island as fast as it could, the lifeboats were sucked into the propellers and demolished - killing everyone aboard. However, the other lifeboats were eventually succussfully launched and nearly 1,100 people managed to make it safely off the doomed ship.

By 9:07 a.m., HMHS Britannic had slipped beneath the waves. She was the largest ship lost during World War I. Thirty people died - mostly from the smashed lifeboats. The survivors were eventually plucked from the water or from the lifeboats by rescuers.

In retrospect,  the loss of lives would have been a lot worse if the ship had instead been homeward bound - with a load of wounded soldiers. In 1976, famed explorer, Jacques Cousteau, found the Britannic lying on its side 400 feet below the surface of the Aegean Sea and recovered a few small objects. To this day, as a requisitioned ship in the service of the Crown, the wreck belongs to the British Government!

Note: Michael Lance is a Cruise & Vacation Specialist with CruiseOne - Karber & Associates and an avid history buff. Visit http://www.FirstClassCruising.biz for more information.

 

 

Cruise Ship History – Three “Sisters”

RMS Olympic

The story of the famous ‘cruise ship’ Titanic is pretty much well known thanks to a multitude of books, movies, and magazine articles. What may be a little less well-known is that the Titanic had two nearly identical ‘sisters’. She was actually the second of three large liners built for the White Star Line to work the Southampton, England to New York "shuttle" service.

HMS Olympic in New York Harbor

Titanic’s older sister was the RMS Olympic. Belfast, Ireland was her birthplace. At the time, Olympic was the largest liner in the world. She was launched October 20, October 1910.  Her Captain was E. J. Smith – who would later serve as captain of the Titanic. Olympic finally departed on her Maiden voyage to New York on June 14, 1911.

The Olympic was not immune from misfortune. On September 20, 1911, she collided with British cruiser HMS Hawke. Fortunately, Olympic managed to limp back to Belfast for repairs. Some of her repair components were donated by her sister, Titanic, which was still under construction.

Because of the unfortunate April 1912 demise of her younger sister, Titanic, Olympic was soon upgraded with various safety improvements - including enough lifeboats for everyone aboard! In October 1912, during a visit to her birthplace, Belfast, she was fitted with an inner watertight skin.

Then, in September 1915, the RMS Olympic was requisitioned by the British Government to serve as a troopship during World War I. A special dazzle paint was applied to her hull to confuse enemy observers. In May 1918, she became somewhat of a celebrity after striking and sinking a German submarine while nearing France with a load of U.S. troops.

After the war ended in 1919, Olympic returned to commercial service as an ocean liner. She served faithfully throughout the 1920’s and into the early 1930’s. Because of her illustrious 24 year career, she earned the nickname "Old Reliable". But her days were becoming numbered. Slumping trade and growing competition, along with the Great Depression, took a lot of the ‘steam’ out of her profitability.

Near the end of her long career, Olympic was visited by misfortune once again. In May 1934, she collided with the Nantucket lightship nearly 50 miles out in the Atlantic. The lightship was anchored in the shipping lane specifically to guide ocean traffic with a radio beacon signaling system and lights. However, on that fateful night in May, the lightship was nearly invisible because of an extremely heavy fog. The crew of the lightship tolled its bell in order to alert approaching ships of its whereabouts. But, unfortunately, the crew of the Olympic was unable to avoid the collision. Seven lives were lost in the accident.

The final voyage by Olympic ended at the port in Southampton, England on April 12, 1935. A few months later, she was stripped for salvage. In September 1937, her pitiful remains were finally towed to Inverkeithing, Scotland for final demolition. Because of her storied history and prestige, many of her fittings were sold at auction. Most of them are still on display today, including some in the White Swan Hotel in Alnwick, England. Her famous "Honour and Glory Crowning Time" wood carving from her Grand Staircase can be seen in the Southampton Maritime Museum.

Note: Michael Lance is a Cruise & Vacation Specialist at CruiseOne - Karber & Associates in Spring, Texas, and an avid history buff. Visit http://www.FirstClassCruising.biz for more information.