A BURNING SHIP AT SEA.

Globe, Volume II, Issue 181, 7 January 1875, Page 3

A BURNING SHIP AT SEA.

[{From the Argus, December 21.)

A terrible disaster —destruction by fire at sea—would appear to have overtaken a large iron clipper, name unknown, not very far from Sand Heads, Calcutta, From the care-fully-noted particulars furnished by Captain M'Lay, of the ship Apelles, who most commendably endeavored to ascertain all he could concerning the derelict burning vessel, the assumption is that she was a Clyde-built if notalso a Clyde-owned ship. The Apelles, with a cargo of castor oil, jute, tea, &c, for this port, left Sand Heads at 1 p.m. on October 29th, and Captain M'Layreports that at midnight, when about 80 miles S.S.W. from the Eastern Channel lightship, a luminous appearance was descried right ahead, which on nearer approach was found to be a ship on fire. Captain M'Lay bore down on her, and passed close under her stern, hailing her at

the same time, but receiving no reply. There was good moonlight and fine weather at the time, and the Apelles sailed round her twice, passing on one occasion very c'ose acros» her bow. Men were sent aloft on the Apelles to the topgallant yards to look down on and into the burning ship, which internally was a seething lurid mass, having two large heaps of fire, one about the main hatch, and the other near the after hatch There were no decks visible, and the beams, combings, and other framework were seen in clear and distinct relief against the fire. Captain M'Lay ordered his crew to make as much noise as possible, with the view of attracting the attention of any one who might be on board the burning wreck. There was no response, however, save the echo of the accosting voices. Determined if possible to find out something more about the blazing derelict, Captain McLay remained in proximity to her during the night, and burnt a number of blue lights to attract attention, in case there should be any boats in the vicinity with the crew in them. Not a boat was to be seen, however, or sign of any life on board the wreck at daylight next morning, and taking advantage of a light breeze, the Apelles again sailed close past the stern, and ample time was afforded to closely note the appearance the vessel presented. Captain McLay describesher as a splendid iron clipper, about 250 ft in length, and about 1500 tons register, a beautiful model, and having a marked resemblance to the iron clipper ship America, which was in this port several months ago. (The America, it may be mentioned, left here for San Francisco, having taken up the charter of the dismasted ship Loch Ard.) The fire, it is thought, must have been burning for a considerable time, there being only a thin transparent whitish smoke rising from it, but the quivering and agitation of the atmosphere over the vessel indicated how intense was the heat of the fire still raging in the interior of the hull. The masts had all fallen, and the bowsprit was bent downwards over the starboard headrail by ° wu overhanging weight, assisted perhaps by the fire having burnt the fastenings at its heel. The port side was scorched, and all the paint burnt off with the exception of a few feet from the figurehead, which was that of a female, a three-quarter bust, painted white, the trailboard underneath being black and edged with gold, The stern was also similarly scorched, and the carved work had disappeared, leaving the studded rows of screwbolts showing where it had been fixed. There was a small piece, about 6ft or 6ft, of the lower counter moulding remaining, also painted black, and having a gold edging, but there was no name visible or port of registry to afford a clue as to by whom or where the ship was owned. The paint on the starboard side had also suffered by the intense heat, Mith the exception of a portion of about 15ft from the hawse-pipe, where it was quite visible. The bulwark was black, with a broad white streak as if for painted ports, and below this the side was lead color down to the lower paint or composition, which was a dark green, similar to Mac Guinness’s patent preparation for ships’ bottoms. One of the lower masts was lying over the taffrail, where it had fallen, the topmast, which had snapped short off at the cap, projecting over the stern. Several of the other broken yards and masts were lying on the starboard side, before the poop, and hanging partly over the side. All the masts and yards visible were iron, with the exception of the piece of broken topmast hanging over the stern; The anchor-davits were standing erect forward, at the bow, with the block bindings hanging from them, the woodwork having been consumed. The boatdavits aft were in in a similar condition, and the channelplates were all standing, with the dead-eyes burnt out. In fact, as Captain McLay states, the ship must have been on fire from end to end, as every vestige of wood-work above the hull had disappeared, leaving only the bare gaunt ironwork. On passing the stern it was noticed that the vessel’s draught was 14ft, and the watermarks were painted in Roman numerals and not in figures. Captain McLay suggests that possibly the best course to have adopted would have been to lower a boat and knock in a few rivets, and thus allow the burning hull to sink, but being so close to the pilot station, he considered it stood a very good chance of being picked up and towed to the Sand Heads. Had the light not been seen, it is extremely probable that the Apelles would have run against it, it being difficult to discern a low-lying hull of a nondescript colour even on a clear night, as the object generally blends with the colour of the sky.