British Peer (ship)
 |
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| Career (UK) |  |
|---|---|
| Operator: | British Shipowners Company |
| Builder: | Harland and Wolff, Belfast, Ireland |
| Christened: | British Peer |
| Acquired: | 1883, Nourse Line |
| Fate: | Wrecked, 8 December 1896 at Saldanha Bay; 4 survivors |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Barque |
| Displacement: | 1428 tons |
| Length: |
247.5 feet (75 m) Lengthened by 32 feet (9.8 m) in 1878 |
| Beam: | 36.4 feet (11 m) |
| Draught: | 22.5 feet (7 m) |
| Propulsion: | Sail |
| Crew: | 22 |
| Notes: | Iron hull |
The British Peer was a 1428-ton, 247.5 feet (75.4 m) long, 36.4 feet (11.1 m) wide and 22.5 feet (6.9 m) deep, three-masted iron sailing ship, built at the Harland and Wolff yards in Belfast, Ireland, in 1865 for the British Shipowners Company. In 1883 she was bought by the Nourse Line. Originally she was the fastest vessel in fleet until the British Ambassador was commissioned.[1] Alterations to increase her tonnage by lengthening her hull by 32 feet (9.8 m) in 1878 completely spoiled her sailing powers however as she was never as fast again. Excluding her master she carried a crew of 22.
The British Peer, like other Nourse Line ships, was involved in the indentured labour trade. On 23 April 1892, she carried 527 Indian indentured labourers to Fiji. Two months late, on 11 June 1892, she arrived in Suriname with Indian indentured labourers. She also repatriated 450 Indians who had completed their indenture from St Lucia to India in September 1894.
The British Peer had first visited South Africa in 1886 while on a voyage carrying indentured labourers. In November 1894 she again stopped in at the Cape of Good Hope, carrying a cargo of salt and 471 Indian indentured labourers. On 8 December 1896, she struck a reef in Saldanha Bay, South Africa and was destroyed with only four survivors. A Court of Enquiry, on 7 January 1897, found that “the loss of the ship was occasioned by reckless navigation on the part of the master”.[2] The wreck of the British Peer itself still lies in about 9 metres (30 ft) of water in Saldanha Bay.
See also
References
- ↑ David Roy Macgregor (1984). Merchant Sailing Ships, 1850-1875: Heyday of Sail. Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0870219510. http://books.google.com/books?id=xzM7AAAAMAAJ. Retrieved 2008-02-25.
- ↑ Route 27 West Coast South Africa: The Wreck
External links
Bibliography
Lubbock, Basil (1981). Coolie ships and oil sailors. Brown, Son & Ferguson. ISBN 0-85174-111-8.
- Articles needing additional references from February 2008
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- Belfast-built ships
- History of Saint Lucia
- History of Suriname
- Indian indenture ships to Fiji
- Shipwrecks on the South African coast
- Maritime incidents in 1896
- Victorian era passenger ships of the United Kingdom
