SS Humber was a passenger and freight vessel built for the Goole Steam Shipping Company in 1903.[1]

History
Name1903-1912:SS Humber
Operator
Port of registryUnited Kingdom
BuilderA MacMillan and Company, Dumbarton
Yard number391
Launched26 August 1903
FateSunk 12 February 1912
General characteristics
Tonnage1,023 gross register tons (GRT)
Length240 feet (73 m)
Beam33 feet (10 m)
Draught15.7 feet (4.8 m)

History edit

She was built in 1903 by A MacMillan in Dumbarton as one of a trio of ships which included SS Nidd and SS Colne. She was launched on 26 August 1903.[2] In 1905 she came under the ownership of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway.

On 9 June 1910 she was in collision with the German steamer Modena, owned by Robert M Sloman Jr. The Modena sank within 9 minutes, and the crew of the Humber managed to save all but two of the thirty crew members. For their actions, the German Emperor presented Captain Prentice with a gold watch, Chief Officer Sherwood with a pair of binoculars, and Seaman Bennett with £5. .[3]

She sank in the mouth of the River Elbe on 12 February 1912 during a voyage from Goole to Hamburg after a collision in fog with the German vessel Answald.[4] The Answald had hit the Humber amidships, making a hole 20 feet (6.1 m) long. The crew of the Humber were rescued by the Answald which had only suffered damage to her bows.

References edit

  1. ^ Duckworth, Christian Leslie Dyce; Langmuir, Graham Easton (1968). Railway and other Steamers. Prescot, Lancashire: T. Stephenson and Sons.
  2. ^ "New Goole Steamer". Hull Daily Mail. England. 28 August 1903. Retrieved 24 October 2015 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  3. ^ "For Bravery at Sea. German Emperor's Presents for Goole Sailors". Sheffield Daily Telegraph. England. 10 February 1910. Retrieved 24 October 2015 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  4. ^ "Fog catastrophe at Elbe's mouth". Hull Daily Mail. England. 17 February 1912. Retrieved 24 October 2015 – via British Newspaper Archive.