SS Maori (1893)

Coordinates: 34°2′4″S 18°18′48″E / 34.03444°S 18.31333°E / -34.03444; 18.31333
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Maori sinking in 1909
History
United Kingdom
NameMaori
NamesakeMāori
OwnerShaw, Saville & Albion Co.
OperatorShaw, Saville & Albion Co.
Port of registrySouthampton
BuilderC.S. Swan & Hunter, Wallsend
Yard number184
Launched14 August 1893
Sponsored byMrs. James Henderson
Completed28 October 1893
Maiden voyage11 December 1893
Identification
FateWrecked, 5 August 1909
General characteristics
TypeRefrigerated Cargo ship
Tonnage
  • 5,200 GRT (1893–1897)
  • 5,317 GRT (1897–1909)
  • 4,038 NRT (1893–1897)
  • 4,155 NRT (1897–1909)
  • 7,000 DWT
Length
Beam48.3 ft (14.7 m)
Depth29.6 ft (9.0 m)
Decks3
Installed power461
Nhp
Propulsion
triple expansion
Speed11 knots (20 km/h)
Crew53

Maori was a British

Wallsend-on-Tyne for Shaw, Saville & Albion Co. of London with intention of transporting frozen meat and produce from Australia and New Zealand to the United Kingdom. The vessel stayed on this trade route through her entire career. In August 1909 while on one of her regular trips, she was wrecked on the coast of South Africa
with the loss of thirty two of her crew.

Design and construction

Early in 1893 Shaw, Saville & Albion Co. decided to sell their three year-old ship SS Maori and replace her with a bigger vessel capable of carrying large quantities of frozen meat and produce from New Zealand and South America. An order was placed with C.S. Swan & Hunter and the replacement ship was

yard number 184), with Mrs. James Henderson, wife of the Rector of St. Peter's parish church of Wallsend, serving as a sponsor.[1][2]

The ship was of the improved three-deck type, specially designed for colonial frozen meat trade and had

winches.[2]

As built, the ship was 402.6 feet (122.7 m) long (between perpendiculars) and 48.3 feet (14.7 m) abeam and had a depth of 29.6 feet (9.0 m).[3] Maori was originally assessed at 5,200 GRT and 4,038 NRT and had deadweight of approximately 7,000.[4] The vessel had a steel hull with cellular double bottom throughout and a single 461

triple-expansion steam engine, with cylinders of 29-inch (74 cm), 46-inch (120 cm) and 77-inch (200 cm) diameter with a 48-inch (120 cm) stroke, that drove a single screw propeller, and moved the ship at up to 11.0 knots (12.7 mph; 20.4 km/h).[3]

The sea trials were held on 28 October 1893 off Tynemouth during which the ship performed satisfactorily and was able to achieve mean speed of 12 knots (14 mph; 22 km/h) over several runs on the measured mile. Upon completion, the ship was handed to her owners and proceeded to London for loading.[5]

Operational history

After delivery the ship sailed for London where she entered a drydock on 29 October for examination. Subsequently, the vessel loaded 5,900 tons of general cargo and departed

pelts and tallow. Maori sailed out from Wellington on 13 March and reached London on 2 May via Cape of Good Hope and Tenerife, thus successfully completing her maiden voyage.[10]

In a storm on 5 August 1909 Maori ran aground a few kilometres south of the suburb of Llandudno on the west coast of Cape Peninsula near Cape Town. Her crew launched three lifeboats, but her Master and 14 of her crew were left aboard ship.[11]

The coast was remote, inaccessible and very rocky and enormous rollers from the Atlantic Ocean crashed against the formidable granite cliffs that overshadowed the stricken vessel. It was late winter and the water was cold. 32 people died, including her Master and most of his navigating officers.[11]

Wreck

plan of wreck site

The wreck lies in about 24 metres (79 ft) of water between granite boulders. Since the 1960s it has been popular with scuba divers, but it can be visited only when the weather is calm and the prevailing southwesterly swell is low. The hull has been vandalized and much of the general cargo that the ship carried has been removed by hunters of salvage and souvenirs over the years. In the 1970s divers dynamited her hull to search for non-ferrous metal.[11]

The cargo included crockery, rolls of linoleum, champagne and red wine. In the 1970s it was still possible to find bottles of wine scattered about the wreck in the sand. Most of these used to explode when brought to the surface. A few would survive but the wine inside them was impossibly foul.[citation needed]

South Africa's National Heritage Resources Act now protects the wreck. In the right conditions it is a popular scuba wreck diving site.

References

  1. ^ "Maori (1104031)". Miramar Ship Index. Retrieved 30 April 2021.
  2. ^ a b "Launches And Trial Trips". Marine Engineer and Naval Architect. Vol. XV. 1 September 1893. p. 257.
  3. ^ a b Lloyd's Register, Steamships and Motorships. London: Lloyd's Register. 1897–1898.
  4. ^ Lloyd's Register, Steamships and Motorships. London: Lloyd's Register. 1894–1895.
  5. ^ "Trial Trips". Marine Engineer and Naval Architect. Vol. XV. 1 December 1893. p. 401.
  6. ^ "Mail And Steamship News". The Daily News. 12 December 1893. p. 3.
  7. ^ "Foreign Arrivals". The Times. 1 February 1894. p. 4.
  8. Evening Star
    . No. 9361. 7 February 1894. p. 3.
  9. Evening Star
    . No. 9362. 8 February 1894. p. 3.
  10. London Standard
    . 3 May 1894. p. 7.
  11. ^ a b c Gribble, John. "The Sad Case of the SS Maori". Underwater Cultural Heritage at Risk (PDF). International Council on monuments and sites. pp. 41–43.

34°2′4″S 18°18′48″E / 34.03444°S 18.31333°E / -34.03444; 18.31333

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