Jump to content

SSMont-Blanc

Coordinates:44°40′08″N63°35′50″W/ 44.6688°N 63.5973°W/44.6688; -63.5973
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Mont Blancin 1899
History
France
NameMont Blanc
NamesakeMont Blanc
Owner
Port of registry
BuilderSirRaylton Dixon& Co,Middlesbrough
Yard number460
Laid downMarch 23 1899
LaunchedMarch 25, 1899
CompletedJune 1899
Maiden voyageNovember 1900
Identification
Fatecollision and explosion, December 6, 1917
General characteristics
Typecargo ship
Tonnage3,279GRT,1,919NRT
Length97.5 m (320.0 ft)
Beam13.7 m (44.8 ft)
Depth4.7 m (15.3 ft)
Installed power247NHP
Propulsion
Armamentin WW1: 2 ×naval guns

SSMont-Blancwas acargosteamshipthat was built inMiddlesbrough,England in 1899 for aFrenchshipping company.[1]On Thursday morning, December 6, 1917, she enteredHalifax HarbourinNova Scotia, Canadaladen with a full cargo of highly volatile explosives. As she made her way through the Narrows towards Bedford Basin, she was involved in a collision withImo,a Norwegian ship. A fire aboard the ship ignited her cargo of wet and dry 2,300 tons ofpicric acid,500 tons ofTNT,and 10 tons ofguncotton.The resultantHalifax Explosionkilled approximately 2,000 people and injured about 9,000.

Building and owners

[edit]

SirRaylton Dixon& Co builtMont-BlancinMiddlesbrough,England, for the Société Générale de Transport Maritime (SGTM). She was launched on 25 March 1899 and completed that June. She was a typicalthree-island stylegeneral cargo ship. SGTMregisteredher atMarseille.[2]Hercode letterswere KHTN.[3]

Mont-Blancwas atramp steamer.In 1906, a ship-owner called E Anquetil acquired her and registered her inRouen.In 1915, she passed to another Rouen ship-owner called Gaston Petit. On 28 December 1915, theCompagnie Générale Transatlantique(CGT) acquired her, and registered her inSaint-Nazaire.[2]

Final voyage to Halifax

[edit]

She was chartered to carry a complete cargo of miscellaneous types of military explosives fromNew Yorkto France in November 1917.Mont-Blancwas not an especially old vessel but was a relatively slow, common tramp steamer, typical of many wartime freighters.[4]She left New York December 1 to join a convoy inHalifax, Nova Scotia.She arrived from New York late on 5 December, under the command of Aimé Le Medec.[5]The vessel was fully loaded with the explosivesTNT,picric acid,andguncottonin the hold, with barrels on deck containing the high-octane fuelbenzole,which itself consisted mainly of the highly volatile and easily ignited hydrocarbonsbenzeneandtoluene.[6]She intended to join a slow convoy gathering in Bedford Basin readying to depart for Europe, but was too late to enter the harbour before the submarine nets were raised.[5]Ships carrying dangerous cargo were not allowed into the harbour before the war, but the risks posed by German submarines had resulted in a relaxation of regulations.[7]

Aime Le Medec,CaptainofMont-Blanc

Francis Mackey, an experienced harbour pilot, had boardedMont-Blancon the evening of 5 December; he had asked about "special protections" such as a guard ship given the steamer's cargo, but no protections were put in place.[8]Mont-Blancstarted moving at 7:30 am on 6 December, heading towards Bedford Basin.[9][10][11]Mackey kept his eye on the ferry traffic between Halifax and Dartmouth and other small boats in the area.[12]He first spotted the outboundSSImowhen she was about 1.21 kilometres (0.75 mi) away and became concerned as her path appeared to be heading towards his ship's starboard side, as if to cut him off his own course. Mackey gave a short blast of his ship's signal whistle to indicate that he had the right of way, but was met with two short blasts fromImo,indicating that the approaching vessel would not yield her position.[13][14][15]The captain orderedMont-Blancto halt her engines and angle slightly to starboard, closer to the Dartmouth side of the Narrows. He let out another single blast of his whistle, hoping the other vessel would likewise move to starboard, but was again met with a double-blast in negation.[16]

Sailors on nearby ships heard the series of signals and, realizing that a collision was imminent, gathered to watch asImobore down onMont-Blanc.[17]Though both ships had cut their engines by this point, their momentum carried them right on top of each other at slow speed. Unable to ground his ship for fear of a shock that would set off his explosive cargo, Mackey orderedMont-Blancto steer hard to port (starboard helm) and crossed the Norwegian ship's bows in a last-second bid to avoid a collision. The two ships were almost parallel to each other, whenImosuddenly sent out three signal blasts, indicating the ship was reversing its engines. The combination of the cargoless ship's height in the water and thetransverse thrustof her right-hand propeller caused the ship's head to swing intoMont-Blanc.Imo's prow pushed into the French vessel's No. 1 hold on her starboard side.[18][8]

The collision occurred at 8:45 am.[19]While the damage toMont-Blancwas not severe, it toppled barrels that broke open and flooded the deck with benzol that quickly flowed into the hold. AsImo's engines kicked in, she quickly disengaged, which created sparks insideMont-Blanc's hull. These ignited the vapours from the benzol. A fire started at the water line and travelled quickly up the side of the ship as the benzol spewed out from crushed drums onMont-Blanc's decks. The fire quickly became uncontrollable. Surrounded by thick black smoke, and fearing she would explode almost immediately, the captain ordered the crew to abandon ship.[20][19]A growing number of Halifax citizens gathered on the street or stood at the windows of their homes or businesses to watch the spectacular fire.[21]The frantic crew ofMont-Blancshouted from their two lifeboats to some of the other vessels that their ship was about to explode, but they could not be heard above the noise and confusion.[22]As the lifeboats made their way across the harbour to the Dartmouth shore, the abandoned ship continued to drift and beached herself at Pier 6 near the foot of Richmond street.[23]

Two men observe a large beached ship with "Belgian Relief" painted on her side
SSImoaground on the Dartmouth side of the harbour after the explosion

At 9:04:35 am, the out-of-control fire aboardMont-Blancfinally set off her highly explosive cargo, causing theHalifax Explosion.[24]The ship was blown apart and a powerfulblast waveradiated away from the explosion at more than 1,000 metres (3,300 ft) per second. A temperature of 5,000 °C (9,030 °F) and a pressure of thousands of atmospheres occurred at the centre of the explosion.[25][8]

Aftermath

[edit]

All of the crew survived, except for one sailor who may have died of blood loss after being hit by debris from the blast,[26]20-year-old gunnerYves Quequiner.[27]Casualties included about 2,000 known dead and some 9,000 injured. More than 1,600 houses were destroyed by the explosion, with another 12,000 damaged. The explosion blew theMont-Blancinto shrapnel, which may have injured many people in the blast zone; about 250 people lost an eye to either the shrapnel or in-blown window glass shards, and 37 people were blinded. The blast was regarded as the largest man-made explosion disaster in history untilHiroshima.[28]

Ajudicial inquiryknown as the Wreck Commissioner's Inquiry was formed to investigate the causes of the collision. Proceedings began at theHalifax Court Houseon 13 December 1917, presided over by JusticeArthur Drysdale.[29]The inquiry's report of 4 February 1918 blamedMont-Blanc'scaptainAimé Le Médec,the ship'spilotFrancis Mackey,and CommanderF. Evan Wyatt,the Royal Canadian Navy's chief examining officer in charge of the harbour, gates and anti-submarine defences, for causing the collision.[29]Drysdale agreed with Dominion Wreck CommissionerL.A. Demers' opinion that "it was theMont-Blanc's responsibility alone to ensure that she avoided a collision at all costs "given her cargo;[30]he was likely influenced by local opinion, which was strongly anti-French, as well as by the "street fighter" style of argumentation used byImolawyer Charles Burchell.[31]According to Crown counsel W.A. Henry, this was "a great surprise to most people", who had expected theImoto be blamed for being on the wrong side of the channel.[32]All three men were charged withmanslaughterandcriminal negligenceat a preliminary hearing heard by Stipendiary MagistrateRichard A. McLeod,and bound over for trial. Mackey's lawyer Walter Joseph O'Hearn asked aNova Scotia Supreme Courtjustice,Benjamin Russellto issue a writ ofhabeas corpus.Russell agreed there was no justification for the charges and released the prisoner on 15 March 1918. As the captain had been arrested on the same warrant, he too was given a written discharge though he had not spent any time in jail. There were many people who were most displeased with Russell's decision, including Attorney GeneralOrlando Tiles Daniels.On 2 April, an attempt by prosecutor,Andrew Cluney,on behalf of the attorney general's office to overturn the decision in theNova Scotia Supreme Court(in banco) failed for lack of jurisdiction (as did two subsequent bids to indict Mackey on 9 April and 2 October 1918). Mr. O'Hearn pointed out the lack of jurisdiction from the outset of the proceedings. Four of the five justices, including Chief JusticeEdward Robert Harrisagreed. JusticeArthur Drysdalewas the lone dissenter. Ultimately, Justice Russell's decision was final. The case,In re Mackey,was added as a citation to theCriminal Code of Canadabeginning in 1919 under Section 262 entitled,Manslaughter defined.Russell also presided over the Commander Wyatt's grand jury hearing (19–20 March 1918) and trial (17 April 1918). The trial proceedings took less than a day and ended with an acquittal on both charges.[33][34][35][36]

In his autobiography, Russell reflected upon these particular proceedings. He stated: "Civium ardor prava jubentiumgave me all that I could do in disposing of the cases with which I was bound to deal. One of these concerned the official in charge of the wiring across the mouth of the harbour. To suppose he had anything in the world to do with the disaster was an utterly lunatic notion. Yet my impression is that the Grand Jury insisted on finding a true bill and placing him on trial. When the bill reached me I got rid of it in the shortest and easiest way possible. It was simply nonsensical, and the fact a grand jury could find it was symptomatic of the condition of the common feeling. "[37]

Drysdale also oversaw the first civil litigation trial, in which the owners of the two ships sought damages from each other. His decision (27 April 1918) foundMont-Blancentirely at fault.[29]Subsequent appeals to theSupreme Court of Canada(19 May 1919), and theJudicial Committee of the Privy Councilin London (22 March 1920), determinedMont-BlancandImowere equally to blame for navigational errors that led to the collision.[29][32][38]

Remains of ship

[edit]

Mont-Blancwas completely blown to pieces, and the remains of her hull were launched nearly 300 metres (1,000 ft) into the air.[39][40]Steel fragments from her hull and fittings landed all over Halifax andDartmouth,some traveling over four kilometres. Today several large fragments, such as one ofMont-Blanc'sguns, which landed 5.6 kilometres (3.5 mi) north of the blast site, and heranchorshank, which landed 3.2 kilometres (2 mi) south, are mounted where they landed as monuments to the explosion.[39][41]Others are on display at theMaritime Museum of the Atlanticin Halifax which has a large collection ofMont-Blancfragments; many were recovered from the homes of survivors.

Mont BlancAnchor Site 1

The wrecked remnants of one ofMont-Blanc'slifeboatswere found washed ashore at the foot of Morris Street on 26 December 1917. Name boards from the boat were salvaged and collected byHarry Piersof theNova Scotia Museumand are today part of the collection of the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic.[42]

See also

[edit]

Footnotes

[edit]
  1. ^"French Lines".Archived fromthe originalon 21 January 2013.Retrieved9 February2013."The History of Mont-Blanc" from the French Lines website.
  2. ^ab"Mont Blanc".Tees Built Ships.Shipping and Shipbuilding Research Trust.Retrieved15 September2022.
  3. ^Lloyd's Register1914,MON.
  4. ^The Maritime Museum of the Atlantic "Ships of the Halifax Explosion" web pageindicates thatMont-Blancwas nowhere near being the oldest ship assembled in the harbour.
  5. ^abKitz & Payzant 2006,p. 16.
  6. ^Flemming 2004,p. 16.
  7. ^MacDonald 2005,pp. 19–20.
  8. ^abcLilley, Steve (January 2013)."Kiloton killer".System Failure Case Study.7(1). NASA.
  9. ^MacDonald 2005,pp. 15–19, 27.
  10. ^Flemming 2004,pp. 17, 22.
  11. ^Armstrong 2002,p. 32.
  12. ^MacDonald 2005,p. 32.
  13. ^Kitz 1989,p. 15.
  14. ^Flemming 2004,p. 24.
  15. ^Ruffman, Alan; Findley, Wendy (2007)."The Collision".The Halifax Explosion.
  16. ^MacDonald 2005,p. 38.
  17. ^MacDonald 2005,p. 39.
  18. ^MacDonald 2005,pp. 40–41.
  19. ^abFlemming 2004,p. 25.
  20. ^Kitz 1989,p. 19.
  21. ^Kitz 1989,pp. 22–23.
  22. ^MacDonald 2005,p. 49.
  23. ^Flemming 2004,pp. 25–26.
  24. ^MacDonald 2005,p. 58.
  25. ^Ruffman & Howell 1994,p. 277.
  26. ^Janet Kitz,December 1917: Revisiting the Halifax Explosion,Halifax: Nimbus (2006) p. 84
  27. ^SS Mont Blanc crew manifest of 9 November 1917, p. 2Retrieved from the Ellis Island Database.
  28. ^Hendrix, Steve (6 December 2017)."Two ships collided in Halifax Harbor. One of them was a floating, 3,000-ton bomb".The Washington Post.Retrieved7 January2018.
  29. ^abcdFlemming 2004,p. 71.
  30. ^Johnston, William; Rawling, William; Gimblett, Richard; MacFarlane, John (2010).The seabound coast.Dundurn Press. pp. 525–526.ISBN9781554889082.
  31. ^Armstrong 2002,pp. 113–114, 122.
  32. ^abArmstrong 2002,p. 187.
  33. ^Zemel, Joel.Scapegoat, the extraordinary legal proceedings following the 1917 Halifax Explosion(2012),ISBN978-0-9684920-9-3,pp.
  34. ^MacDonald 2005,p. 270.
  35. ^Armstrong 2002,pp. 196–201.
  36. ^Zemel 2014,pp. 255, 303.
  37. ^Russell, Benjamin.Autobiography of Benjamin Russell(1932, Halifax: Royal Print and Litho Ltd.), p. 270.
  38. ^Kitz, Janet (2002). "The Inquiry into the Halifax Explosion of December 6, 1917: the legal aspects".Journal of the Royal Nova Scotia Historical Society.5:64.
  39. ^abThe Halifax Explosion
  40. ^Ground Zero: A Reassessment of the 1917 explosion in HalifaxAlan Ruffman and Colin D. Howell editors, Nimbus Publishing (1994), p. 277.
  41. ^Halifax Explosion Memorial Bell Tower
  42. ^"Name-boards of one of the Lifeboats of the French munition Steamship",Mont Blancof Rouen ",Harry Piers Museum Maker,Nova Scotia Archives

Bibliography

[edit]
[edit]

44°40′08″N63°35′50″W/ 44.6688°N 63.5973°W/44.6688; -63.5973

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=SS_Mont-Blanc&oldid=1246433354"