The Loss of the Jane Vosper Read online

  ‘No,’ Mactavish returned, ‘I didna say that. They might ha’ been the same as far as that was concerned.’

  ‘I don’t think I follow that. Would you please explain.’

  ‘Weel, the condeetions were no’ the same. In the case o’ the first three you had airr cushioning, the fourth occurred in water.’

  ‘You mean the water would carry the shock?’

  ‘Aye, but I mean more than that. If you explode against water, it’s nearly like a solid. The water would get driven outwards all round, but it wouldna compress like air would do. It couldna get out of the hole in the ship’s bottom, so it could only go outwards and upwards. And it couldna go very much upwards with the cargo.’

  ‘So it went outwards against the bulkheads?’

  ‘That’s so. And if the bulkheads hadna given in the centre by bulging, they would ha’ torn away, and she would ha’ gone straight down.’

  ‘How do you account for the first two explosions doing no apparent damage?’

  ‘I canna be sure, but I thought they had likely blown through the upper plating of her double bottom. If so, that would explain the third holing the lower plating.’

  ‘You mean that its protection would have been removed?’

  ‘That’s so.’

  ‘What space was there between the upper and lower plating?’

  ‘About three feet.’

  ‘Now, Mr Mactavish, from all you know of the affair, can you form any opinion as to the cause of the explosions?’

  This was one of the questions that had been asked of each of the witnesses. And now the chief gave the same answer as his predecessors. He had no idea. There was nothing that he knew of about the ship or cargo which could possibly account for them.

  ‘Does that mean that in your opinion some explosive must have been deliberately smuggled aboard the ship?’

  Mactavish was not going to be pinned to anything so definite. As the explosive went off aboard, he supposed it must have been brought aboard in some way, but he had no idea how.

  Some further questions followed, and then the chief left the witness box. For a time the proceedings lost a good deal of their interest. The next dozen witnesses, though their examination was no doubt necessary, added nothing of value to the evidence. After the chief came his two assistants, a greaser, two firemen, a trimmer, the bosun, the carpenter, and certain members of the crew. All these gave their evidence clearly enough, but it simply confirmed what the principal officers had already said. All this weight of testimony did, however, tend to increase the belief of those listening, that the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, was being told.

  By the time all these members of the crew had been examined, it was after five o’clock, and the proceedings were adjourned till the following morning. It was generally believed that the next day would complete the enquiry.

  When the court reopened at ten o’clock the first witness called was the third officer of the Barmore. He described the receipt of the wireless messages from the Jane Vosper, the race to the scene of the disaster, and the picking up of the crew from the boats. This confirmed the statements already made, but there was one line which Mr Armitage opened up with him, saying he had omitted to obtain Captain Hassell’s views upon it.

  This was the question of the amount of shipping which was in the neighbourhood at the time of the SOS. The witness was unable to state exactly what ships were close by, but he pointed out that both his own ship and the Jane Vosper were on a frequented traffic path. Practically all ships from Europe to South America – certainly all coming from north of the Mediterranean – and vice versa – passed through the waters in question, and this represented a very considerable fleet. He was of opinion that a crew in distress in such locality would have a very good chance of being picked up by a passing ship.

  Mr Armitage asked leave to recall Captain Hassell to put this point to him. Hassell thereupon returned to the box and when the question was asked, said he fully agreed with the opinion of the last witness. When he put out his call, he had no doubt that there were steamers not far off. But he pointed out that the call at Pernambuco took him slightly westward of the most frequented path – that to Rio and beyond.

  ‘I want to ask you another question, captain,’ Armitage went on. ‘You said you were thirty-three hours late, and that if you had been running to time you would have been abreast of Madeira. How far from the islands do you pass?’

  ‘On this trip I was aiming to pass within about twenty miles.’

  ‘There is more than one island?’

  ‘Yes. They stretch in a curved line from Porto Santo in the north to the three Desertas Islands in the south, a distance of over thirty miles. Madeira itself is south of halfway between them, to the west.’

  ‘Then supposing you were running to time and the explosions occurred at the same hour that they did, you would have been comparatively close to land?’

  ‘That is so.’

  ‘Given reasonably good weather, could you have made land in your boats?’

  The captain thought that there was every probability that they could, though he did not seem cheered by the suggestion.

  ‘Then,’ went on Armitage slowly, ‘would it, in your opinion, be true to say that assuming these explosions were to take place, the position which you normally should have reached when they occurred would have been as good, from the point of view of the safety of your crew, as any along the whole course of your voyage?’

  Captain Hassell paused for a moment to take in this question, then answered that unless it had been round the coast of Kent, he supposed it would.

  ‘Armitage believes it was malicious,’ Jeffrey whispered.

  ‘Looks like it,’ Alexander agreed. ‘Looks as if he held a brief for the criminal too.’

  ‘One other question. Captain Hassell,’ went on the deep voice. ‘The date of the disaster was the 30th September, wasn’t it?’

  ‘That’s correct.’

  ‘Now what kind of weather might you reasonably expect about the end of September in the neighbourhood of Madeira?’

  ‘Pretty good; better a good deal than we did get.’

  This line of enquiry, unexpected and suggestive, reawakened the somewhat flagging interest, and when Captain Hassell left the box there was a small orgy of movement and whispering. It certainly seemed as if Armitage believed there had been foul play, but if so, his object in attempting to whitewash the evil doers was not so clear.

  However, the matter was not followed up, and the next witness, Mr Peter Davis, was immediately called.

  Davis described himself as a technical representative of Messrs Ferris & Bloom, of Newcastle, the builders of the Jane Vosper. He produced plans showing not only the general arrangement and dimensions of the ship, but also details of the construction, particularly the steelwork of the bulkheads, and the method of securing the latter to the sides and bottom of the vessel. He said that the ship had been built to these plans, and that all steel was of the full dimensions shown and all workmanship of the best standard and thoroughly well carried out. The hull indeed was of extra strong construction, as he thought was proved by the fact that she stood three of these explosions and remained afloat.

  In reply to a question from Armitage, he said the ship was designed to float with one compartment flooded, but not with two.

  Charles Cruthers, the next witness, said that he was a naval architect employed by the Admiralty. He had some experience of the design and construction of ships of war, but most of his life had been spent on auxiliary ships approximating to the ordinary commercial freight carrier. He had examined the plans of the Jane Vosper, and he agreed with the last witness that she was a thoroughly well and substantially designed ship. He was of opinion that she was well up to the average of her class, if not above it. He had heard the evidence given as to the explosions which had taken place aboard and he thought these had revealed no sign of weakness in either design or construction; rather the contrary.
/>   ‘Witness probably brought by the owners,’ Alexander whispered, and Jeffrey nodded in reply.

  Stewart Clayton, the managing director of the Southern Ocean Steam Navigation Company of Fenchurch Street, the owners of the Jane Vosper, was then called. He said the ship had been built for his company in 1913 and had remained in their service ever since. Thanks to their former chairman she had been in advance of her time when built, and though she was no doubt getting old, twenty-two years, she was still in excellent condition and quite serviceable. No money had been spared in her construction and no money had been spared on keeping her in repair since then. She had proved a satisfactory ship, never having been in serious accident, and bringing in a reasonable return on her capital cost.

  Her last big overhaul was carried out before her previous trip to South America, some four months before the disaster. Certain small renewals were then made, and she was left in thoroughly good condition.

  His firm and he himself were entirely satisfied with the officers and crew of the Jane Vosper. In Captain Hassell they had every confidence. He had served them conscientiously and well for many years, and they were satisfied that in this case he had done everything possible to save the ship. These remarks also applied to the chief engineer, and indeed to all the remaining officers and men.

  Mr Armitage then turned to a point which at once raised the public interest to greater heat, particularly to those who were connected with the insurance of her freight. ‘Can you tell the court,’ he asked, ‘just in what her cargo consisted?’

  Mr Clayton took some papers from a folder. ‘I have that information here,’ he answered. ‘The cargo on this trip was rather unusual, in that it was limited to the products of five firms. With general carriers, such as we are, it is usual to have on board a single ship freight from dozens of firms. This time, as I say, there were five rather large consignments from only five firms. They were as follows: There were 200 large cases of cloths and serges for dresses and suitings, from Messrs Holroyd & Cartwright of Hackney. That was valuable stuff, and the consignment was divided almost equally between Rio and Buenos Aires.

  There were 350 large-sized cases containing petrol-electric lighting sets from the Weaver Bannister Engineering Company of Watford. These were separated into four lots, for Pernambuco, Rio, Montevideo and Buenos Aires. Then there were 178 cases containing ornaments and metal fancy goods of various kinds from Messrs Walker Higgins and Son of Croydon. There was a lot of radio material, also in cases, from the Nightingale Company of Bermondsey. And lastly, the principal item and by far the greatest bulk was agricultural machinery from Messrs Dennison & Meakers of Reading. Some of this latter was crated, but most of it was loose. I have all details of sizes of cases and crates here and so on, and I can read it out if you desire.’

  ‘You distinguish between cases and crates?’

  ‘Yes. Technically a case is a box, completely closed in. A crate is an open structure: I might describe it as a box with alternate side boards missing.’

  ‘Quite. I think if you will hand in your memorandum of the cargo it will be sufficient without reading it.’

  To this the magistrate agreed and Armitage went on: ‘Was there then nothing in the cargo to account for the explosions? No chemicals, which by accidentally coming in contact or being wet, might have formed a dangerous compound?’

  ‘Nothing of the kind.’

  ‘What about petrol having been left accidentally in the sets?’

  ‘They were guaranteed to be empty and I’ve no reason to suppose they weren’t. Besides, I doubt that petrol would have produced such explosions. On the other hand, it would probably have started a fire.’

  ‘Then can you make any suggestion as to what might have caused the explosions?’

  ‘Absolutely none whatever.’

  Armitage then turned to the question of insurance.

  The Jane Vosper was insured for £20,000 and the witness estimated that before the accident she was worth just about that sum.

  Mr Clayton was subjected to a good deal more cross-examination by the various solicitors present than had fallen to the lot of the previous witnesses, but here again Jeffrey did not see that anything material was gained. He simply repeated his former statements in different words.

  Edgar Trevenna, inspector of the Marine Department of the Board of Trade, then testified that in the normal course of his duties he had inspected the Jane Vosper after her last overhaul, some four months previously, and he had found her in good order and properly equipped.

  Arthur Jefferson, inspector for Lloyd’s, followed, and gave similar evidence.

  Both the technician’s evidence and that of Mr Clayton had taken a considerable time, and the president now pointed out that it was past one o’clock and time for lunch. With his ‘Two o’clock, please, gentlemen’, he vanished with his assessors, and once again the hall quickly emptied.

  ‘It doesn’t seem to be getting any simpler,’ Jeffrey declared, as he and his companions headed for their restaurant.

  ‘It looks at all events as if Armitage thought it malicious,’ returned Alexander. ‘And Armitage means the Board of Trade.’

  ‘Surely nothing else could be possible?’ As he spoke Jeffrey glanced at Sutton as if asking his opinion.

  ‘That’s my view,’ the detective put in. ‘There’s nothing in the ship and there’s nothing in the cargo to blow her up. She was blown up. Therefore some explosive was deliberately put aboard with the object of sinking her. I don’t see how you can escape from that.’

  ‘And the motive?’ put in Alexander.

  ‘Why not insurance?’

  Alexander shook his head. ‘We’ve had no evidence to suggest it so far, but probably the point will be dealt with after lunch. You don’t suppose the owners sank the ship for the £20,000, I presume?’

  ‘I suppose not,’ Jeffrey admitted. ‘But they’re not the only firm concerned. I shall be interested to hear the value of the cargo and what was its cover.’

  This point was, as a matter of fact, the first taken on the resumption of the proceedings. Representatives from the five firms who had dispatched cargo by the Jane Vosper were called and gave estimates of the cost of their various consignments and the amounts for which they were insured. If these figures were correct, and there seemed no reason to doubt them, the amount of cover in each case was reasonable, if not moderate. Certainly there was nothing to account for so desperate a step as the blowing up of a ship for the insurance money. Indeed Jeffrey had to admit that no adequate motive had yet been suggested.

  During this somewhat tedious portion of the enquiry attention flagged, but it revived when Chief Officer Arlow was recalled, particularly among the representatives of those insurance companies which had covered the cargo.

  Arlow said that in the ordinary discharge of his duty he had been present during the whole of the loading, and had seen that the cargo was stowed in a thoroughly workmanlike and proper manner. He had there the bills of lading and other records of the work, and from these he was in a position to say in what part of the ship each item of cargo had been stowed.

  ‘Then,’ said Armitage, ‘you might tell us in as complete detail as you can, just how No. 2 hold was loaded.’

  Arlow replied that in the bottom were stowed the 350 cases from the Weaver Bannister Engineering Company of Watford. These were heavy and he had had them put on the floor of the hold, arranged in order of unloading. These cases covered the entire floor of that hold to a depth of some four feet. On them he had had built to the height required agricultural machinery invoiced to Pernambuco and Rio. None of the holds was quite full.

  In No. 1 hold, about which Armitage next enquired, the cargo placed against the after bulkhead was at the bottom crates of agricultural machinery for Buenos Aires, and above it cases of radio material for Montevideo. They were tightly wedged, and in his opinion it would have been impossible to get them out without opening the hatch.

  ‘Was the agricultural machinery covering the
Weaver Bannister cases in No. 2 hold, in crates, or if not, how was it packed?’

  ‘It was not in crates, sir. Parts of it were lapped with straw ropes and stiffened by being attached to pieces of wood, but for the most part it wasn’t packed at all. We roped and wedged the various implements together to prevent them shifting with the movement of the ship.’

  ‘Then would you say that between the crates and the top of the hold there was a good deal of open space, through which the gases of an explosion might become diffused?’

  ‘Yes, sir, that is so. There were ploughs, for instance, and while a man couldn’t have crawled between them, there was a lot of hollow space surrounding the metal.’

  ‘Now I want you to think carefully before you answer this question. Explosives undoubtedly got into that No. 2 hold. How, in your opinion, could that have happened?’

  Arlow shook his head over this. He knew nothing of any explosives. He couldn’t see how explosives could have got into the hold. He admitted they must have done so, but how was entirely beyond his knowledge.

  When the usual non-productive questions had been asked by various solicitors, the next witness was called.

  Abel Garstone said he was employed as a foreman stevedore at the London Docks. He had been in charge of the squad which had loaded the Jane Vosper and had worked under the supervision of First Officer Arlow. He had heard the first officer’s evidence and he corroborated it on every point. He was positive that no explosives could have got into No. 2 hold while he was working there, unless these were hidden in the Weaver Bannister crates. Nothing of the kind could possibly have been secreted in the agricultural machinery, as this was much too open.

  A Mr George Hislop then gave evidence. He said he was second in command in the export department of the Weaver Bannister Engineering Company of Watford. He had been directly concerned with the packing and dispatch of the cases which he had just heard had been loaded into No. 2 hold on the Jane Vosper. With obvious indignation in his voice he declared that the suggestion that explosives could have got into the cases was entirely false and absurd. The whole operation of assembly, packing and dispatch was carried out by experienced and trustworthy workmen under a very complete system of supervision, and no explosives or other unauthorized objects or materials could under any conceivable circumstances have been included. He wished to take strong exception to the suggestion that such might have occurred.