Tuesday 6 December 2011
12 сентября 1869 года Карнатик сел на мель на коралловом рифе Шааб Абу Ниас вблизи острова Шадван в Красном море. Оценив судно на безопасность и проверив насосы, Капитан Джонс отказал просьбам пассажиров покинуть судно, и заверил их, что судно безопасно и что Лайнер Суматра должен пройти мимо и спасти их. На борту было тихо и спокойно, пока в конце концов вода не достигла котлов, и судно осталось без света и энергии. В 11:00 следующим утром, после 34 часов нахождения на рифе, Капитан Джонс отдал приказ оставить судно, и первые 4 пассажира заняли свои места в одной из спасательных лодок, когда внезапно Карнатик разломился пополам.
Утонул 31 человек. Оставшиеся в живых добрались до бесплодного острова Шадван, где они были спасены на следующий день проходящим мимо судном, Суматра. За время эксплуатации судна, им управляли 13 человек, все опытные капитаны, включая Капитана Джонса.
На борту Карнатика находилось £ 40,000 золотом (£ 1.000.000 в наши дни), медь и серебро. Так что спасательная операция началась через две недели. Все золото было поднято на поверхность, но до сих пор ходят слухи, что не все сокровища обнаружены.
[fr] Mon odyssée sous-marine: Le Carnatic était un navire marchand mixte de près de 90m par 11m environ, pour une jauge de 1775 tonneaux, assurant le transport de marchandises et de passagers. Construit en fer, il était à propulsion mixte avec deux mâts métalliques supportant des voiles carrées. Lancé le 8 décembre 1862 aux chantiers Samuda Brothers à Cubitt Town près de Londres et enregistré le 2 mars 1863, il est armé par la compagnie Peninsular & Oriental Steam Navigation. Il est propulsé par deux machines Humphrys & Tennat de Deptford New Town travaillant en tandem, alimentées par une chaudière tubulaire, fournissant un peu plus de 200CV et entraînant une hélice tripale.
Lors des essais, le bateau atteint la vitesse maximale de 13,9 nœuds, ce qui garantit une vitesse de 12 nœuds en exploitation. La combinaison des deux modes de propulsion est intéressante pour la régularité. En effet la vapeur supplée la voile en cas de calme plat ou de vent contraire, comme lors de la remontée de la Mer Rouge. La voile de son coté permet d’économiser du combustible ; Le rendement des chaudières et machines était assez médiocre à l’époque et la consommation de charbon pouvait atteindre des records.
Il va être utilisé sur la route des Indes pour le service postal, le transport de passagers et de marchandises. En avril 1863, il relie Southampton à Ceylan par le cap de Bonne Espérance en 49 jours (le canal de Suez ne sera inauguré qu’en novembre 1869).
Pour son dernier voyage vers Bombay, en septembre 1869, il a chargé à Suez une cargaison amenée de Liverpool par le SS Venetian ; Les marchandises étaient acheminées par voie terrestre entre Alexandrie et Suez. Il embarque également 230 passagers et membres d’équipage. Le 13 septembre, peu après 1h du matin, sous un léger vent de nord, le Capitaine Jones est réveillé en sursaut. Le bateau se dirige droit sur un récif et en dépit d’une manœuvre désespérée d’évitement il heurte violemment la formation corallienne. Il se retrouve émergé des 2/3 environ sans dommages irréversibles. En dépit d’un allégement de l’avant les tentatives de dégagement échouent. Les passagers et l’équipage restent à bord toute la journée dans l’attente du Sumatra de la même compagnie qui doit passer bientôt pour rallier Suez.
Au cours de la nuit suivante, alors que le vent de nord forcit, l’eau monte et noie la chaudière. Devant la situation, le Capitaine Jones ordonne l’évacuation. C’est alors que le navire, alourdi à l’arrière, se case en deux et la poupe glisse, engloutissant 27 passagers et membre d’équipage. Les survivants accrochés à la proue, réussissent à gagner l’île de Shadwan avec les trois chaloupes restantes. Ils parviennent à signaler leur présence au Sumatra qui les recueille et les emmène à Suez.
La Lloyd’s organise rapidement une opération de récupération. Des Scaphandriers récupèrent les valeurs contenues dans le coffre, £32.000 sur £40.000 au départ et des sacs postaux. 700 lingots de cuivre seront aussi remontés avec l’aide de plongeurs locaux qui descendent en apnée. Ensuite, ils continueront de travailler sur l’épave pour leur propre compte, jusqu’à un coup de vent de mars 1870 qui précipite la proue vers le fond et un oubli de plus d’un siècle.
L’épave a été redécouverte quelques années après la fin des hostilités d’octobre 1973 et les accords de Camp David en 1978. Mais l’identification n’a pu être faite qu’après les recherches menées par des italiens et basées sur des indices d’architecture navale, de pièces de vaisselle et des bouteilles ovales de ‘soda water’ retrouvées dans les cales.
[en] My underwater odyssey: The Carnatic was as a 1,776 GRT steam-powered wood-on-iron constructed Clipper Ship built at Samuda Brothers, Cubitt Town, Isle of Dogs, Poplar, UK for the Penninsula & Orient S.N. Co., London (later to be known at the P & O Line). When her keel was laid in early 1862, she was originally to be named Mysore. However, when she was launched 12 June 1862 she was renamed the Carnatic. Completed 25 April 1863, she was 89.4 meters in length, 11.6 meters in beam, and 7.8 meters in draught. The ship was outfitted with square-rigged sails typical of clipper ships of the era, and also had a 4-cylinder compound inverted steam engine from Humphry's and Tennant, London, which provided 2,442 Hp to a single shaft and a 3-blade propeller.
On 27 June 1863 she sailed for Calcutta where she assigned service on the Suez-Bombay- and China route. The Suez canal would not be completed until September 1869, so at that time Suez was a seaport where ship's cargoes and passengers were embarked or were delivered too.
In 1867, Captain Philip Buton Jones took command of the ship, and by all accounts was considered a "seaman of the ablest means".
At 1000 on the morning of 12 September 1869, the Carnatic departed Suez for Bombay with 34 passengers, 176 crew, and a cargo consisting of copper sheeting, bales of cotton, Royal Mail, and 40,000 GBP in specie which was destined for the mint in India.
As the ship headed south, Captain Jones remained on the bridge to personally oversee the ship's navigation through the narrow passages and hazards of the Gulf of Suez. Maintaining a speed of 11 knots, the ship continued south throughout the day, with day turning to clear evening when the Ashrafi Light was sighted at 2340. However, no bearing on the light was taken. As the watch team changed at midnight, the Ashrafi Light was well astern of the ship. At 0100 13 September, the Second Officer became aware that Shadwan Island lie dead ahead. Captain Jones ordered a new course which he believed would allow the ship to clear the Island. However, at 0118 waves were sighted off the starboard bow indicating a reef. The helm was put hard over to starboard and engines to full back, but to no avail.....
The ship hit the reef of Sha'ab Abu Nuhas and was hard aground. Captain Jones then conducted a thorough inspection of the ship and determined that the pumps could handle the water that the ship was taking on. As there was no apparent danger to the passengers or crew he ordered that everyone was to remain onboard.
At dawn, Captain Jones realized that the ship was hard aground and ordered some of the cargo of cotton bales thrown overboard to lighten the ship in an attempt to refloat her on the changing tide. This, however, proved unsuccessful. Some passengers requested to disembark and make for Shadwan Island, a request which Capt. Jones refused as he was expecting the S.S. Sumatra to pass near the Carnatic's position, inbound for Suez, in the near future. And although the ship was taking on water, the pumps were controlling the flooding, the ship had power and appeared to still be sound.
As the day wore on there was no sign of any passing ships, so Capt. Jones decided that all passengers and crew would spend another night onboard the ship, although some passengers again requested to disembark for Shadwan Island.
As the ship sat on the reef, it had been swinging from side-to-side with the waves, which unbeknownst to captain or crew, was slowly weakening the ship's keel. At 0200 on 14 September the water level in the engineroom reached the ship's boilers which resulted in the ship losing all power (and loss of the pumps as well!).
At daybreak, with the ship flooding uncontrollably, Capt. Jones gave the order to abandon ship with women and children being ordered the first to depart the ship. The first of the women and children had just been put into a lifeboat when the ship suddenly broke in half. The after section of the ship immediately went to the bottom resulting in the loss of 5 of the passengers and 26 crew. The forward section of the ship rolled over onto its port side taking the remainder of the passengers and crew with it.
The passengers and crew in the water struggled for their lives and many managed to make it to the top of the reef.
The survivors managed to make it to Shadwan Island in the remaining lifeboats, arriving on the island at sunset. A signal fire was started atop the island which was later sighted by the passing S.S. Sumatra who rescued the survivors. 31 people lost their lives in the sinking of the ship.
Captain Jones was ordered to England to stand before a formal Board of Enquiry where it was determined that the grounding of the Carnatic was the result of negligence on the captain's part. Captain Jones' Master ticket was suspended for nine months. However, Captain Jones never went to sea again.....
The Carnatic's cargo was salvaged in the weeks following the sinking where 40,000 GBP of cargo and specie were recovered.
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