JAMES CHRISTOPHER LO248
Official No: 143827 Port and Year: London, 1919 (LO248)
Fleetwood, 1929 (FD21)
Description: Castle Class steel side trawler; coal fired. Ketch rigged
Crew:
Built: by J.P. Rennoldson & Sons, South Shields, in 1918. (Yard no. 306)
Tonnage: 276 grt 109 net
Length / breadth / depth (feet): 125.3 / 23.4 / 12.6
Engine: T 3-Cyl; 61 rhp; by builders.
Owners:
As LO248
1919: Skomer Steamship Co., Cardiff
Managers: Brand & Curzon, Docks, Milford
16 Apr 1923: Brand & Curzon, Docks, Milford.
As FD21
Feb 1929: J. Marr & Son, Fleetwood.
28 May 1929: Renamed MARSONA
Landed at Milford: 16 Jan 1920 - 13 Feb 1929
Skippers:
Notes: 14 Jan 1918: Launched as a minesweeper (Admy. No. 3715). 1 x 12 pdr.
1919: Registered by the Admiralty as a fishing vessel at London (LO248). Sold to mercantile.
31 Mar1920: In collision with NILE (M186) while manoeuvring in dock. [See below.]
Oct 1939: Requisitioned by the Admiralty as MARSONA and converted to a minesweeper duties (P.No.FY.714).
4 Aug 1940: Mined off Cromarty with the loss of five crew members.
[Information supplied by the Fleetwood Maritime Trust and the Bosun's Watch website.]
Accidents and Incidents
From the West Wales Guardian of Friday 18th March 1921:
In the Admiralty Division on Wednesday, Mr. Justice Hill had an action brought by the owners of the steam trawler Nile, of Milford Haven, to recover damages arising out of a collision between her and the defendant's steam trawler James Christopher, also of Milford Haven, in Milford Docks on the afternoon of March 31st last.
The Plaintiff's case was that the Nile was lying alongside the wall of the entrance to the sea-going locl of the dock. She had a wire fast from her bows to the wall, and was heading towards the end of the wall, waiting for further orders to cast off and proceed to the inside of the dock. In these circumstances it was alleged that the James Christopher, underway, with her stem struck the port quarter of the Nile, damaging her and forcing her stern into violent contact with the dock wall, whereby further damage was sustained.
Mr. Justice Hill in giving judgement said that although the skipper [ of the Nile ] who had been drinking heavily was not really in the best condition for control of his ship, the conclusion he came to on the evidence was that he could not move his engines astern and that the Nile was a stationary ship when she was run into by the James Christopher.
He pronounced the latter vessel alone to blame, and gave judgement for the Plaintiffs with costs, the damages to be assessed.
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