JAPONICA M133

Official No:    107049    Port Number and Year: 15th in Milford in 1896

                                                                                  -    in Aberdeen, 1914 (A ? )

Description:  Steel side / beam trawler; steam screw; coal burner. Ketch rigged: mainsail and mizzen. 

Crew: 9 men

Registered at Milford: 17 Dec 1896

Built: Edwards Bros., North Shields 1896.  (Yard no. 528)

Tonnage: 145.13 gross 32.04 net 

Length / breadth / depth (feet):  106 / 20.65 / 11

Engine: T-3Cyl 50 rhp., by North East Marine Engine Co., Sunderland

Owners:

 

17 Nov 1896: Cornelius Cecil Morley, Co. Wexford

William Geoff Davies Goff, Co. Wexford.

 

9 Mar 1903: Southern Steam Trawlers Co., 127 Quay, Waterford

 

16 Dec 1911: Walter Fulton,   )

                                               ) 82 Gordon St., Glasgow

                       John Steward,   )

 

20 Dec 1911: John Colquhoun, 132 Bridge Gate, Glasgow

 

As A ?

4 Dec 1914:  Richard Watson Lewis, View Park, Deemount Tce., Aberdeen

 

Landed at Milford: 9 Dec 1896 - 28 Jun 1911

Skippers: Peter Ebbesen cert. no. 01678, age 40, born Horsen, Denmark; signed on 30 Nov 1896;

George Horth 01147, 45, Caistor, residing 5 Jubille Tce., Robert St., Milford; 2 Dec 1896; 1 Jan, 2 Jul 1897; 4 Jan, 7 Jun, 6 Jul 1898; 9 Jan 1899;13 Jan, 2 Jul 1903; 7 Jan, 6 Jul 1904; 5 Jan, 6 Jul 1905; 3 Jan 1906

J. Cutler 5311, 30, Yarmouth; 8 Sep 1899; 15 Jan, 9 Jul 1900; 14 Feb, 1 Jul 1901; 7 Jan, 5 Jul 1902; 12 Jan 1903

James Chaney 6638, 31, Winterton; 13 Feb, 3 Jul 1906

Richard Robson 5068, 33, Scarborough; 6 Jan, 2 Jul 1908; 11 Jan, 5 Jul 1909; 1 Feb, 8 Jul 1910; 4 Jan 1911.

 

Notes:  5 Jun 1915: Whilst fishing 45 miles E of Kinnaird Head, captured and sunk by gunfire from U-19 (Kapitänleutnant Constantin Kolbe). No lives lost.

Cert. Cancelled & Milford Registry Closed: 4 Dec 1914. Transferred to the port of Aberdeen.

 Accidents and Incidents:

From the Pembrokeshire Herald of Friday 4th January 1901:

 

The Storm

damage to trawlers

    Of the great storm last Thursday evening, the men working on the trawlers running out of the port speak with awe, and say that it was the worst experienced for many years.  The battered appearance of some of the boats that came in Friday and Saturday spoke volumes as to the severity of the tempest.

...................

    On the Japonica, John G. Butler, the skipper, had his hand caught in the winch, and lost two fingers, on Thursday night.

    Other trawlers ran to various places for shelter, but as already stated, they all reached Milford safely.  After the holidays there was some difficulty experienced in getting the crew together.

 

_____________________________

 

Log book entries:

 

18.07.1900

Starboard bow struck rocks and remained just for a few seconds.

    C. Garnish (Skipper)

 

15.11.1900

Milford Haven

Collision with the steam trawler 'Brazilian' of Milford Haven, which ran into the 'Japonica'.  Plates dented on starboard side abreast of the engine room

    C. Garnish (Skipper)

 

26.12.1900

20 miles SW of the Smalls lighthouse.

Vessel and rolled and pitched the Skipper into the winch.  Tore off two of his fingers from his right hand.

    C. Garnish (Skipper)

 

26.07.04

Tuesday.

Hubert O'Callan, age 32, Second Engineer; Irish, born Limerick, residing Milford.

Drowned, 210 miles WSW from Milford Haven.

Missed the Second Engineer from his bunk between 10 and 11 o'clock a.m.  We hauled the trawl and searched for him but we saw nothing no more of him.

    G. Horth (Skipper)

[ See local newspaper report below. ]

 

04.05.1911

Dale Roads.

Collided with 'Girl Eva' of Lowestoft.  No damage sustained by 'Japonica'.  Cause - engines got on centre and could not come astern in time to avoid collision.

    Richard Robson. (Skipper)

 

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From the Haverfordwest & Milford Haven Telegraph of Wednesday 20th January 1897:

 

At the Sessions House, on Thursday last, Charles Lewis, a cook on board the steam trawler "Japonica", was charged before Mr. W. R. Roberts and Mr. J. Ll. Davies with absenting himself from his vessel without leave, and also with refusing to proceed to sea.  George Horth, skipper, deposed that at an early hour on the morning of the date in question, he called his crew together and told them the ship was ready for sea.  The prisoner was there and said, "I am not going with you this voyage, if you can do without a deckhand for this trip, which you have done on many previous occasions."  The prisoner was then before Mr. Pick, Board of Trade officer, for the purpose of giving his reasons for refusing to go to sea.  The defendant, however, said he had no complaint to make against the company, skipper, or any of the crew, but that he had made up his mind not to proceed to sea this trip.  Mr. Pick corroborated, and added that after hearing defendant's statement he issued a warrant for him to be brought before the magistrate.  Serg. Brinn having given evidence of arrest, the Bench committed the prisoner for seven days hard labour, and ordered him to forfeit two days pay, remarking that they had dealt leniently with him on this occasion because this was the first case of the kind to come before them.  In future, however, cases of this nature would be dealt with more severely.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

From the Haverfordwest & Milford Haven Telegraph of Wednesday 3rd August 1904:

 

    On Sunday night the steam trawler "Japonica" (Sellick, Morley & Price) arrived in port, and Captain G. Horth reported that the second engineer, named H. D. Callan, was missed aboard on July 26th.  It is not known whether the man, who had only shipped this voyage, was overboard, or how he was lost..

 

 

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