W A Scholten

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shipstamps
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W A Scholten

Post by shipstamps » Sun Sep 14, 2008 4:59 pm


30c plus 10c; The combined passenger and cargo vessel W A. Scholten was built for the HoIland-America Line in 1874 by Napier, of Glasgow, and was named after one of the principal shareholders and a director of the company. The ship's gross tonnage was 2,500 tons, length 351ft., beam 38ft. She had a clipper stem, single funnel and three masts with sails. Iron-hulled, she had a single screw driven by two compound engines giving a speed of 10 knots. She was on the Rotterdam-New York service from 1874 to 1887. On November 19, 1887, she was sunk in collision with the Rosa Mary in the English Channel, with the loss of 132 passengers. SG1168 Sea Breezes June 1973

aukepalmhof
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Re: W A Scholten

Post by aukepalmhof » Fri Aug 13, 2010 9:25 pm

Built as a passenger-cargo vessel under yard No 328 by Robert Napier & Sons, Glasgow, Scotland for the Nederlandse Amerikaanse Stoomvaart Maatschappij (later Holland Amerika Lijn) at Rotterdam.
16 February 1874 launched as the W.A. SCHOLTEN, named after a Groninger industrial and principal shareholder and director of the company.
Tonnage 2,529 gross, 1,720 net, 2,438 dwt., dim. 112.16 x 11.58 x 8.68m, draught 6.8m. length bpp. 103.63m.
Powered by one 2-cyl. compound steam engine manufactured by the shipbuilder, 1,800 ihp, single shaft, speed during trials 11 knots.
Bunker capacity 557 tons of coal, daily consumption 36.5 tons.
Barkentine rigged.
Passenger accommodation 24 first, 18 second and 500 third class. Crew 67.
11April1874 delivered to owners.

Used in the liner service between Rotterdam via Plymouth to New York.
16 May 1874 she made her maiden voyage from Rotterdam to New York.
19 November 1887 early Saturday morning she left from Rotterdam bound for New York under command of Captain Taat with passengers and general cargo, she carried a total of 210 people on board.
After leaving the Dutch coast she encountered hazy visibility, which increased in the evening with a low visibility where after Captain Taat decided to drop anchor and wait till the visibility would increased.
She dropt anchor about 10 miles south east of the light ship South Head.
Around 22.00 the visibility improved, and the anchor was heaved up.
When underway the men and officers on watch sighted lights but not side-lights, and so they believed the lights were of a vessel at anchor and that they had plenty of space to pass, when coming nearer to the lights they found out that it was of a ship under steam on a collision course.
22.30 The W.A. SCHOLTEN came in collision with the British collier ROSA MARY from West Hartlepool the ship was hit on port side near the amidships, the W A SCHOLTEN got a hole of around 8 feet in her port side and water flowed rapidly in, the ship got a list. Panic broke out under the passengers on board after the collision and the officers and crew could not restore order.
Only two lifeboats due to the heavy list over port were launched and got free of the ship, many people jumped overboard but while there were enough lifejackets and lifebelts on board many did not use them and most of them drowned.
About 20 minutes after the collision the W A SCHOLTEN got down by the head, only 78 people were rescued mostly by the steamer EBRO, under the lost were also Captain Taat and the First Officer.

Source: Scheepvaart a Dutch newspaper. And some web-sites.
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