Maritime record LWT 767 - Wreck of the Lord Haddo

SCOTTISH CARGO VESSEL, 1867
Status: Casualty

`Left the Tyne 24.01 with a cargo of coke and coal and a pilot to take the vessel as far as the Downs. The ship had been overhauled before leaving the Tyne and pronounced seaworthy in every respect. On leaving she made a little water, but no more than could be easily kept under by the crew, and on the 27th she was pumped dry, but towards midnight the water level rose without good cause. At midnight she was headed for the shore with the consent of the master and beached at Cove Hithe at 8am the following morning (28th). It was proved satisfactorily to the Court that the boatswain and certain of the crew had bored holes in her port bow with an auger, and that the men were incited by drink supplied to them by the boatswain to assist him in scuttling the vessel. The Court could find no motive for the act beyond the fact the crew had received a month's wages in advance one week of which only had expired, and they wanted to make it, in the words of a witness, "a short voyage of it". The master displayed apathy and neglect of duty and the court suspended his certificate for three years. There was no evidence to show that the mate was in any way implicated.' (1)

Master: James Brotherston
Date of Loss Qualifier: A

Additional sources cited in United Kingdom Shipwreck Index:
BOT Wk Rtn 1865 p20(688)