Penarth Dock, South Wales - the heritage and legacy

Volume Ten - Pre-Victorian to the Present Day - Even more aspects - The Lloyd's Register at Penarth Dock . . .

Ship Abandoned - Board of Trade Inquiry at Cardiff - 'This morning Mr. T. W. Lewis, the Cardiff stipendiary magistrate, continued the inquiry ordered by the Board of Trade into the loss of the steamship Glanhafren, of Aberystwyth, the managing owner of which was Mr. Lewis J. Mathias, of that port. The nautical assessors were Captains Cownie and Higginson. Mr. Arthur Vachell appeared for the Board of Trade, and Mr. Lean (Messrs. Moxon and Lean) for the captain, M. T. John Robinson Brown. The Glanhafren left Penarth for Venice on the 1st of February with a crew of 23 hands and about 2,750 tons of coal. On Monday, the 13th of February, she encountered a strong gale from the north-east, with heavy seas and snowstorms, and whilst making for an anchorage she stranded on Le Castella rock, on the south coast of Italy, and became a total wreck. The Master, continuing his evidence, stated that he abandoned the ship because it was getting dangerous, on account of the sea. He was afraid of her breaking in two. The Stipendiary said that in the annexe to the report the question of premature abandonment would be dealt with, but he had not considered it in his judgment. In his judgment he found that the vessel had been lost by the culpable negligence of the master, whose certificate was suspended for six months.' - Evening Express [135] [361] 18th April 1905.


20th century - artist unknown - 's.s. Glanhafren' - Another from the National Museum of Wales collection. The image is taken from a postcard held in the Penarth Dock Collection which states:- 'The Glanhafren was bought by John Mathias & Sons, Aberystwyth and Cardiff, in 1890.' [001] [120] She was launched as the 'Harperly' at South Shields on the Tyne in April 1888 and changed hands and name as above in 1890. She was lost on a voyage from Penarth Dock to Venice with a cargo of 1,720 tons of coal in February 1905. At the Cardiff Town Hall inquiry into her loss in April:- Report of Court. The Court, having carefully inquired into the circumstances attending the above-mentioned shipping casualty, finds, for the reasons stated in the Annex hereto, that the casualty was due to the master overestimating his distance from land to which he was directing his course, and neglecting to verify his position, either by cross bearings which were obtainable or by the use of the lead. The Court finds the master alone in default, and suspends his certificate for six months. [396]

The s.s. 'Harperly' was a general cargo, single screw steamer built at the yard of John Redhead & Company, at the West Yard, South Shields, on the Tyne, and was launched during April 1888. She was of 2,233 gross and 1,451 net register tons being 290.0 ft. long x 39.1 ft. breath x 18.8 ft. depth. She was built for William Wright of London but in 1890 sold and renamed 'Glanhafren' by the Glanhafren Steamship Company Limited (J. Mathias & Son) of Aberystwyth. On the 14th February 1905, whist on a voyage from Penarth bound for Venice with a cargo of coal, she foundered and was lost on La Castella Point, Cape Rizzuto off Southern Italy. [102]