MS ''Vulcanus'' was a motor-powered tanker constructed by the

Nederlandsche Scheepsbouw Maatschappij The (NSM; from Dutch language, Dutch: ''Dutch shipbuilding company''), was a Dutch shipyard, shipbuilding company based in Amsterdam. It existed from 1894 to 1946. From c. 1908 it was the biggest Dutch shipbuilding company. Foundation of the N ...

, which was the first

Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...

motor ship A motor ship or motor vessel is a ship propelled by an internal combustion engine, usually a diesel engine. The names of motor ships are often prefixed with MS, M/S, MV or M/V. Engines for motorships were developed during the 1890s, and by th ...

. Because of the hazardous liquids the ship would carry, a motor engine was chosen due to concerns about sparks from a

steam engine A steam engine is a heat engine that performs Work (physics), mechanical work using steam as its working fluid. The steam engine uses the force produced by steam pressure to push a piston back and forth inside a Cylinder (locomotive), cyl ...

posing a fire risk. Comparing tankers that were fitted with a steam engine against the ''Vulcanus'', it showed that the ''Vulcanus'' only consumed an estimate of 2 tons of oil, while other tankers consumed around 11 tons of coal.

History

Sometime in 1911, the ''Vulcanus'' became beached during low tide at the

Goodwin Sands Goodwin Sands is a sandbank at the southern end of the North Sea lying off the Deal, Kent, Deal coast in Kent, England. The area consists of a layer of approximately depth of fine sand resting on an Chalk, Upper Chalk platform belonging to ...

. A portion of the

gasoline Gasoline ( North American English) or petrol ( Commonwealth English) is a petrochemical product characterized as a transparent, yellowish, and flammable liquid normally used as a fuel for spark-ignited internal combustion engines. When for ...

cargo was pumped out of the ship, which then allowed the ship to be refloated.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vulcanus 1910 ships Ships of the Netherlands Oil tankers