RIMS Warren Hastings
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RIMS ''Warren Hastings'' was a
Royal Indian Marine Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family or royalty Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Illinois, a village * Royal, ...
troopship A troopship (also troop ship or troop transport or trooper) is a ship used to carry soldiers, either in peacetime or wartime. Troopships were often drafted from commercial shipping fleets, and were unable to land troops directly on shore, typic ...
built by the Barrow Shipbuilding Company. She was launched on 18 April 1893, and claimed to be "practically unsinkable" because of her 33 watertight compartments. However, whilst in service the ship struck a rock and was wrecked off the coast of
Réunion Réunion (; ; ; known as before 1848) is an island in the Indian Ocean that is an overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department and region of France. Part of the Mascarene Islands, it is located approximately east of the isl ...
on the night of 14 January 1897, while travelling to
Mauritius Mauritius, officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island country in the Indian Ocean, about off the southeastern coast of East Africa, east of Madagascar. It includes the main island (also called Mauritius), as well as Rodrigues, Ag ...
from
Cape Town Cape Town is the legislature, legislative capital city, capital of South Africa. It is the country's oldest city and the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. Cape Town is the country's List of municipalities in South Africa, second-largest ...
. The wreck resulted in two deaths.


Features

''Warren Hastings'' was completed by the Barrow Shipbuilding Company in 1893. Sir Edward Reed oversaw the design and construction, and she was named by Lady Agnes Burne. She was launched on 18 April of that year. Contemporary media claimed her to be "practically unsinkable" because of her 33 watertight compartments. The launch was accompanied by a luncheon where several distinguished persons were present. The ship was long, with a beam of , and
moulded depth A hull is the watertight body of a ship, boat, submarine, or flying boat. The hull may open at the top (such as a dinghy), or it may be fully or partially covered with a deck. Atop the deck may be a deckhouse and other superstructures, such as a ...
. She displaced around , was propelled by two triple-expansion engines capable of producing , which were supplied by eight boilers, and had a coal capacity of . She attained a maximum speed of . The hull of the ship was
steel Steel is an alloy of iron and carbon that demonstrates improved mechanical properties compared to the pure form of iron. Due to steel's high Young's modulus, elastic modulus, Yield (engineering), yield strength, Fracture, fracture strength a ...
, and the woodwork
teak Teak (''Tectona grandis'') is a tropical hardwood tree species in the family Lamiaceae. It is a large, deciduous tree that occurs in mixed hardwood forests. ''Tectona grandis'' has small, fragrant white flowers arranged in dense clusters (panic ...
, so that she would be fit for tropical environments. She was outfitted with six
quick firing gun A quick-firing or rapid-firing gun is an artillery piece, typically a gun or howitzer, that has several characteristics which taken together mean the weapon can fire at a fast rate. Quick-firing was introduced worldwide in the 1880s and 1890s and ...
s, six three pounder guns, and four five barreled guns. The ship's internal spaces had electric lights.


Final voyage


Background

On 20 November 1896, the 1st Battalion of the
King's Royal Rifle Corps The King's Royal Rifle Corps was an infantry rifle regiment of the British Army that was originally raised in British North America as the Royal American Regiment during the phase of the Seven Years' War in North America known in the United Sta ...
, stationed at
Jullundur Jalandhar () is a city in the state of Punjab in India. With a considerable population, it ranks as the third most-populous city in the state and is the largest city in the Doaba region. Jalandhar lies alongside the historical Grand Trunk R ...
, was ordered to go to
Mauritius Mauritius, officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island country in the Indian Ocean, about off the southeastern coast of East Africa, east of Madagascar. It includes the main island (also called Mauritius), as well as Rodrigues, Ag ...
. The battalion set sail on 30 November 1896. They passed through
Deolali Deolali, or Devlali (), is a small hill station and a census town in Nashik district of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Now it is part of Nashik Metropolitan Region. Deolali has an important army base. Deolali Camp, one of the oldest Indian mi ...
, and boarded ''Warren Hastings'' in
Bombay Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial centre, financial capital and the list of cities i ...
. The ship, captained by Gerald Edward Holland, left Bombay on 10 December. The ship was to stop in Cape Town, and continue to Mauritius from there. After a brief stop for coaling in
Seychelles Seychelles (, ; ), officially the Republic of Seychelles (; Seychellois Creole: ), is an island country and archipelagic state consisting of 155 islands (as per the Constitution) in the Indian Ocean. Its capital and largest city, Victoria, ...
, the ship arrived in Cape Town on 28 December.


Wreck

On 6 January 1897, ''Warren Hastings'' departed from Cape Town, bound for Mauritius. On board were 526 members of the King's Royal Rifle Corps, 510 members of the 2nd York and Lancaster Regiment, and 25 members of the 2nd Middlesex Regiment, including two officers, 20 women, 10 children, and 253 crew members, totaling 1,244 people. On 13 January, the ship steamed into heavy rain and thick fog. At 02:20 on 14 January, ''Warren Hastings'' struck a rock off the coast of Réunion. At the time of impact, the ship was traveling at a speed of , and had veered off course. The wreck itself was caused by the decreased visibility resulting from the foul weather, and by a "magnetic disturbance", which caused the compass to malfunction. Lieutenant-Colonel Forestier-Walker went to the bridge and asked Captain Holland for orders. The possibility of landing the troops and crew on the rocks was considered, and at 03:25, the captain sent two officers, Lieutenants Dobbin and Windham, over the bow on ropes to inspect the safety of the rocks, equipped with blue lights. The lieutenants determined that the rocks were safe, and Captain Holland ordered the evacuation of the ship to begin at 04:00; the men began climbing down the rope ladders. Originally, the captain wanted to keep the women and children on board until daylight, when it would be safer to evacuate them, but the ship started to list severely at 04:20, and it was decided that the evacuation should continue without delay. The electrical systems on the ship failed at 04:35, after which the evacuation was forced to continue in complete darkness. Around 05:00, the better swimmers were permitted to jump overboard and swim to shore on their own; the shore was around away. A member of the Rifle Corps, Private N. McNamara, strung a line between the ship and the shore, and heavier ropes were subsequently set up. The remaining men could go down the rope, making the evacuation safer. The ship was completely evacuated by 05:30. Two people died during the evacuation.


Aftermath

Soon after the wreck, when the rain had subsided, Captain Holland sent members of the Rifle Corps and the York and Lancaster Regiment to retrieve some baggage from the ship, which was stuck on the rocks and had not sunk. The operation was called off at 10:00, when First Lieutenant St. John decided that the wreck was too dangerous. The baggage that had been recovered was taken to shore. After this, the troops went to the nearby village of
Saint-Philippe Saint-Philippe () is a commune in the French overseas department of Réunion. It is located in the southeast of the island. Geography Saint-Philippe is on the highest point on the island. It borders the municipalities of Saint-Joseph and Sa ...
, where they stayed overnight and received assistance from the townspeople. Captain Holland contacted C. W. Bennett, the British Consul at Saint-Denis, and they secured passage to Mauritius on the SS ''Lalpoora'', located at Pointe des Galets. After brief stops in Saint-Joseph and St. Pierre, the troops were transported to Pointe des Galets by train. The ''Lalpoora'' left Réunion on the mid-afternoon of 17 January, and they arrived in Mauritius early the next morning. The officers of ''Warren Hastings'' were praised for the discipline and bravery of the troops involved in the evacuation. However, Captain Holland had to face a court martial for losing the ship; he was reprimanded and subsequently acquitted.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Warren Hastings Ships of the Royal Indian Navy 1893 ships Shipwrecks in the Indian Ocean Maritime incidents in 1897 Ships built in Barrow-in-Furness