1930 — April 24, Long Island Sound Freighter Thames burns near Captains Island, CT–16

–16 Berman, Bruce D. Encyclopedia of American Shipwrecks. 1972, p. 90.
–16 Lowell Sun, MA. “Captain…Eight Members of Burned Freighter…Safe,” 4-25-1930, p. 1.
–16 Steamboat Inspection Service. Annual Report…Fiscal Year Ended June 30, 1930. 1930, 16.

Narrative Information

Steamboat Inspection Service: “On April 24, 1930, the freight steamer Thames, 560 gross tons, bound from New York, N.Y., to Bridgeport, Conn., caught fire from some unknown cause and, after being beached off Sound Beach, burned to the water’s edge. Sixteen of the 26 members of the crew lost their lives. The vessel was owned by the Thames River Line, New York, N.Y., and was valued at $15,000. The cargo, which consisted of sugar, oil, and excelsior, was valued at $30,000. The case was investigated by the local inspectors at New Haven, Conn., and dismissed.”

Newspaper

April 25, Associated Press: “Stamford, Conn., Apr. 25. (AP) — Sixteen members of the crew of the Long Island Sound Freighter Thames, which was burned last night while enroute from New York to Bridgeport, were missing late this forenoon. Ten members have been rescued. Nine of these men were taken to Providence by the Steamer Lexington, and one picked up by an oyster boat rejoined his family in Bridgeport.

“The hulk of the craft, blackened by fire, was on a reef seven hundred yards off Tod’s Point on the Sound Beach shore [CT]. Although the water’s edge for miles was searched this morning, no trace of the missing men has been found. The fire swept the vessel, from which also there were several small explosions during the night, and there seemed little possibility of salvage of cargo or equipment.

“Providence, R. I., Apr. 25. (AP) — The captain and eight other members of the crew of the burned freighter Thames, were brought here after 7 o’clock this morning aboard the steamship Lexington, which rescued them last night off Captain’s Island in Long Island sound. In addition to Captain Robert Sherman of the Thames, who hails from Stratford, near Bridgeport, the following were picked up by the Colonial Line Steamer Lexington: Louis S. Hubbell, 616 Whalley avenue, New Haven, first assistant engineer; Fred Sheller, 144 West First street, Fulton, N. Y., second mate; Walter J. Brown of Bridgeport, oiler; his brother, A. B. Brown of the same city, deck hand; James Power, 25 South street, New York, deck hand; R. Smith of Bridgeport, deck hand; Emil Salguero, 95 Cherry street, New York, fireman, and Atliano Marta, 106 Cherry street, New York, fireman.

“In the opinion of the crew here and from information gained from other sources, it would appear that about sixteen men are unaccounted for. Several of the hands brought to this city saw Captain Leonard Hancourt of Seaview avenue, Bridgeport, the pilot, go over the side with them in the port lifeboat, but he was not picked up by the Lexington. Another who went over the side but did not arrive here was a man named O’Brien of Newfoundland, a deck hand. Walter J. Brown, the Bridgeport oiler also stated that he last saw on the deck of the Thames, John McNamara of Tiverton, R. I., a deck hand. Brown says he called to McNamara to come with them, and the Tiverton man laughed as though he believed the men in the small boat had little chance to be saved.

“All of the eight men of the crew brought here were off watch when the blaze started, and could not tell how or where the fire originated. It was believed, according to Captain Sherman, who was on deck at the time, to have come from the boiler room.

“The off-watch section of the crew rushed to the port life boat on the windward side o£ the vessel and piled over the side. Most of them had only trousers and shirts on, and most of their personal belongings were lost. The lifeboat capsized almost immediately as it struck the heavy sea and the men were pitched into the freezing water. Hubbell, the second engineer, was beneath the boat and got out from under only with the greatest difficulty. “If that boat from the Lexington had not come along, I could not have lasted two more minutes,” he said. All of the rescued men were, stiff with cold and helpless when picked up and were stripped and put beneath blankets on board the Lexington….

“A tenth man of the crew was rescued by the Providence Line steamer Chester W. Chapin and brought to this port, it was reported. The rescued man’s home is in Providence and he is believed to have left for home immediately steamer docked.” (Lowell Sun, MA. “Captain…Eight Members of Burned Freighter…Safe,” 4-25-1930, 1.)

Sources

Berman, Bruce D. Encyclopedia of American Shipwrecks. Boston: Mariners Press Inc., 1972.

Lowell Sun, MA. “Captain…Eight Members of Burned Freighter…Safe,” 4-25-1930, 1. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=61644191

Steamboat Inspection Service, U.S. Department of Commerce. Annual Report of the Supervising Inspector General, Steamboat Inspection Service, Fiscal Year Ended June 30, 1930. Washington: Government Printing Office, 1930. Accessed 10-14-2021 at: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Annual_Report_of_the_Supervising_Inspect/3fTirApEmkoC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=1930+fairfax+tanker+pinthis+collision+investigation+report&pg=PA3&printsec=frontcover