1930 — Sep 1, Seattle halibut schooner Orient hit by freighter, sinks ~Vancouver Isl., BC-10

–10 Berman, Bruce D. Encyclopedia of American Shipwrecks. 1972, p. 219.
–10 Gibbs, Jim. Disaster Log of Ships…shipwrecks, California to Alaska. 1971, p. 117.
–10 New York Times. “10 Fishermen Lost as Boat is Rammed.” 9-3-1930, p. 14.
–10 Salt Lake Tribune, UT. “Ten Perish in Coast Shipwreck,” Sep 2, 1930, p. 1.
–10 US SIS. Annual Report of the Supervising Inspector General [SIS] for [FY]…1931. p. 15.

Narrative Information

Berman: “Orient…Ga.s. [gas screw]…57 [tons]…1911 [built]…Collided…With unknown vessel; Sisters Island Light; British Columbia; 10 lives lost.”

Gibbs: “…the Seattle halibut schooner Orient cut in half on August 31 [Sep 1] by the SS Admiral Nulton, 30 miles south of Seymour Narrows near White Island, B.C. The steamer overhauled the fishboat at night in clear weather and struck her so hard that she broke in two, part of her sinking. Captain S. H. Rudd, master, and nine other men were drowned. Three others of the Orient’s company were rescued.” (Gibbs, Jim. Disaster Log of Ships…shipwrecks, California to Alaska. 1971, p. 117.)

US Steamboat Inspection Service: “On September 1, 1930, the steamer Admiral Nulton, 3,545 gross tons, and the fishing vessel Orient, 57 gross tons, collided one-half mile N.-NW. magnetic from Sisters Island Light, British Columbia, which accident resulted in the sinking of the Orient. Ten lives were lost. The case was investigated by the local inspectors at San Francisco, Calif., and Lee G. Clements, second mate of the Admiral Nulton was charged with unskillfulness, violation of section 4440, R. S. Jurisdiction was transferred to Seattle, Wash., where the local inspectors concluded the charge was not sustained.” (US Steamboat Inspectiom Service. Annual Report of the Supervising Inspector General [SIS]…[FY]…1931. “Accidents Resulting in Loss of Life.” 1933, p. 15.)

Newspaper

Sep 1: “Seattle, Wash., Sept. 1 (AP). – The captain and nine members of the crew of halibut schooner Orient drowned today when the vessel sank south of Seymour Narrows after colliding with the freighter Admiral Nelson [Nulton], the Pacific Steamship company officials were informed tonight in a message from Captain F. L. Stevens of the Admiral Nelson.

“The captain said the vessels collided in dense fog south of Seymour Narrows, between Vancouver island and the British Columbia mainland. Only three members of the fishing boat survived, he said. They were taken aboard the Admiral Nelson, which reached Bellingham tonight, and were being brought to Seattle by automobile. Captain H. H. Rud of the Orient, who was drowned, and all members of the crew, including the nine who lost their lives, were of Seattle.

“The Admiral Nelson was bound from Ocean Falls, B.C., for Bellingham when the collision occurred….” (Salt Lake Tribune, UT. “Ten Perish in Coast Shipwreck,” Sep 2, 1930, 1.)

Sep 2: “Seattle, Sept. 2. – Ten Seattle fishermen were dead today and the halibut schooner Orient was a total loss as the result of a collision with the Pacific Steamship Company’s freighter Admiral Nulton forty miles south of Seymour Narrows, between Vancouver Island and British Columbia. The accident occurred about 3 o’clock yesterday morning. First news of the tragedy was received here last night from Captain F. L. Stephens, master of the Admiral Nulton, after his ship docked at Bellingham with three survivors of the Orient’s crew. Federal steamboat inspectors are arranging an investigation.

“The men on the Orient who lost their lives were Captain S. E. Dolph Rudd, master and owner; First Mate Peder Paulsen, Andrew Lokke, Anton Anderson, Chris Petersen, Murray Smith, Robert Courage, Martin Burns, Don Husby and Carl Thorsen, the cook.

“The survivors are Harold Hanson, Alfred Ellingsen and Edward Landness.

“The dead of the Orient’s crew were asleep when the crash came. The prow of the Admiral Nulton cut through the wooden hull of the schooner and she sank in a few minutes.

“Captain Stephens of the Admiral Nulton ordered boats lowered immediately the freighter stood by for six hours. Hanson and Ellingsen were found clinging to bits of wreckage. Landness had swum a mile to shore and was found there in an exhausted condition.

“The Orient was returning from the Goose Island fishing grounds in the Hecate Strait with a catch of halibut, Landness, the oiler of the fishing boat, said, and the lights of the schooner were burning brightly. ‘It was not foggy,’ he asserted. ‘We were proceeding over calm water. It was dark, but clear. The freighter hit us before we had a chance.’

“His tory was supported by R. M. Burghman, first mate of the Admiral Nulton, who indicated the collision might have been the result of a mixup in signals. The Admiral Nulton was bound from Ocean Falls, B.C., for San Francisco.

“Captain Rudd had been operating fishing vessels out of Seattle for twenty years. He is survived by a widow and four daughters.” (New York Times. “10 Fishermen Lost as Boat is Rammed.” 9-3-1930, p. 14.)

Sources

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

Gibbs, Jim. Disaster Log of Ships: A Pictorial account of shipwrecks, California to Alaska. NY: Bonanza Books, 1971.

New York Times. “10 Fishermen Lost as Boat is Rammed.” 9-3-1930, p. 14. Accessed 2-22-2022 at: https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1930/09/03/102156257.html?pageNumber=14

Salt Lake Tribune, UT. “Ten Perish in Coast Shipwreck,” Sep 2, 1930, 1. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=100965706

United States Steamboat-Inspection Service. Annual Report of the Supervising Inspector General, Steamboat-Inspection Service to the Secretary of Commerce for the Fiscal Year Ended June 30, 1931. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office, 1933. Accessed 2-22-2022 at: https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=pst.000071882956&view=1up&seq=3

Wikipedia. “Louis McCoy Nulton.” 6-23-2021 edit. Accessed 2-22-2022 at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_McCoy_Nulton

Wikipedia. “Pacific Steamship Company.” 2-8-2022 edit. Accessed 2-22-2022 at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pacific_Steamship_Company