Engineering:Copernicus (1821 ship)
| History | |
|---|---|
 United Kingdom
| |
| Name: | Unknown |
| Launched: | 1810, Thames |
| Acquired: | 1821 |
| Fate: | Wrecked March 1835 |
| General characteristics | |
| Tons burthen: | 323, or 32342⁄94[1] or 350 (bm) |
| Length: | 107 ft 6 in (32.8 m)[1] |
| Beam: | 26 ft 5 in (8.1 m)[1] |
Copernicus may have been launched in 1808 or 1810 on the River Thames, under another name. She first appeared as Copernicus in 1821, as a whaler, bound for the southern whale fishery. Thereafter she sailed between England and the East Indies, including Batavia, Ceylon, and Singapore, as well as Indian ports.She was wrecked in 1835.
Origin
Copernicus's origins are obscure. One source states that she was built for the Royal Navy in 1810.[1] However, there does not appear to be any vessel launched for the Royal Navy with a burthen similar to hers. Lloyd's Register (LR) and the Register of Shipping both stated that she was launched on the Thames, with Lloyd's Register giving 1810 as the year and the Register of Shipping reporting 1808. Neither source gave her origin as "King's Yard", and so do not signal that she had been built in a government shipyard. However, a list of vessels built on the Thames in private yards between 1804 and 1812 does not show any vessel of her burthen.[2]
Career
Copernicus first appeared in the Register of Shipping in 1821, and Lloyd's Register in 1822, both showing the same master, owner, and trade.
| Year | Master | Owner | Trade | Source & notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1821 | M'Gregor | Bell & Co. | London-Southern Fishery | RS & LR; thorough repair 1821 |
Captain M'Gregor sailed from London on 9 October 1821. On 6 June 1824 Copernicus reached St Helena from Timor. She arrived at Deal on 22 August. She reached London on 31 August with 492 casks of whale oil.[3]
In 1825 Tindall, of Scarborough, purchased Copernicus, a change that the registers only caught up with a year or more later.
| Year | Master | Owner | Trade | Source & notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1827 | McGregor | Bell & Co. Tindal |
London–Sierra Leone London–Calcutta |
RS; new deck and topsides 1827 |
In 1813 the EIC had lost its monopoly on the trade between India and Britain. British ships were then free to sail to India or the Indian Ocean under a licence from the EIC.[4]
On 27 September 1827 Captain J. Stevens sailed Copernicus from London, bound for Madras and Bengal.[5]
| Year | Master | Owner | Trade | Source & notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1829 | Bolland J.Stevens |
Tindal | London–Mumbai | LR; thorough repair 1825, & new deck, beams, and wales 1827 |
| 1830 | J.Stevens May |
W.Tindal | Cowes | LR; thorough repair 1825, & new deck, beams, and wales 1827 |
Fate
Copernicus was wrecked on 17 March 1835 in Cochin Bay while sailing from Ceylon and Calcutta to London. Part of the cargo was saved. On 25 March the wreck was sold for breaking up. The ship ran aground and was wrecked in Cochin Bay.[6]
Citations and references
Citations
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Hackman (2001), p. 265.
- ↑ House of Commons (1814), pp. 345–346.
- ↑ British Southern Whale Fishery Database – Voyages: Copernicus.
- ↑ Hackman (2001), p. 247.
- ↑ LR (1828), "Ships trading to India".
- ↑ "Shipping Intelligence". Caledonian Mercury (17809). 22 August 1835.
References
- Hackman, Rowan (2001). Ships of the East India Company. Gravesend, Kent: World Ship Society. ISBN 0-905617-96-7.
- House of Commons, Parliament, Great Britain (1814). Minutes of the Evidence Taken Before the Select Committee on Petitions Relating to East-India-Built Shipping. H.M. Stationery Office.
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