Engineering:Prince of Orange (1814 ship)

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Short description: British merchantman and whaler 1814–1856
History
United Kingdom
Name: Prince of Orange
Builder: Thomas Burn, Sunderland
Launched: 19 February 1814
Fate: Foundered 9 April 1858
General characteristics
Tons burthen:
  • 1814: 359,[1] or 359394, or 363[2] (bm)
  • 1846:
    • Old Act: 486 (bm)
    • New Act (post 1836): 526, or 566 (bm)
Length:
  • 1814: 99 ft 9 in (30.4 m)
  • 1846: 122 ft 8 in (37.4 m)
Beam:
  • 1814: 29 ft 7 in (9.0 m)
  • 1846: 30 ft 0 in (9.1 m)
Armament: 8 guns

Prince of Orange was launched in Sunderland in 1814. She originally sailed as a West Indiaman but then became an East Indiaman, sailing to India under a license from the British East India Company (EIC). She made two voyages transporting convicts to Australia, the first in 1820–1821 to New South Wales, and the second in 1822 to Van Diemen's Land. Between 1830 and 1840 she made nine voyages as a whaler to Davis Strait. She was lengthened and rebuilt in 1846. In December 1852 she grounded and it took some months to get her off. She then need major repairs. She also suffered damages in 1854. She foundered in 1858.

Career

Prince of Orange first appeared in online copies of Lloyd's Register (LR) in 1815.[2] On 29 September she put into Plymouth in distress.

Year Master Owner Trade Source
1815 Hutchinson
T.Silk
Johnson London–St Kitts LR
1816 T.Silk Johnson Plymouth–London
London–Île de France
1818 T.Silk [C.] Johnson London–Calcutta LR

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 license from the EIC.[3] Prince of Orange's owners applied for such a licence on 6 December 1815; they received the licence on 8 December.[1]

Captain Silk sailed from London on 5 April 1817, under a license from the EIC, bound for Mumbai .[4]

On 25 January 1819, Prince of Orange, Silk, master, was ashore near Ramsgate. She had been on her way to Ceylon when she ran afoul of Renewal, Cromartie, master, which was on her way to Barbados.[5] She was gotten off but was expected to have to put into the Thames for repairs.[6]

Year Master Owner Trade Source & notes
1819 T.Silk Johnson London–Calcutta LR; damages repaired 1818
1821 T.Silk Johnson London LR; damages repaired 1818

Convict voyage to Port Jackson (1820–1821): Captain Thomas Silk sailed from the Downs on 8 October 1820. She arrived at Port Jackson on 12 February 1821.[7] She had embarked 136 convicts and suffered one convict death on the voyage.[8]

Convict voyage to Hobart (1822): Captain John Moncrief sailed from England on 1 April 1822. She arrived at Hobart on 23 July 1822.[9] She had embarked 136 convicts and suffered four convict death on the voyage.[10]

Year Master Owner Trade Source & notes
1822 T.Silk
Moncrief
Johnson London
London–New South Wales
LR; damages repaired 1818
1824 T.Moncrief
J.White
Johnson London–New South Wales LR; damages repaired 1818
1825 R.Nelson Soames Cork transport LR; small repairs 1824
1826 J.Jameson Hutton Leith–"Mrmc" LR; small repairs 1824
1827 J.Jameson Hutton Greenock–Charleston LR; small repairs 1823
1828 J.Jameson Beveridge Greenock–Petersburg LR; small repairs 1823 & 1824
1828 J.Jameson P.Jaffrey Leith LR (Supple.); small repairs 1823 & 1824, & good repair 1828
1830 J.Jameson W.Guthrie Leith LR (Supple.); good repair 1828
1831 Gutherie Waddell Leith–Davis Strait LR; good repair 1828

Northern Fisheries whaler (1830–1840)

From 1830 to 1836, and 1839 to 1840 Prince of Orange was a whaler, hunting whales in the northern whale fishery, that is, the waters of Davis Strait and Greenland. The data below came primarily from Coltish:[11]

Year Master Where Whales Tuns whale oil
1830 Guthrie Davis Strait 1
1831 Guthrie Davis Strait 4 25
1832 Guthrie Davis Strait 30 115
1833 Guthrie Davis Strait 29 128
1834 Guthrie Davis Strait 14 67.5
1835 Guthrie Davis Strait 2 15
1836 Guthrie Davis Strait 1 5

After two years of poor whaling seasons Prince of Orange returned to trading.

Year Master Owner Trade Homeport Source & notes
1838 J.Watts Woods Leith–North America Leith LR; large repair 1830, & small repairs 1838
1839 Packwood Woods Leith–Davis Strait Leith LR; large repair 1830, & small repairs 1838

Prince of Orange returned to whaling.

Year Master Where Whales Tuns whale oil
1839 Packwood Davis Strait 1 7.5
1840 Stratton (or Straiton) Davis Strait 2 7.5

After two more years of poor whaling, Prince of Orange returned to trading.

Year Master Owner Trade Source
1840 Packwood
R.Deas
Woods Leith–Davis Strait
Leith–New South Wales
LR; large repair 1830, small repairs 1838, & large repair 1841
1843 R.Deas Woods Leith–New South Wales
Liverpool–Africa
LR; large repair 1830 & 1841
1844 R.Deas
Ellis
Woods Liverpool–Africa
Liverpool
LR; large repair 1830 & 1841
1845 Ellis Woods Liverpool–Dundee LR; large repair 1839 & 1841; "wants repair"

On 21 February 1845, Prince of Orange sailed from Ichaboe Island.[12] She was one of dozens of vessels that called in at the island after 1843, traffic peaking in 1845, to pick up guano. She arrived at New Orleans on 10 April, and returned to Britain with a cargo of cotton.

Rebuilt 1846

Year Master Owner Trade Source & notes
1846 Ellis
A.Smith
Woods Leith–Onega, Russia
Liverpool "Rest."
LR; lengthened and almost rebuilt 1846

On 16 January 1847 Captain Smith sailed Prince of Orange for Bombay. She arrived there on 15 May. She left Bombay on 10 July and returned to Liverpool.

Year Master Owner Trade Homeport Source
1850 Stephens Woods Liverpool–Bombay Leith LR; lengthened and almost rebuilt 1846

On 22 October Richard Cobden, Archibald, master, caught fire about 100 miles from Reunion while sailing from Calcutta to London. Prince of Orange, Stephens, master, rescued the crew and took them into Saint Helena.[13]

On 4 November 1853 Prince of Orange fell on her side while in the Brunswick Graving Dock at Liverpool. She was righted but with the loss of her mizzen mast and with her fore and main masts sprung.[14]

Year Master Owner Trade Homeport Source
1854 Woods Liverpool–Savannah Leith LR; Lengthened & rebuilt 1846, large repair 1853
1856 George Harrison Liverpool–Crimea Liverpool LR; Lengthened & rebuilt 1846, large repair 1853, and small repairs 1855
1858 Williams Harrison Liverpool–India Liverpool LR; Lengthened & rebuilt 1846, large repair 1855, and small repairs 1855 & 1857

Fate

In 1858, Prince of Orange, was sailing from Kooria Mooria (Khuriya Muriya Islands) to Falmouth when her crew had to abandon her at sea.[15] She foundered on 9 April near Mauritius.[16]

Between 1855 and 1860, some 200,000 tons of guano were mined from the islands. The mining ceased soon after.

Citations

  1. 1.0 1.1 House of Commons (1816).
  2. 2.0 2.1 LR (1815), Seq.No.P494.
  3. Hackman (2001), p. 247.
  4. LR (1818), "Licensed and Country Ships".
  5. "The Marine List". Lloyd's List (5355). 26 January 1819. 
  6. "The Marine List". Lloyd's List (5356). 29 January 1819. 
  7. Bateson (1959), p. 294–295.
  8. Bateson (1959), p. 328.
  9. Bateson (1959), pp. 308–309.
  10. Bateson (1959), p. 329.
  11. Coltish (c. 1842).
  12. "Shipping Intelligence". Caledonian Mercury (Edinburgh, Scotland), 14 April 1845; Issue 19458.
  13. "SHIPPING INTELLIGENCE". Daily News (London, England), 7 January 1851; Issue 1442.
  14. "SHIPPING INTELLIGENCE". Daily News (London, England), 5 November 1853; Issue 2328.
  15. "SHIPPING". Morning Chronicle (London, England), 11 June 1858; Issue 28541.
  16. Sunderland Built Ships: Prince of Orange Retrieved 29 September 2020.

References