Red Star Line: Difference between revisions
→The Collision of the Pioneer and Onward
Line 38:
==== The Collision of the Pioneer and Onward ====
June 7th came, and the storm system was still lingering in the strait. Another Tuvarian ship from a different shipping line, the SS Onward, was enroute in the opposite direction of the oncoming SS Pioneer. Pioneer's crew, following standard naval procedure, turned right to miss the Onward and prevent a collision. However, the Onward oddly enough turned left which sent it on a head on collision course with the Pioneer. At 10:36 PM, SS Onward rams into the bow from Port and crunched up deep into the side of the ship. The passengers of Pioneer were rocked about on the ship with not many being on the top decks to see what happened. A survivor named Charles Williamson, recalled hearing an '''''"Awful scraping noise."''''' coming from the front of the ship. At 10:37 PM, the Onward came loose of the ship after scraping off the side for only a minute yet, the damage was still immense, and the Pioneer immediately came to a stop so the crew could inspect the damage. The SS Onward was horribly disfigured and the bow was crunched inwards. Seawater immediately came rushing into the front of the Onward through the damaged Bow and the ship would be seen by passengers on Pioneer being rocked up and down violently by the awful waves of the storm. At 10:43 PM, the damage to the hull on Pioneer was discovered. The Onward had cut a nasty gash through 3 of the 5 watertight compartments on the Port Bow. The ship could sustain flooding of the 3 of 5 compartments on either side in perfect conditions however, the Pioneer was in the middle of an awful storm system and buoyancy would be troubled by the hard-hitting waves. Captain Harvey was weary of declaring an emergency since the lifeboats wouldn't
| |||