>Lyndaship: added Category:Ships of the Nourse Line using HotCat

2020-12-05T14:43:05Z

added Category:Ships of the Nourse Line using HotCat

New page

{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2017}}
{{Use British English|date=January 2017}}
{{More citations needed|date=February 2008}}
{|{{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image=
|Ship caption=
}}
{{Infobox ship career
|Hide header=
|Ship country=United Kingdom
|Ship flag=[[File:Civil Ensign of the United Kingdom.svg|60px|British Merchant Navy Ensign]]
|Ship name=
|Ship owner=
|Ship operator=British Shipowners Company
|Ship registry=
|Ship route=
|Ship ordered=
|Ship builder=[[Harland and Wolff]], [[Belfast]]
|Ship original cost=
|Ship yard number=
|Ship way number=
|Ship laid down=
|Ship launched=31 January 1865
|Ship completed=
|Ship christened=''British Peer''
|Ship acquired=1883, [[Nourse Line]]
|Ship maiden voyage=
|Ship in service=
|Ship out of service=
|Ship identification=
|Ship fate=Wrecked, 8 December 1896 at [[Saldanha Bay]]; 4 survivors
|Ship status=
|Ship notes=
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Hide header=
|Header caption=
|Ship class=[[Barque]]
|Ship tonnage=
|Ship displacement = 1428 tons
|Ship length =*{{Convert|247.5|ft|m|0|abbr=on}}
*Lengthened by {{Convert|32|ft|m|abbr=on}} in 1878
|Ship beam = {{Convert|36.4|ft|m|0|abbr=on}}
|Ship draught = {{Convert|22.5|ft|m|0|abbr=on}}
|Ship height=
|Ship draft=
|Ship depth=
|Ship decks=
|Ship deck clearance=
|Ship ramps=
|Ship ice class=
|Ship sail plan=
|Ship power=
|Ship propulsion=Sail
|Ship speed=
|Ship capacity=
|Ship crew=22
|Ship notes=Iron hull
}}
|}
__NOTOC__
'''''British Peer''''' was a 1428-ton three-masted iron [[sailing ship]] built for the British Shipowners Company at the [[Harland and Wolff]] yards in [[Belfast]], Ireland, in 1865. She was {{convert|247.5|ft|m}} long, {{convert|36.4|ft|m}} wide and {{convert|22.5|ft|m}} deep. She was bought by the [[Nourse Line]] in 1883, and was the fastest vessel in their fleet until ''British Ambassador'' was commissioned.<ref>{{cite book|year=1984|publisher=Naval Institute Press|title=Merchant Sailing Ships, 1850-1875: Heyday of Sail|isbn=0-87021-951-0|author=Macgregor, David Roy|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/merchantsailings00macg}}</ref> In 1878, however, ''British Peer''{{'}}s sailing power was compromised when alterations were made to increase her tonnage by lengthening her hull by {{convert|32|ft|m}}, and she was never as fast again. She carried a crew of 23, including her master.

On 13 March 1891, during the [[Great Blizzard of 1891]], ''British Peer'' struck the 1222-ton steamer ''Roxburgh Castle'', causing ''Roxburgh Castle'' to sink with the loss of 22 lives; there were two survivors.<ref>{{cite book|year=1891|publisher=Simpkin, Marshall, Hamilton, Kent & Co|title=The Blizzard in the West|url=https://archive.org/details/blizzardinwestbe00londiala}}</ref>

''British Peer'', like other Nourse Line ships, was involved in the [[indentured labour]] trade. On 23 April 1892, she carried 527 Indian indentured labourers to [[Fiji]]. Two months later, on 11 June 1892, she arrived in [[Suriname]] with Indian indentured labourers. She also repatriated in September 1894 from [[Saint Lucia]] to India 450 Indians who had completed their indenture.<ref>Cheddie, Richard B. (27 August 2000). [http://genforum.genealogy.com/grenada/messages/60.html "Updated List of Ships that transported E"]. GenForum.</ref>

''British Peer'' had first visited South Africa in 1886, while on a voyage carrying indentured labourers. In November 1894, she again stopped in at the [[Cape of Good Hope]], carrying a cargo of salt and 471 Indian indentured labourers. On 8 December 1896, she struck a reef in [[Saldanha Bay]], South Africa, and was destroyed; there were only four survivors. A Court of Enquiry, held on 7 January 1897, found that "the loss of the ship was occasioned by reckless navigation on the part of the master".<ref>[http://www.route27sa.com/dunegrave.html "The Grave in the Dunes"]. Route 27 West Coast South Africa. Retrieved 12 May 2013.</ref> The wreck of ''British Peer'' itself still lies in about {{convert|9|m|ft}} of water in Saldanha Bay.

== See also ==
*[[Indian Indenture Ships to Fiji]]
*[[Indian indenture system]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

=== Bibliography ===
*{{cite book
| last = Lubbock
| first = Basil
| title = Coolie Ships and Oil Sailors
| publisher = Brown, Son & Ferguson
| year = 1981
| isbn = 0-85174-111-8
}}

{{coord|33|30.4|S|18|18.70|E|type:landmark_region:ZA|display=title|name=British Peer}}
{{1891 shipwrecks}}
{{1896 shipwrecks}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:British Peer (Ship)}}
[[Category:Ships built in Belfast]]
[[Category:History of British Saint Lucia]]
[[Category:History of Suriname]]
[[Category:Indian indenture ships to Fiji]]
[[Category:Shipwrecks of the South African Atlantic coast]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in 1891]]
[[Category:Maritime incidents in 1896]]
[[Category:Victorian-era passenger ships of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:1865 ships]]
[[Category:Ships of the Nourse Line]]

British Peer (ship) - Revision history

>Lyndaship: added Category:Ships of the Nourse Line using HotCat