>Marcocapelle: new key for Category:Deaths due to shipwreck: "!" using HotCat

2021-01-24T16:46:43Z

new key for Category:Deaths due to shipwreck: "!" using HotCat

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{{for|Royal Navy ships of the same name|HMS Erne}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2016}}
{{Use British English|date=November 2016}}
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| Ship country = United Kingdom
| Ship flag = {{shipboxflag|United Kingdom|civil}}
| Ship name = ''Erne''
| Ship owner = [[Nourse Line]]
| Ship ordered =
| Ship builder = Russel & Co
| Ship original cost =
| Ship laid down =
| Ship launched = May 1886
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| Ship country = Canada
| Ship flag = {{shipboxflag|Canada|civil}}
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| Ship owner = River Plate Shipping Co, [[Montreal]]
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| Ship acquired = 1908
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{{Infobox ship career
| Ship flag = {{shipboxflag|United Kingdom|civil}}
| Ship country = United Kingdom
| Ship owner = Erne Shipping Co.
| Ship acquired = 1909
| Hide header = no
}}{{Infobox ship characteristics
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| Ship class = Iron-hulled [[sailing ship]]
| Ship tons burthen = 1,692 tons
| Ship length = {{convert|255.6|ft|abbr=on}}
| Ship beam = {{convert|38.3|ft|abbr=on}}
| Ship draught = {{convert|23.2|ft|abbr=on}}
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|}The '''Erne''' was a [[Full-rigged ship|fully rigged sailing ship]] built in the late 19th century. The details surrounding the ship's abandonment and wreck have been debated off-and-on for over one hundred years.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|title=What happened to Captain and Mrs. Fickett?|url=https://bangordailynews.com/2012/03/18/living/what-happened-to-captain-and-mrs-fickett/|access-date=2020-06-05|website=Bangor Daily News|language=en-US}}</ref>

== Early career ==
The Erne was built as a 1,692 ton, [[iron]] [[sailing ship]] with a [[length]] of {{convert|255.6|ft|m}}, breadth of {{convert|38.3|ft|m}} and depth of {{convert|23.2|ft|m}}.<ref>{{Cite web|date=2015-03-15|title=Abandoned Ships: - sv ERNE|url=http://www.clydesite.co.uk/clydebuilt/abandoned-ships/ERNE_147.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150315050113/http://www.clydesite.co.uk/clydebuilt/abandoned-ships/ERNE_147.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=2015-03-15|access-date=2020-06-05}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=ERNE FULLY RIGGED SHIP 1886-1912|url=https://www.wrecksite.eu/wreck.aspx?215713|access-date=12 July 2020|website=WRECKSITE}}</ref> She was built by [[Russel & Company]] for the [[Nourse Line]], named after the [[River Erne]] in northwest of [[Ireland]], and launched in May 1886. She was primarily used for the transportation of [[Indian indenture system|Indian indentured labourers]] to the colonies. Details of some of these voyages are as follows:
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; margin:0.5em auto;"
|-
! Destination
! Date of Arrival
! Number of Passengers
! Deaths During Voyage
|-
| [[Suriname]]
| 27 April 1890
| n/a
| n/a
|-
| Suriname
| 14 April 1894
| n/a
| n/a
|-
| [[Fiji]]
| 24 April 1896
| 557
| n/a
|-
| Suriname
| 27 April 1899
| n/a
| n/a
|-
| [[British Guiana]]
| 1906
| n/a
| n/a
|}

In 1895, the '''Erne''' took 22 days to travel from [[Barbados]] to [[Liverpool]].

== Storm at Sea ==
On either 1 February<ref name=":0" /> or 26 January,<ref name=":1">{{Cite news|last=Snow|first=Edward Rowe|date=December 26, 1970|title="The Ship Erne: Erne Disaster Never Explained"|work=Boston Herald Traveler}}</ref> 1912 the ship left Boston with a destination of Argentina. On 3 February a storm struck and the ship was cracked nearly in half, separating those at the bow from those at the stern. The damage was so heavy that the only thing keeping the ship from sinking was its hold filled with buoyant lumber.<ref name=":0" />

On 8 February nine survivors were rescued by a passing liner. Ten others were missing, including the captain and his wife (the Ficketts), the second mate (Frank Cushing), and a passenger (Robert Hay.) The story told by the survivors, with few details, was that six crewman were washed overboard by a wave and that the Ficketts, Cushing, and Hay abandoned ship in the only remaining lifeboat.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /> After the rescue, the Erne could not be tracked down for inspection and was last seen floating upside down near [[Sable Island]].<ref name=":1" />

=== Theories ===
While the survivors indicated that Mrs. Fickett had been injured by a wave and the three men with her then launched the lifeboat in order to abandon ship, sailing experts at the time indicated that not only did that not match Captain Fickett's reputation, but that it would have been physically unlikely that the three men could have performed the launch by themselves or with the injured woman.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" />

In the aftermath of the disaster multiple witnesses came forward stating that not only was there a feud between the captain and First Mate James Elliott that had led to the captain slapping Elliott, but that Elliott had been heard on more than one occasion claiming that he would get even with Fickett. The belief that a murderous mutiny led to the disappearance of the four "was almost universally agreed upon by New England seafaring men."<ref name=":1" />

While another theory presented is that the lifeboat, the Ficketts, Cushing, and Hay were merely washed overboard with the other six victims,<ref name=":0" /> this contradicts the story presented by the survivors without giving any explanation as to why they would lie about a situation wherein they would not have been culpable.

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

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== Further reading ==
* {{cite book
| last = Lubbock
| first = Basil
| author-link = Basil Lubbock
| title = Coolie ships and oil sailors
| publisher = Brown, Son & Ferguson
| date = 1981
| isbn = 0-85174-111-8
}}

== External links ==
*[http://www.rootsweb.com/~ttowgw/archives/indianships.htm Indian Immigrant Ship List]
*[http://genforum.genealogy.com/grenada/messages/60.html Genealogy.com]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20111002234018/http://www.theshipslist.com/ships/lines/nourse.htm The Ships List]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Erne}}
[[Category:Maritime incidents in 1912]]
[[Category:Deaths due to shipwreck|!]]
[[Category:History of Guyana]]
[[Category:History of Suriname]]
[[Category:Indian indenture ships to Fiji]]
[[Category:Victorian-era passenger ships of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Individual sailing vessels]]
[[Category:1886 ships]]

Erne (ship) - Revision history

>Marcocapelle: new key for Category:Deaths due to shipwreck: "!" using HotCat