Intelligence was received at Lloyds in the course of yesterday of a most fearful collision having taken place in the Channel off the Start early on Tuesday morning, which resulted in the foundering of a large Norwegian bark called the Oceanus, Captain T. Norbeck, and the loss of one of her crew. The unfortunate ship was from Akyab, laden with upwards of 500 tons of rice, and was bound for Amsterdam. She had called at Cork for orders and was making her way up Channel. The weather on Monday night set in thick, hazy, and very dark, wind WSW. At 8'clock the Lizard light bore some 24 miles distant NW by W. The bark continued her course, and at about half-past 2 o'clock on the following (Tuesday) morning a large full rigged ship, apparently of American build, painted black and in ballast, was observed by the look-out men close on the starboard bow, and in less than 2 minutes after she had been seen she came on and struck the Oceanus with tremendous force on the starboard side, just a little abaft the foremast, which gave way and went over the side, killing in its fall one of the crew, named Tobias Atkinson.

The strange ship almost immediately got clear of the barque and stood off. The captain of the Oceanus soon found his vessel had been cut down to the water's edge ; she was evidently filling fast, and he with his crew, hailed the American to keep by them for a short time, so as to pick them up, as they were going to take to the boats.

After some difficulty they succeeded in lowering two of them. Captain Norbeck, mate and carpenter, and three of the men got into the gig, and the remaining 10 of the crew took to the quarter boat [one line of text unreadable] sieves with the least provisions. By this time the water had nearly reached up the the bark's deck, and the boats had just time to get clear of the eddy made by the ill-fated vessel, when she went down in deep water, the Start Point bearing ESE.

The men in the boats remained on their oars for some time, in the hopes that the American would make an attempt to pick them up, However, she went on, and was not seen afterwards, nor could anything more be learned as to her name and destination.

The boats then parted company, and the unfortunate occupants suffered much from exposure. At length, after many hours' buffetting about, the gig, containing the captain and five others, was picked up by the fishing lugger Hero, of Brixham, where they were landed.

The quarter boat, with the ten men in it, was taken higher up the coast and at eleven o'clock on Tuesday night the craft was driven ashore in the vicinity of Lyme, near Gun Cliff. The poor fellows were much exhausted. The Coast Guard rendered them prompt relief. The Oceanus belonging to Christiansand. A ship answering the description given of the vessel which came in collision with the bark was seen off the coast early on Tuesday morning.

Times. Sep 22, 1854

Source: The Shipping Gazette & Sydney General Trade List

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