Basil Forward’s CRS10
Northern Sea Shipping
Company ship
NICOLAJJ BAUMAN -
Николай
Бауман
in 1957 was in collision
with Dutch coaster CORALE
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Collision in the Scheldt
Loss of the CORALE
5th November 1957
The Coaster CORALE ( 25 year
old Captain Moonen of Utrecht ) sunk after collision off the Vlissingen
promenade. Just 50 metres off the promenade, Tuesday morning, around 5.30am,
the Dutch coaster CORALE disappeared beneath the waves. A bitter south wind,
swelling seas and driving rain all combined to make visibility very poor. The
Russian cargo ship NICOLAI BAUMAN (from Archangel; 1780 brt) bore down on the
starboard, and hit the CORALE very hard. The CORALE was being accompanied by
the Vlissingen (Flushing) Pilot boat. A minute after the collision, the Pilot
boat was alongside the listing ship. They managed to get all 10 crew off
unharmed. But as the last man was jumping the ship disappeared by the bow into the Westerschelde.
The CORALE, property of Mr A.
Couperus from Hilversum, arrived in the early night with a cargo of furnace
slack, from Partington (United Kingdom) for Wielingen and Ghent. Having
unloaded at Antwerp, his next voyage was to take him from Antwerp to Wismar ( E
Germany ); the strong south winds had forced the CORALE over to the North
coast. Suddenly, without warning, the NIKOLAI BAUMAN came out of the darkness
and collided with a crack against the bows of the CORALE. There was another
ship which was obscuring a clear view from both ships, the DONGEDIJK of the
Netherlands America Line. It was from behind the DONGEDIJK that the NIKOLAI
BAUMAN appeared, and there was no way that either ship could have avoided this
accident.
However, the captain of the
CORALE had shouted, “hard a port” 19 year old helmsman Evert Nuisker. The
captain of the Russian boat, 48 year old Pavel Mironov (of Archangel), gave
three blasts on the ship’s horn, but the NICOLAI BAUMAN rammed almost full
strength into the coaster.
Immediately the NIKOLAI BAUMAN
pulled back, and the CORALE attempted to head to the shore. The Pilot boat came
alongside the CORALE, but Evert Nuisker had to wake up five of the crew. The
situation became more precarious at each passing second and most of the crew
were off very quickly. In a short time eight men had jumped, but the captain
and the 40 year old machine man Zijlstra, from Amsterdam, were still on board,
as the waves were rising and falling so heavily, they feared falling into the
water between the ship and the boat. The ship was digging in to the waves by
the nose, waves beating over her. But they took the risk, finally, and as they
landed on the deck of the boat the still turning propeller disappeared past
them into the depths. All that could be seen was the steady stream of bubbles
and the stirring of the sea by the propeller.
They were all brought back
safely, and as they sat down at the offices of FA Müller & Co, with hands
wrapped around a cup of coffee, they were told that they would be placed in
Vlissings Hotel. They had lost all their personal possessions, and in
Vlissingen, they had to be fitted out with new clothes.
In the morning, Mr A.
Couperus, sent a request to The District Court in Middelburg to restrain the
NIKOLAI BAUMAN in port and place a bail figure of 1,750,000g on the Russian
ship. By Noon, two bailiffs took a boat to the NIKOLAI BAUMAN to hold the ship.
It was not as simple as that. The small, but firm Captain Mironiv wanted
firstly to discuss the matter with its agent from Rotterdam and a member of the
Russian Embassy in the Netherlands. He said that this is a matter for the
Russian Government and that he could not abide by any decision or action by the
Netherlands authorities. Hours of debate passed and the Leningrad born Captain,
who had been 18 years as a Captain without one single collision until now, was
steadfast in his claim of not being responsible.
He wanted to keep his course
for Northern States Shipline to Archangel, at all speed, and he would take the
matter up there, and for the Russian Embassy to deal with it. It was in the
afternoon that the officials arrived from the Russian Embassy in the
Netherlands, together with an interpreter; it took until night for an agreement
to be met, where the amount of compensation to be paid was lowered
considerably. The NIKOLAI BAUMAN was allowed to lift anchor and sail for
Rotterdam. Clearly Mr Couperus was unhappy that his ship, that he had only
bought the year before, was now lost so suddenly.
CORALE
Built 1949 by G J vd Werff,
Westerbroek; Yard Nr 257
as the UTRECHT
For De Vem-Ijmuiden
172.6 ft x 28.4 ft x 9.6 ft;
499 brt, 740 dwt; 10 knots
1951 Mij. Neerlandia-Den Haag; Renamed SPOLANDA
1956 A Couperus, Hilversum; Renamed CORALE.
Corale
Raymond Forward