Let’s a ship is bound for New York, but it strikes an iceberg and sinks. A ship bound for, say, Rijeka, rescues a number of passengers and crew. What next? Does the Law of the Seas dictate that the passengers be taken to their original destination? Or does the captain of the rescuing ship have the authority to take them to his own intended destination? Or is it all situation-dependent?
I know that in the case of Titanic, Carpathia was a couple of days out from New York but because they wouldn’t have enough rations to complete the trip to Rijeka, now heavy by 705 souls, so they turned around and went back to New York, where the Titanic passengers were headed anyway. But I don’t know if this was a matter of law/custom, or if it was just the right decision at the time.
They must take the rescued persons immediately to a “place of safety”. This is defined by the International Maritime Organization as, “[A] location where rescue operations are considered to terminate. It is also a place where the survivors’ safety of life is no longer threatened and where their basic human needs (such as food, shelter and medical needs) can be met. Further, it is a place from which transportation arrangements can be made for the survivors’ next or final destination.”
So basically either the rescuer’s destination, the rescueds’ original destination, or some intermediate point that meets the “place of safety” definition, whatever’s closest?
The captain (“master”, in law of the sea terms) of the rescuing ship gets to decide where to take the rescued passengers. He or she has discretion, as long as that place is safe; there’s no obligation to take them to their original destination. Usually, the most likely choice would be to drop them off at some port along the way and then continue on the intended route of the rescuing vessel.
Presumably they could have been taken to say, Halifax and dropped off. But presumably the Carpathian would then have needed to refuel, load up supplies, etc. I assume that would have been simpler in New York where the base company had all the connections, money, etc. and was not that much farther away in distance and time.
St John’s (Newfoundland) would have been even closer, but the logistics of dealing with 700 passengers suddenly ashore would be handled more easily in Boston or New York.
I assume that the rescuing ship would perform a rescue - even if there wasn’t enough cabin space for the additional passengers (get out the deck chairs!). How many hours was the sailing time from the “Titanic” rescue area to New York?
Every news service in the world had a reporter in New York City. Cunard was well compensated in good publicity for the rescue of (rival) White Star’s passengers.
This is reminding me of the old movie “Island of Lost Souls”, which aired recently. A guy survives a shipwreck and is picked up by a freighter. The freighter’s final destination is Apia, Samoa, coincidentally the destination the guy was heading for before his shipwreck. He is allowed to radio to his family that he was rescued at sea and is on his way to Apia. But he gets into a physical altercation with the captain. So when the ship reaches its penultimate port, the captain dumps the guy there and leaves for Apia without him.
When the freighter docks at Apia, and the guy’s family see he’s not on board, they appeal to the maritime authorities. When confronted by authorities , the captain claims his only duty is to bring him to his next port-of-call. The authorities are not amused.
I was on a ship that picked up stranded boat people in international waters. They were brought aboard, given clean clothes and food, and transferred to a Coast Guard vessel. I don’t know if they were returned to their point of origin, taken somewhere closer (e.g., for medical assistance), or taken to a US center for illegal entries.
Wasn’t it the plot of Captains Corageous that the spoiled rich brat has to go with the rescue ship for the full fishing tour, since they are not going to go back to port to drop off a rescued person (and I think it was in the days before radio was common on smaller boats).
Senator SMITH.
You say the captain of a ship is vested ordinarily with absolute control and discretion over the movements of his vessel?
Mr. ROSTRON.
Absolutely. I wish to qualify that, however. By law, the captain of the vessel has absolute control, but suppose we get orders from the owners of the vessel to do a certain thing and we do not carry it out. The only thing is then that we are liable to dismissal. I shall give you an illustration of what I mean by that, as regards receiving orders, and so on. When I turned back to New York, I sent my message to the Cunard Co. telling them that I was proceeding to New York unless otherwise ordered. You see what I mean there? I said, “For many considerations, consider New York most advisable.”
Senator SMITH.
And you immediately reversed your course?
Mr. ROSTRON.
I came right around for New York immediately, and returned to New York. Would you like to know my reasons for coming back to New York?
Senator SMITH.
Yes.
Mr. ROSTRON.
The first and principal reason was that we had all these women aboard, and I knew they were hysterical and in a bad state. I knew very well, also, that you would want all the news possible. I knew very well, further, that if I went to Halifax, we could get them there all right, but I did not know how many of these people were half dead, how many were injured, or how many were really sick, or anything like that. I knew, also, that if we went to Halifax, we would have the possibility of coming across more ice, and I knew very well what the effect of that would be on people who had had the experience these people had had. I knew what that would be the whole time we were in the vicinity of ice. I took that into consideration. I knew very well that if we went to Halifax it would be a case of railway journey for these passengers, as I knew they would have to go to New York, and there would be all the miseries of that.
Furthermore, I did not know what the condition of the weather might be, or what accommodation I could give them in Halifax, and that was a great consideration - one of the greatest considerations that made me turn back.
Mr. UHLER.
And the chances for fine weather were better coming to New York than going to Halifax?
Mr. ROSTRON.
Yes, sir.
Rostron, at least, regarded it as entirely his decision, if he didn’t have contrary orders from his company. And it seems he regarded it as a decision between Halifax and New York, never considering continuing towards Europe. On his version, he chose New York in the interest of the rescued passengers.
I wonder too, did Cunard sail to Halifax? I assume they more likely went to Montreal. back in the days before electronic transfers, etc. It was probably more convenient for them to refuel and resupply (which I assume they would have to do) where the shipping line had agents, banks, and suppliers all lined up. Just one more plus to go to NYC (along with the reasons he gave).
I don’t know if Cunard was still serving Halifax in 1912, but Cunard started in Halifax, and there’s a statue of Samuel Cunard on the Halifax waterfront. Wiki.
According to newspapers from May, 1912 - Cunard and White Star had sailings to/from Montreal (at least during the warmer months). The ads assured “ample lifeboat accommodation for all passengers and crew”. One-way fares were about $40 (2nd class) and $30 (third class).
Winter Cunard and White Star sailings for the same ships went to/from Portland (Maine). The Canadian Pacific “Empresses” sailed to/from Saint John (New Brunswick) during the winter. Some other lines sailed to/from Halifax.
I don’t see the choice of destination as being too much of a diversion to go to New York rather than Halifax or Boston, paticularly if NYC was a familiar port and the rescued passengers’ destination.
St. Johns would require a ferry voyage, again, to get off Newfoundland. Halifax or St John (New Brunswick) again an extended rail journey. (was there a rail connection in those days, or would passengers from Halifax have to go by rail via Montreal?)
Something similar happened after the 9/11 attacks. All commercial flights bound for destinations in the United States were ordered to land at the closest airport. The result was that thirty-eight planes with a combined total of 6,595 passengers and crew members landed in Gander, Newfoundland, a town with a population of only around ten thousand.
By all accounts, the townspeople handled the arrival of all of these unexpected visitors with great generosity. But it must have been quite a strain on local resources.
