Failed Voyage of the SS Orissa
Running into rough weather
This article was published as “Failed Voyage of the SS Orissa″ in India Post 56 no. 4 whole no. 225 (October – December 2022). I am putting up my manuscript here to reach all those who do get a copy of this superb journal of the India Study Circle.
Several failed (or aborted) voyages of steamships have been recorded in India Post in the past.1 However, those sailings were invariably of the steamships of the East India Company; they were notorious for being small, underpowered, and prone to breakdowns.
On the other hand, the Peninsular & Oriental Steam Navigation Company’s (P&O) fleet comprised of large and modern steamers; it is no wonder than they had an almost monopolistic hold on mail contracts east of Great Britain from the mid 19th century well into the 20th. Hence, a failed voyage of their steamship as late as 1865 evokes some surprise.
SS Orissa
SS Orissa, gross weight 1,647 tons, was a single screw propelled steamship with engines that delivered 1,055 ihp. She was built at the Birkenhead yard of John Laird, Sons & Co. While laid for Linea de Vapores Correos Españoles Trasatlánticos, Spain, she was launched as Franc-Comtois for Compagnie Franco-Americaine (Gauthier Freres et Cie), France on 10 January 1856. Purchased by P&O on 26 November 1858, she was renamed as Orissa.2
Orissa’s maiden sailing for the P&O was in January 1859 on the Southampton-Malta-Alexandria route. She was sent out to the East in 1860 to be put on the Bombay/China service. In September 1878, she was sold for £6,136 to John B. Irving of Shanghai who converted her into a sailing vessel. Finally in 1906, she was sold to shipbreakers.3
Failed Voyage
Orissa, under the command of Captain Robert Curling, left Bombay on 24 June 1865 carrying passengers and mail to Aden and Suez. On the afternoon of 11 July “no little excitement was created in the Fort” when she came in from the south. The story of what transpired was then made known.4
Almost immediately on leaving Bombay, the Orissa experienced heavy weather. She made only 150 miles in the first 24 hours. The bad weather increased so much that her daily average came down to 70-80 miles.5
From 30 June to 3 July, she met with high head sea, which increased in violence each day; as a result, the ship kept pitching and labouring heavily. In that period, she managed just 450 miles. On 3 July she made a great quantity of water; so much so that from the heavy rolling, the water in the bilges caused the woodwork of the lower part of the coal bunkers to give way, the coals falling through into the bilges, and thereby choking the pumps. These were repaired but the bunkers again gave away. Mr. Henderson, the Chief Engineer, requested that the ship might be kept steady, and the ship had to be repeatedly kept head to wind to allow the water to be got under and the bunkers again repaired.
Compounding this, on the morning of 5 June, when off the island of Socotra (Figure 2) in the Arabian sea, rapid falling of the barometer6 and the violence of the winds indicated an approaching cyclone from the Southwest. Given that the ship was proceeding on a West-Northwest course to Aden, it would have been put right into the centre of the storm. Before the ship became unmanageable, Captain Curling thought it advisable to turn the ship back eastwards and consulted with his officers and the Naval Agent, Captain Lloyd. They unanimously agreed that, taking into consideration only four days of coal was on board, water was short from injury to the condenser, the ship was making so much water, and the pumps were frequently becoming choked, there was little chance of reaching Aden, and a very great risk of mishap to the ship and those on board if they carried on. Nautical men amongst the passengers were consulted as well and it was decided to return to Bombay.
Postal History
Figure 3 shows a cover carried by the Orissa. Inside is a letter datelined 13 June 1865. It was sent to Bombay where it boarded the ill-fated steamer. When the steamer returned after a struggle of 16 days at sea, it was immediately decided to put the passengers and mails on board the SS Baroda; the SS Bombay having sailed for Aden and Suez just a day before on 9 July.
Baroda left Bombay (12.07) arriving at Suez (28.07; 11.45 PM) via Aden (22.07). However, the mails could not manage to reach the P&O Pera in time as the latter had left Alexandria (29.07) at 5.00 AM. Hence, they were sent, in unusual way, from Alexandria (30.07) to Marseilles (06.08)7 on the French Messageries Impériales (MI) SS Moeris. From Marseilles the letters went, as was usual, overland across France and the English Channel to London (08.08).
What about the heavy mails from Bombay via Southampton? They would have likely taken the Ripon from Alexandria (07.08) reaching Southampton (21.08) via Malta (11.08) and Gibraltar (16.08).
References
Kirk, R. “The Mediterranean Sea Post Office.” In The British Sea Post Offices in the East. Vol. 4. 4 vols. British Maritime Postal History, edited by Edward B. Proud, 9-130. Heathfield, East Sussex: Proud-Bailey Co. Ltd., 2003
Salles, Raymond. La Poste Maritime Française. Tome II. Les Paquebots de la Méditerranée de 1837 à 1939. Vol. II. IX vols. Encyclopédie de la Poste Maritime Française Historique et Catalogue. Paris: The Author, 1962
The Bombay Gazette. “Return of the “Orissa” with the Homeward Mails and Passengers of the 24th of June.” July 11, 1865
The House of Commons. Returns of all subsisting Contracts for the Conveyance of Mails between England and India, Ceylon, Mauritius, China, and Australia, viâ Alexandria; and, of the Power and Tonnage of the several Vessels employed, the Voyages performed, Distances Run, Rate of Speed, Charges and Deductions, and Amount payable for the Years 1863 and 1864, under such Contracts. May 10, 1865
The Times of India. “Return of the Bombay Mail of June 24th.” July 11, 1865
See, for example, Giles, Derek Hammond. “Aborted Voyages.” India Post 29 no. 3 whole no. 125 (July-September 1995): 109-110 and Smith, Max. “Overland Mail Steamers from Bombay, June-July 1852.” India Post 51 no. 4 whole no. 205 (October-December 2017): 170-176. A quick search of the index of India Post now online on the India Study Circle’s website will bring up some more references.
Orissa was a large district in Eastern British India. Now called Odisha, it is the eighth largest state by area in independent India.
The information in this section is derived from the P&O’s website: poheritage.com.
The story of the failed voyage has been culled from Bombay Gazette and Times of India, both of 11 July 1865.
The mail contract with P&O dated 7 June 1854 called for the 1,650 miles between Bombay and Aden to be covered in 7 days and 6 hours of steaming or an average of 228 miles per day.
A barometer is a device that measures atmospheric pressure. When atmospheric pressure drops suddenly, it usually indicates that a storm is on its way.
Kirk (2003, 97) mentions the Marseilles arrival date as 6 August. Contemporary newspapers confirm this date and the time as 7.00 AM. On the other hand, the French maritime expert, Raymond Salles (1962, 189) has it as 5 August.