SS Berlin (1894)

the weather. Only one man, a Captain Parkinson who was

travelling as a passenger, was able to swim to the safety
of the lifeboat.
Prince Henry made a visit the following day and went out
on the pilot boat Helvoetsluis, along with the Dutch steam
life-boat President van Heel, to recover the deceased from
the sea and rescue the fteen people remaining on the
stern. The rescue of the people required a great deal of
eort. An important role in this rescue was played by
lifeboat Captain Martijn Sperling[3] who used a small boat
to reach the North Pier and ascend its iron beacon, from
where he was able to throw ropes to the deck of the wreck
to rescue 11 of the survivors. Captain Sperling then took
a yawl from the salvage vessel Van der Tak alongside the
wreck to rescue the remaining three female survivors.[4]

Rescue of survivors from SS Berlin

The SS Berlin was a steel ship, which was owned by the

Both Alberts Frres and the English rm The Warwick
Great Eastern Railway and built for use on their ferry serTrading Company lmed these events; they are convice from Harwich and Hook of Holland, which the comsidered to be the only Dutch lm of a current event
pany had initiated in 1893.
that attracted international attention in the early years of
The Great Eastern Railway ordered three steamships to cinema.[5]
operate the service. The ships were named Amsterdam,
Berlin and Vienna to publicise some of the rail connections from the Hook of Holland. The Berlin was built in 2 Aftermath
1894 by Earles Shipbuilding and Engineering Company
of Hull.[1] She had berths for 218 rst- and 120 secondThe correct number of persons on board the ferry at that
class passengers.
time was apparently not immediately known. Messages
in English newspapers ranged from 128 to 180 persons
on board.[6] It is now known that 128 of 144 persons on
1 Sinking
board were killed, including about forty crew members.
The tragedy of the Berlin was, at that time a very large, if
At 0500 on Thursday, 21 February 1907 the Hook not the largest disaster, and since then has been the stanLighthouse-Keeper recorded that Berlin was navigating dard for later government investigations of shipping acthe channel, when she suddenly veered o course north- cidents.
wards after being struck on her port quarter by a huge Following the sinking of the SS Berlin, the Railway Paswave. Captain Precious and Pilot Bronders managed to sengers Assurance Company Ltd, now part of Aviva, paid
return the ship to her original course, but the Berlin was out 8,600, its largest single loss at that time. Of the 128
struck by another wave and was swung northwards, caus- people killed, 10 were insured by the company, with three
ing her to become impaled on the tip of the granite break- holding general accident policies and seven holding boat
water at the entrance to the New Waterway.
and rail tickets.[7]
The waves were sweeping over the vessel and both Captain Precious and Pilot Bronders were soon swept overboard. The Dutch steam life-boat President van Heel at- 3 Notable passengers
tempted to oer aid, but the rough seas prevented her
from being able to approach the stricken vessel, and the One notable passenger on the vessel was Mr Herbert, a
Berlin broke in two amidships at 0600.
Kings Messenger travelling with diplomatic bags, includThe majority of those on board had ed to the bow which ing ones for Berlin, Copenhagen and Tehran. Included in
sank when the ship broke in half.[2] The lifeboat could not the Tehran bag was the jewelled sword and decorations
close with the survivors on the stern of the vessel due to and all his other orders and ribbons including the insignia
1

REFERENCES

of the Knight Grand Commander of the Royal Victorian [9] Hendrik and Jacobus Spijker
Order belonging to Prince ala-as-Saltanch. Although it
is believed that Mr Herberts body was recovered on 16 [10] Hartnell, Cameron C. Arctic Network Builders: the Arctic Coal Companys Operations on Spitsbergen and Its ReMarch, the family asked for it to be treated as unidentilationship with the Environment. Dissertation, Michigan
ed. The sword was recovered in early April.[8]
Technological University, 2009, p. 92.
A second notable victim was Hendrik Spijker of the
Spyker car company. Following his death in the sinking
investigations revealed that the companys nances were
in a parlous state, leading to the companys bankruptcy
declaration.[9]
William Dearborn Munroe, general manager of the
Arctic Coal Company, also drowned in the wreck.[10]

Cultural references

The Dutch TV program "Andere Tijden", showed rare

lm footage of the disaster on 1 March 2007.

See also
A youtube lm relating to the sinking
List of shipwrecks
Nautical portal

External links
Details of passengers (Old Mersey Times)
Uitzending van Andere Tijden over de ramp met de
Berlin
De Schipbreuk van de Berlin - beschrijving door
Pisuisse

References

[1] Wreck of the G.E.R. S.S. Berlin 1907

[2] TERRIBLE DISASTER TO THE S.S. BERLIN AT
THE HOOK OF HOLLAND: THE DOOMED VESSEL BREAKING IN HALF AMIDSHIPS, FEBRUARY. 1907.
[3] Postcard of Captain Sperlings rescue eorts
[4] SS Berlin Disaster
[5] The SS Berlin Disaster at Hoek van Holland
[6] Crew and Passengers who died on SS Berlin 21 February
1907
[7] Aviva - Railway Passengers Assurance Company Ltd
[8] FO 371/293 - Foreign Oce documents

Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses

8.1

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SS Berlin (1894) Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SS_Berlin_(1894)?oldid=688847669 Contributors: Cosal, Andrewrabbott,

Dl2000, Brad101, Dawkeye, Xyl 54, OceBoy, Boneyard90, DiverScout, Yobot, Glatisant, Trappist the monk, KLBot2 and Anonymous:
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the_United_Kingdom.svg License: Public domain Contributors: Move and edit from Image:British-Merchant-Navy-Ensign.svg. Rewritten
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