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MARINE REVIEW eo. DOV L: | LOSS OF THE MOHEGAN, THE ATLANTIC TRANSPORT CO.'S STEAMER, FORMERLY THE CLEOPATRA OF THE WILSON & FURNESS-LEYLAND LINE, FOUNDERS NEAR THE LIZARD. The British steamer Mohegan of the Atlantic Transport Co., formerly the Cleopatra of the Wilson '& Furness-Leyland line, which was wrecked on Oct. 14, in the vicinity of the Lizard, is herewith pictured from a re- cent photograph. Tihe heavy loss of life attending the foundering makes 'the accident one of the most unfortunate of the year. Details as to causes and the exact circumstances of the disaster are both meager and con- flicting. The opinion was at first advanced that the machinery of the Mohegan became disabled, making it practically impossible to prevent sher running ashore by reason of the heavy easterly gale which was blow- jing. According to the reports of survivors, the steamer began to settle 'by the head immediately after she struck. She struck with a grating sound, having been proceeding at full speed, and the engineers at first imagined that the sound was that of coal falling in the bunkers, but the first shock was speedily followed by a second, and in twenty minutes the vessel sank. The vessel struck forward on the starboard side, and when she sank the stern rose out of the water. The position of the wreck is, according to cable dispatches, a peculiar one, the bow being tilted high on the rocks, and the stack and masts, which rise above the water, tilted back to an angle of 15 degrees to the sea level. This position would tend to show that the steamer was heading almost directly away from the coast . CLEVELAND, O., OCTOBER 20, 1808. No. 15. GREAT DEMANDS FOR SHIP PLATE. UNUSUAL AOTIVITY IN SHIP YARDS CROWDING THE PLATE MANUFACTURERS-- THE BOOM IN LAKE FREIGHTS. This country has never seen a more active condition of business, as far.as ship builders and ship owners are concerned, than prevails at the present time. More new ship yard projects are under way on the Atlantic coast than at any time within the past ten years. The same is true of im- provements being made in the yards already established. This condition on the coast is due in part to the recent extensive naval orders for battle- ships, monitors and torpedo boats, but the number of new merchant ships" under construction--many of them to replace vessels taken into the aux- iliary navy 'by the government--is also very large. 'A similar condition of affairs exists throughout Great Britain and in Germany, and it is un- derstood that one leading steel company here lhas foreign orders for 50,000 tons of ship plate, in addition to the very heavy home orders already placed or in sight. It is certain that the plate mills of the country are to be taxed to their fullest capacity on ship plate, and the builders of the lakes, who will un- doubtedly have orders to place soon for material, may find that the ques- tion of supplies from the plate mills will be the principal problem with them. As yet lake vessel owners are slow in placing orders for new ships, notwithstanding the conditions as to material and the probability _ that all the ship builders will be comfortably supplied with business. The © ATLANTIC TRANSPORT CO.'S STEAMER MOHEGAN, FOUNDERED NEAR THE LIZARD OCT. 14. endeavoring to regain the proper course when she struck. No satisfactory theory thas yet been advanced as to why the vessel should have been off the course, or at least in such a position. The Mohegan was a new vessel, having been launched within the year at the yard of the Earles at Hull, England, and arriving at New York on her maiden trip on August 12, last. She is a single-screw steel vessel of 4510 tons register, 480 feet long by 52 feet beam and 36 feet depth of hold. She had accommodations for about 125 passengers and a capacity for be- tween 7,000 and 8,000 tons of freight, in addition to 700 cattle. Her com- mander, Capt. Griffiths, was commodore of the Atlantic Transport fleet, and 'her officers were all picked men, which adds to the difficulty of ex- Planation of the position of the vessel. The Mohegan was one of the five vessels recently purchased by the Atlantic Transport Co. irom the Wilson Surness-Leyland Line to replace the Mohawk, Mobile, Massachusetts, Michigan and Mississippi, which were sold to the United States govern- ment for use as transports. The other four purchased by the Atlantic company are the Manitou, Marquette, Menominee and Mesabi, formerly faring the names Victoria, Boadicea, Alexandria and Winifreda. As is frequently the case under such circumstances, numerous derog- atory stories have been in circulation with reference to the condition of the wrecked steamer. It was alleged that the one voyage which she made Out and home developed the fact that her engines were defective and that ae boilers leaked. For two weeks previous to sailing on her Jast trip, iS Mohegan had been in dry dock undergoing repairs, and it is claimed fom some sources that the result of a twenty-four-hour trial trip which iollowed the completion of this work was unsatisfactory. The officials of e Atlantic Transport Co. stoutly deny that her boilers were defective or oe ee condition was not satisfactory, and they express the firmest con- ction that the 'accident could not have been due to any defect of boilers eomacery ie Tete Th an interview recently. printed-in-a. New York paper Prof. Angell, 1 fe to Turkey, is quoted as saying that the sultan told him that S Oped to be able to place an order for several war vessels with Ameri- 0 ship builders, Craig Ship Building Co. of Toledo has about decided to put down, on its 'own account, a steel vessel of Welland canal dimensions, suited to the Chicago-Montreal trade. Other builders are all figuring, but it cannot be learned that any additional orders have been closed. hi Lake freights are still advancing, the rate on wheat from the head of Lake Superior to Buffalo having reached 3% to 8% cents, while ore ship- pers find themselves unable to secure vessels at $1 a ton from Duluth and Ashland. These advances will cut down the ore output for the season to little more than 13,000,000 tons, unless a slump should occur in grain freights. The boom in freights has brought some strange conditions. On one contract covering the delivery of 90,000 tons of 'ore from Escanaba, 80 cents was paid for three vessels, a few days ago, although the ore was taken in the first place at 40 cents and was all to have been moved before Sept. 15 last. The number of vessels still carrying ore on 60-cent con- tracts, some of them made as late as the 15th of August, is very large, although better than a dollar could undoubtedly be secured now on quite a large amount of tonnage. Discussion engendered by the recent visit to this country of Messrs. White and Bates, English underwriters, has brought out the fact that about fifteen years ago the total of marine insurance in the United States was about $2,000,000,000. For this the companies received in premiums , about $17,500,000, the average rate being 90. cents... Last year/the sum - insured was about $4,000,000,000, the companies receiving about.$16,000,000 in premiums,-at an average rate of about 45 cents. Since 1862, eleven New York companies have retired, six going out of business since 1876, the year when the first foreign company started in that territory. ¥ Another orderifor,a Howden: hot draft equipment has been secured by the Dry Dock Engine Works of Detroit, The steamer is the John F: Eddy. The draft will be installed in connection with a new boiler... It is more than probable that owners of a large number of vessels of the Eddy's kind will see the advantage of taking up this question of artificial draft, now that there is a certainty of profitable 'business for this class of ships - _ for some time to come. - :