Copyright USGenNet Inc., 2015 All Rights Reserved USGenNet Data Repository Please read USGenNet Copyright Statement on this page: Submitted by Linda Talbott for the USGenNet Data Repository http://www.us-data.org/ ========================================================================= USGenNet Data Repository NOTICE: These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or presentation by any other organization. Non-commercial organizations desiring to use this material must obtain the consent of the transcriber prior to use. Individuals desiring to use this material in their own research may do so. =========================================================================== Formatted by USGenNet Data Repository Chief Archivist, Linda Talbott All of the above information must remain when copied or downloaded. =========================================================================== Sinking of Bradley Blamed on Defect CLEVELAND, July 23 (AP) - A Coast Guard report said Thursday the freighter Carl D. Bradley, which sank in a Lake Michigan gale last Nov. 18 with loss of 33 lives, must have "developed an undetected structural weakness or defect." The report of an investigating board said the ship's master, Roland O. Bryan, Loudonville, N.Y. "exercised poor judgement" in "making the decision to, and in pro- ceeding, across northern Lake Michigan from Cana Island toward Lansing Shoal." Bryan was among those who drowned. Two survived. However, the Coast Guard commandant, Vice Adm. A. C. Richmond, "disapproved" this conclusion of the board in reviewing the case. SECOND OBJECTION The commandant also disapproved "the implication in the board's conclusion that the fracture (of the vessel) resulted because the vessel encountered an unusual wave condition while in ballast." The board had reported its opinions that "the cause of the casualty was due to the excessive hogging stresses imposed upon the vessel by reason of her placement in a ballasted condition upon the waves encountered at the particular instant of breaking." Hogging is a condition in which the vessel is supported at the middle by heavy waves, but lacks support on each end. The pressure at the middle then causes the vessel to break, as the ends sag. The board stated 23 opinions, one being "that there is no evidence that any licensed or certified personnel of the Carl D. Bradley committed any acts of incompetence, inattention to duty, negligence, or willful violation of any law or regulation. Another finding was that Coast Guard personnel were not at fault. 'DESIRE' CITED In criticizing the captain, the board said his decision to proceed in bad weather "was probably induced by a zealous desire to hold as closely to schedule as possible, and because of this, he gave less attention to the dangers of existing weather than what might be expected of a prudent mariner." Adm. Richmond noted the board had made "no other findings" than the references to unusual wave conditions and the judgment of the master, and that an exhaustive review of the record has likewise failed to yield any positive determinations in this regard. He said: "Contrary to the board's opinions, however, the following factors may have had some casual connection and cannot be discounted merely for the lake (sic) of probative evidence: * The unexplained presence of the hairline cracks discovered in the vessel's underbody amidships during dry-docking in Chicago in May, 1957, strongly suggests the possibility of structural weakness. * The two unreported groundings experienced by the Bradley in the spring of 1958 and November of 1958 may have introduced unusual false stresses. . . * The extensive renewal of cargo hold side slopes, screen bulkheads and tank tops, planned by the company for the 1958-1959 winter layup, is in itself indicative of wear and deterioration and raises the obvious question of the general condition of the vessel's structure." After these observations, Adm. Richmond concluded: "The possibilities raised by the foregoing, coupled with the fact that the vessel broke up under conditions which, while severe, she should easily have been able to weather, leads inevitably to the conclusion that the vessel had developed and undetected structural weakness or defect." The commandant agreed with the board that there was no explosion. "The Milwaukee Sentinel" July 24, 1959 ===========================================================================