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THE ACCIDENT THAT TIME FORGOT

              ‘The Loss of the Princess Victoria was caused by the fault of
              the  owners  (the  British  Transport  Commission)  and  the
              managers’

          citing two principal reasons:


              ‘the  inadequacy  of  the  stern  doors  which  yielded  under
              pressure  from  the  sea  and  the  inadequacy  of  the  clearing
              arrangements for the water which  accumulated on the  car
              deck resulting in the list to starboard which caused the ship
              to capsize and sink.’

              Many  experts pointed  out  that  the  design  was  flawed  and
          highlighted the free water effect of un-cleared water on the car
          deck which caused the ship to list and ultimately destabilised her.
          But  the  ship’s  previous  accident  history  was  not  raised  nor
          mentioned.

              The  report  absolved  the  builders,  and  Lloyd’s  Register  of
          Shipping  which  had  declared  her  seaworthy,  from  any
          responsibility. However it was noticed that some of the deceased
          had been killed by their lifejackets which had pushed up into their
          necks when they dived into the sea as they had not held them
          down with their hands to prevent this occurring and it was agreed
          that new instructions for their use would be issued.


          Compensation

              Lump  sum  compensation  was  paid  to  the  dependants  of
          those  lost  on  the  M.V.  Princess  Victoria.  This  varied  from
          claimant to claimant. The sums awarded were:


                 •  £4500 for the loss of a husband

                 •  £1200 for the loss of a son

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