Governor General Loudon (ship)
Encyclopedia
The Governor General Loudon was a mail steamer
and excursion vessel operated by the Netherlands Indies Steamship Company The vessel was built by Caird & Co., Greenock
, Scotland
, in 1875 and, after surviving the tidal wave
s caused by the 1883 eruption of Krakatoa
, was lost off the Tengga Batoe reef
south of Saleier in 1898.
when the captain steered the ship head on into the wave. After the wave passed, pyroclastic airfall
was the ships biggest enemy. A depth of 1 foot of ash could have made the ship capsize
, but the people onboard survived because the crew kept the decks clear while the captain moved the passengers into the ships hold to maintain stability.
Steamboat
A steamboat or steamship, sometimes called a steamer, is a ship in which the primary method of propulsion is steam power, typically driving propellers or paddlewheels...
and excursion vessel operated by the Netherlands Indies Steamship Company The vessel was built by Caird & Co., Greenock
Greenock
Greenock is a town and administrative centre in the Inverclyde council area in United Kingdom, and a former burgh within the historic county of Renfrewshire, located in the west central Lowlands of Scotland...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, in 1875 and, after surviving the tidal wave
Tsunami
A tsunami is a series of water waves caused by the displacement of a large volume of a body of water, typically an ocean or a large lake...
s caused by the 1883 eruption of Krakatoa
Krakatoa
Krakatoa is a volcanic island made of a'a lava in the Sunda Strait between the islands of Java and Sumatra in Indonesia. The name is used for the island group, the main island , and the volcano as a whole. The island exploded in 1883, killing approximately 40,000 people, although some estimates...
, was lost off the Tengga Batoe reef
Reef
In nautical terminology, a reef is a rock, sandbar, or other feature lying beneath the surface of the water ....
south of Saleier in 1898.
Krakatoa eruption
In 1883, while captained by Johan Lindemann, the ship was present at the eruption of Krakatoa and survived the subsequent tsunamiTsunami
A tsunami is a series of water waves caused by the displacement of a large volume of a body of water, typically an ocean or a large lake...
when the captain steered the ship head on into the wave. After the wave passed, pyroclastic airfall
Pyroclastic fall
A pyroclastic fall is a uniform deposit of material which has been ejected from a volcanic eruption or plume such as an ash fall or tuff. Pyroclastic air fall deposits are a result of:...
was the ships biggest enemy. A depth of 1 foot of ash could have made the ship capsize
Capsize
Capsizing is an act of tipping over a boat or ship to disable it. The act of reversing a capsized vessel is called righting.If a capsized vessel has sufficient flotation to prevent sinking, it may recover on its own if the stability is such that it is not stable inverted...
, but the people onboard survived because the crew kept the decks clear while the captain moved the passengers into the ships hold to maintain stability.
See also
- Accounts of the Krakatoa eruption, including those from the Loudon - to be used as references in update of article