William Spratly was the Second Officer of the British whaler

Whaler

A whaler is a specialized ship, designed for whaling, the catching and/or processing of whales. The former included the whale catcher, a steam or diesel-driven vessel with a harpoon gun mounted at its bows. The latter included such vessels as the sail or steam-driven whaleship of the 16th to early...

, the Cyrus South Seaman and brother of its Captain, Richard Spratly

Richard Spratly

Captain Richard Spratly was master of the British whaler, the Cyrus South Seaman. from at least 1836 until 1844. He is notable for being the namesake of Spratly Island and the group of islands and reefs in the area known as the Spratly Islands.-Early life:...

 who is notable for naming Spratly Island

Spratly Island

Spratly Island may refer to:* Spratly Islands, a chain of islands, reefs and shoals in South China Sea that is disputed by the Philippines, People's Republic of China, Republic of China, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei....

 and being the namesake of the Spratly Islands

Spratly Islands

The Spratly Islands are a group of more than 750 reefs, islets, atolls, cays and islands in the South China Sea. The archipelago lies off the coasts of the Philippines and Malaysia , about one third of the way from there to southern Vietnam. They comprise less than four square kilometers of land...

. Richard Spratly

Richard Spratly

Captain Richard Spratly was master of the British whaler, the Cyrus South Seaman. from at least 1836 until 1844. He is notable for being the namesake of Spratly Island and the group of islands and reefs in the area known as the Spratly Islands.-Early life:...

 is often mistakenly named William Spratly when referring to this incident.

It is possible, though unlikely, that this may be the same William Spratly who captained the Norwegian

Norway

Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...

 steamer

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...

, SS Douvre, between 1883-1900.