# lost at sea due to negligence john ROTHER



## are39 (May 27, 2006)

looking for info re John Leonard ROTHER AB. R501153 DOB 3.5.31 london lost at sea,washed overbord rough weather while securing life boat.1956 unknown ship, tramp? from aussie to uk.
big mystery on this as ship was a junk heap and life boats stuck to chocks due to paint and daily mirror said it was a cover up due to negilence


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## G0SLP (Sep 4, 2007)

M'yes, but newspapers claim a lot of things, don't they...

Just saying 



Having said that, I was a passenger on Canberra, late December 1973. There was an 'incident' involving a fire on one of the lifeboats being used as a tender ferrying people to/from shore (we were off St. Thomas, USVI). The penultimate boat from shore caught fire; all on board the boat had to go into the water & had to wait for the last boat to pick them up. Boat eventually abandoned & left to burn itself out. No safety gear on the boat; allegations of intoxication of the Officer in Charge of the boat, attempts to relaunch a couple of already recovered boats failed due to winch problems ( ) . Boats on windward side not even tried, apparently because they were on the weather side...

A cock-up from start to finish; fortunately with no serious injury or loss of life.

The maintenance done on those boats during the passage to the next port (Funchal), with the inevitable DoT Inspection, had to be seen to be believed. Needless to say, all was in order when the Surveyors boarded...

Sadly for P&O, a well-known and well-respected journalist was on board and got some of the story out by HF phone call, before the connection was broken, apparently because of poor radio propagation (and if you believe that, I've got a bridge for sale  )

Cover-up? Oh yes

Anyway, good luck with your search for answers.


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## Billieboy (May 18, 2009)

If the boats were fast with paint and rust then they would not need to be secured!


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## narra (Nov 23, 2013)

A bit late .But I was on the British Prudence in aug/53.the bridge decided to have boat drill, not one could be used all stuck in chock's due to paint. cheer'sNarra


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## Split (Jun 25, 2006)

narra said:


> A bit late .But I was on the British Prudence in aug/53.the bridge decided to have boat drill, not one could be used all stuck in chock's due to paint. cheer'sNarra


Which shows how often BP did boat drill. A painted boat does not stick from one week to another, or even one month. Even a lifeboat survey, done once a year, would ensure that a boat would not stick in subsequent drills.

Our lifeboats were fibreglass and did not need painting.


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## kauvaka (Oct 11, 2009)

British Valour, British Aviator late 50s early 60s. Boat and firedrill after leaving port of discharge then weekly without fail thereafter and yes gripes were slackened and fire valves opened. Come to think of it this was the case on every FG vessel I sailed on.


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## Hugh MacLean (Nov 18, 2005)

John Leonard Rother was lost aboard the ship 'GRYFEVALE'. I suspect the ship would be ex-'EMPIRE TOBAGO' the date may have been 1955.

Regards
Hugh


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## R396040 (Sep 30, 2008)

kauvaka said:


> British Valour, British Aviator late 50s early 60s. Boat and firedrill after leaving port of discharge then weekly without fail thereafter and yes gripes were slackened and fire valves opened. Come to think of it this was the case on every FG vessel I sailed on.


Yes I agree. I was on British Might, two trips just inder a year total and boat drill happened without fail every week wherever we were come rain or shine.
Stuart


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## lakercapt (Jul 19, 2005)

Sailed from Liverpool on M/V Baron Kinnaird and the first boat drill after a few days at sea and we could not swing the boats out.
Several days working with apprentices we managed to get them operational but the falls needed to be replaced and there was no spares on board.
Got it all sorted out and when we had a visit from the deck superintendent in St. John NB first thing he asked was to see a boat swung out.
The two apprentices and I went up to the boat deck and they were swung out and lowered to the embarkation point like as smooth as a Swiss watch.
That's how they should have been when we left Liverpool I said to him. He was not about to admit that he had allowed the ship to sail with the boats stuck. Just turned and walked away.
Did not get any brownie points!!!!
The trip on that ship will forever live in my memory as the worst I have ever been on.


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