SS Platinum

The Platinum was the company’s third steam-ship, and she was 36m long. She could carry 50 passengers, with compartments in the stern (with tables, beds and a skylight) and bow, where the crew and poorer passengers slept, a more plain room with the only furniture being a few beds. The bow interior was accessible via the cargo hold, so the crew and steerage shared the room with the cargo. Meanwhile, the aft compartment with the beds had a deckhouse and ladder down to it. This was where the “cabin” class stayed, even though there were no cabins. Some passengers in the aft compartment still slept on the floor, but the furniture there was much better. She travelled the rough seas from 1821 to 1826, when she encountered a rough storm. Her paddles were thrown out of the water often, making the engines overheat from the lack of drag.

At 11:20 am, her engines caught fire and exploded, damaging the hull. She began taking on water, but many passengers and crew made it to the top deck quickly. Panic spread as no lifeboats were on board, and the crew raised distress flags. Thankfully, a nearby ship spotted them, and almost everyone was rescued. Crew dove overboard and ladders were lowered. Once the crew were on the other ship, they worked together to pass ladders across for the passengers. Platinum was sinking quickly, and the deck went under only 4 minutes after the initial explosion. The survivors were counted and the list was compared to the recorded passenger and crew list. It was found that 25/31 passengers were saved, and 15/16 crew survived- the captain was lost. The sinking was blamed on the poor quality steam engines, but due to the low loss of life, the safety measures on board were not revised.