The British shipping laws provide that a ship may not be sent to sea in such an unseaworthy state that the life of any person is thereby endangered, and the House of Lords has defined the term "seaworthy" to mean "in a fit state as to repairs, equipment, and crew, and in all other respects, to encounter the ordinary perils of the voyage." Proper charts and sailing directions are a necessary part of the equipment of a vessel, and the courts have frequently inquired into this.
The records of the British courts, however, show that even in recent years many ships have been damaged or lost owing directly or indirectly to failure to have the latest information on board. The following are instances from these records.
In 1890 the steamer Dunluce was lost owing to the use of an old edition of the Admiralty chart which showed a depth of 412 fathoms on the Wikesgrund, whereas the later chart showed much less water. In this case the master had requested his ship chandler to send him the latest chart.
In 1891 the steamer St. Donats got ashore on a patch which was not shown on the chart in use, which was privately published in 1881; the danger was, however, shown on the Admiralty chart corrected to 1889.
Also in 1891 the steamer Trent was lost on the Missipezza Rock in the Adriatic. The ship was navigated by a private chart published in 1890 which did not show this rock, and by sailing directions published in 1866.
The steamer Aboraca, stranded in the Gulf of Bothnia in 1894, was being navigated by a chart corrected to 1881 which did not show that the Storkallagrund light-vessel had been moved eight miles.
The steamer Ravenspur was lost on Bilbao Breakwater owing to the use of a chart not up to date which did not show the breakwater. In 1898 the steamer Cromarty was lost in attempting to enter Ponta Delgada harbor, and in 1901 the steamer "Dinnington" was lost by steaming on to the new breakwater in Portland harbor; both of these disasters were likewise due to the use of old charts which did not show the breakwaters. In these three cases the masters of the vessels had authority to obtain the necessary charts at the owners' expense.
Not so, however, in the following case from the finding of a British marine court in 1877: "The primary cause of the ship's getting on shore was due to the master's being guided in his navigation by an obsolete Admiralty chart dated September 1, 1852, and corrected to April, 1862, and on which no lights are shown to exist either in ... or ... and to his not being supplied with the latest sailing directions. The Court, considering that the master was obliged to furnish himself with chronometer, barometer, sextant, charts, sailing directions, and everything necessary for the navigation of his vessel out of his private resources, which, under very favorable circumstances, might perhaps reach £150 a year, find themselves unable in this instance to pass a heavier censure upon him than that he be severely reprimanded."
The loss of the German steamer Baker on the coast of Cuba on January 31, 1908, was declared by the marine court at Hamburg to be due in part to the use of an unofficial chart which did not show the latest surveys on that coast.
Use the largest scale charts. The largest scale chart available should be employed when entering channels, bays, or harbors, as it gives information with more clearness and detail, positions may be more accurately plotted, and sometimes it is the first corrected for new information.