§ Colonel DAYasked the President of the Board of Trade if he has received any information with regard to the four members of the crew who lost their lives through an explosion on the steamer named the "Black Sea"; how many other members of the crew were injured; and whether this explosion was caused through a faulty boiler?
§ Sir P. CUNLIFFE-LISTERThe information received from the owners and from the Consul-General at New York is to the effect that a fire and an explosion, or series of explosions, occurred on the motor ship "Black Sea" at Bayonne, New York, on 23rd February, when the loading of the cargo of Naphtha and kerosene was almost complete. The explosions were in way of the midship storeroom on the port side, and there were apparently no explosions in the cargo tanks. The cause is not yet ascertained, but it cannot have been a faulty boiler, as there are no main boilers and neither of the donkey boilers was in use. There were no galley fires lighted; steam for pumping the cargo and working the ship's dynamo was supplied from shore; and no smoking or naked lights were1522W allowed on board. Four members of the ship's complement, namely, chief engineer, chief steward, assistant steward and mess room steward, lost their lives, and the fourth engineer was injured.