Whitburn, Whitburn Steel, Benton

1867 wreck of English cargo vessel. At 9pm on 23.03 the Hartlepool light bore W x S four miles distant, and when at midnight she was abreast of the Seaham lights, the BENTON altered course from N x E to NNE, and some 40 minutes later, a buoy was seen, which was taken to be one of the ballast buoys. The course was then altered to NE, and at 1am she struck on Whitburn Steel Rocks and became a total loss. The Court was of the opinion that the ship had hugged the coast too closely. The wind was fair and moderate from the SW and the night sufficiently clear for all the lights to be seen, although the master insisted that the weather was too thick for him to see the land, which was often caused by the smoke from the city of Sunderland obscuring it around Souter Point. The captain also neglected to take a cast of the lead, which would have warned him of his proximity to the shore. The Court was of the opinion that the loss was due `to the default of the master' and suspended his certificate for six months.

Master: William Forman