Return of the Coffin Ships and the Derbyshire Enigma by Edwards, Bernard published by Brick Tower Press

by Bernard Edwards

In September 1980, the British ship Derbyshire sailed into the eye of Typhoon Orchid and on into oblivion, taking all on board with her. The destructive power of a typhoon is awesome, but the Derbyshire was no small and ageing tramp, running red rust with a crew of deadbeats culled from the backwaters of the world. She was just four years old, manned entirely by competent British seamen and maintained to the highest standards. She matched the best afloat in her day. How then could this great ship have disappeared so quickly and completely, with not even a faint cry for help, and leaving only a thin film of oil on the sea to mark her passing? The only good thing to come out of whatever appalling calamity over-whelmed the Derbyshire was that it turned the spotlight on a hitherto unrecognised phenomenon -- the disappearing bulk carriers. In this powerful book, Bernard Edwards, master mariner turned writer, reports on his investigations into the loss of a number of these giant bulk carriers and offers a new and controversial solution to the Derbyshire mystery, at the same time taking the lid off the on-going scandal of the disappearing bulk carriers.

Genres: Nonfiction

Unknown Binding

First published October 1, 1998

Reviews

[TideMark · Rating 2 out of 5]

Good content spoilt by poor editing and poor production

Interesting book with many tragic examples, although the analysis is light and unconvincing. Indeed the epilogue throws in new information that changes some of the book’s line of thought. Awkward.
But ultimately, the book is spoiled by shockingly bad layout, with words running together, poor image captions, varying justification (changing mid-paragraph sometimes), etc. The layout is a complete shambles and the author’s good work is ruined by it.
Three stars for content; zero stars for production quality. The publishers should be ashamed of themselves for this shambles.

[Patrick Neylan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was originally published in 1998, when the fate of the Derbyshire was still a mystery. Since then, the wreck has been found and the causes of the sinking established. Meanwhile, maritime regulations have been strengthened, so the situation in the wider industry as described here no longer exists. But we shouldn't forget that this book played a significant part in changing the industry for the better.