SS Fazilka

SS Fazilka was a British India Steam Navigation Company (BI) steamship. She was built in England in 1890, operated mostly in the Indian Ocean, and was wrecked in the Nicobar Islands in 1919. She was a troop ship in the Second Boer War and the First World War. From 1901 to 1907 she took Indian indentured labourers to Fiji.

In 1900, when Fazilka was returning from Natal to India, her propeller shaft broke. A P&O liner tried to tow her, but failed. Fazilka's engineers eventually manaegd to repair her, and she reached Ceylon under her own power.

Building
In 1890 William Doxford & Sons at Pallion in Sunderland built a pair of sister ships for BI. Yard number 199 was laid down on 12 May 1890, launched on 17 August, and delivered on 11 October. She was named after the city of Fazilka in the Punjab. Yard number 200 was launched on 4 October as SS Fultala, and completed that November.

Fazilka's registered length was 366.0 ft, her beam was 48.2 ft, her depth was 26.5 ft, and her draught was 23 ft. Her tonnages were, , and. Her holds had capacity for 240916 cuft of cargo. She had berths for 12 first class passengers, and was licensed to carry 1,650 unberthed passengers on deck.

Fazilka had a single screw, driven by a three-cylinder triple-expansion engine. It was rated at 462 NHP or 2,453 ihp, and gave her a speed of 11+1/2 kn.

First decade
BI registered Fazilka at Glasgow. Her United Kingdom official number was 98578 and her code letters were LVMS. She operated in the Indian Ocean between India and East Africa, and between India and Cape Colony.

On 27 July 1892 Fazilka was approaching Calcutta from Singapore when she grounded on Hooghly Point. On a voyage in October 1897 she ran short of coal, and her crew had to burn mostof her wooden fittings to reach port.

All BI ships were designed to be converted into troop ships, by putting troop accommodation in the holds. In the Second Boer War the UK Government chartered at least 37 BI ships for war service. On 6 January 1900 Fazilka embarked part of the 16th The Queen's Lancers at Bombay (now Mumbai). On 21 January she reached Port Elizabeth in Cape Colony.

Broken propeller shaft
On 30 January 1900 Fazilka left Durban in ballast. She crossed the Indian Ocean via the Mozambique Channel and Mauritius. On 6 February, hile she was still 800 km from land, her propeller shaft broke in two places, rupturing her stern tube. Her crew shifted her ballast forward, which lowered her bow in the water and raised her propeller clear of the surface. Her engineers tried unsuccessfully to repair the shaft.

On 12 February one of her engineers, Lachlan Brown, directed the jury rigging of a set of sails on both of her masts. The next day the P&O steamship SS Oceana (1887) came across Fazilka and tried to tow her to Colombo in Ceylon. The tow line broke, and Fazilka's Master, Captain Goss, declined further help, but accepted additional victuals.

Eventually Brown dismantled the high-pressure cylinder of Fazilka's main engine in order to cannibalise its brass bearing on the crankpin. He used this to secure the propeller shaft, and used a Thompson coupling to repair the rear end break. The repair was successful, and Fazilka managed 9 kn using only the high-pressure and intermediate-pressure cylinders of her engine.

On 23 March she reached Colombo under her own power. BI rewarded her engineers. Her Fourth Engineer, Joch MacDonald, was awarded a gold watch and £30.

Later career
From 1901 to 1907 Fazilka made six voyages taking Indian indentured labourers to Fiji, as shown in the table below.

In 1904 Fazilka made a voyage carrying emigrants from London to Brisbane. In July 1905, during the Russo-Japanese War, the Russian auxiliary cruisers Kuban stopped and searched her in the Red Sea. Kuban allowed Fazilka to proceed.

In 1915 Fazilka served as a troop ship. In 1917 she came under the Liner Requisition Scheme. In 1918 she was returned to BI, who put her on the route between Madras (now Chennai) and the Straits Settlements.

By 1918 Fazilka was equipped with wireless telegraphy. Her call sign was GDA.

Loss
On 31 October 1919 Fazilka was en route from Penang to Calcutta when she grounded in poor weather on the east coast of Great Nicobar Island. She stayed on an even keel, but water rose in all four of her holds. Her passengers transferred to the Dutch government steamship Sabang, which took them back to Penang. The next day Fazilka sank, and two of her crew were killed. The rest of her complement came ashore safely.