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         Sinking of Bradley
         Blamed on Defect
      
         CLEVELAND, July 23 (AP) - A Coast Guard report said
      Thursday the freighter Carl D. Bradley, which sank in a
      Lake Michigan gale last Nov. 18 with loss of 33 lives,
      must have "developed an undetected structural weakness
      or defect."
         The report of an investigating board said the ship's
      master, Roland O. Bryan, Loudonville, N.Y. "exercised
      poor judgement" in "making the decision to, and in pro-
      ceeding, across northern Lake Michigan from Cana Island
      toward Lansing Shoal."
         Bryan was among those who drowned.  Two survived.
         However, the Coast Guard commandant, Vice Adm. A. C.
      Richmond, "disapproved" this conclusion of the board
      in reviewing the case.
      
         SECOND OBJECTION
         The commandant also disapproved "the implication
      in the board's conclusion that the fracture (of the
      vessel) resulted because the vessel encountered an
      unusual wave condition while in ballast."
         The board had reported its opinions that "the 
      cause of the casualty was due to the excessive hogging 
      stresses imposed upon the vessel by reason of her
      placement in a ballasted condition upon the waves
      encountered at the particular instant of breaking."
         Hogging is a condition in which the vessel is
      supported at the middle by heavy waves, but lacks
      support on each end.  The pressure at the middle
      then causes the vessel to break, as the ends sag.
         The board stated 23 opinions, one being "that
      there is no evidence that any licensed or certified
      personnel of the Carl D. Bradley committed any acts
      of incompetence, inattention to duty, negligence, or
      willful violation of any law or regulation.
         Another finding was that Coast Guard personnel
      were not at fault.
         
         'DESIRE' CITED
         In criticizing the captain, the board said his
      decision to proceed in bad weather "was probably
      induced by a zealous desire to hold as closely to
      schedule as possible, and because of this, he gave
      less attention to the dangers of existing weather
      than what might be expected of a prudent mariner."
         Adm. Richmond noted the board had made "no
      other findings" than the references to unusual
      wave conditions and the judgment of the master,
      and that an exhaustive review of the record has
      likewise failed to yield any positive determinations
      in this regard.  He said:
         "Contrary to the board's opinions, however, the
      following factors may have had some casual connection
      and cannot be discounted merely for the lake (sic) of
      probative evidence:
         * The unexplained presence of the hairline cracks
      discovered in the vessel's underbody amidships during
      dry-docking in Chicago in May, 1957, strongly suggests
      the possibility of structural weakness.
         * The two unreported groundings experienced by the
      Bradley in the spring of 1958 and November of 1958
      may have introduced unusual false stresses. . .
         * The extensive renewal of cargo hold side slopes,
      screen bulkheads and tank tops, planned by the company
      for the 1958-1959 winter layup, is in itself indicative
      of wear and deterioration and raises the obvious question
      of the general condition of the vessel's structure."
         After these observations, Adm. Richmond concluded:
         "The possibilities raised by the foregoing, coupled
      with the fact that the vessel broke up under conditions
      which, while severe, she should easily have been able
      to weather, leads inevitably to the conclusion that
      the vessel had developed and undetected structural
      weakness or defect."
         The commandant agreed with the board that there
      was no explosion.
                     "The Milwaukee Sentinel"
                           July 24, 1959
                           
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