In a somewhat fiery interview with the chief officer of the Oceanic to a reporter from the Daily Alta on the 23rd of August, 1888 he issued the following statement to the press: “The men of the Chester,” he said, “say they lowered our boats. Do you think it at all likely that a true sailorman will leave his own vessel, clamber up into a strange ship, and proceed to lower her boats? The men who say they did that also claim it was fully twenty-five minutes before the Chester sunk. If that was so why did they not stay on their own vessel and lower their own boats?”
Ship Name: City of Chester
Year Built: 1875
Tonnage: 1106 tons
Nationality: United States of America
Ship Type: Iron Hulled Steamship
Year Wrecked: 1888
Location Wrecked: Near Fort Point San Francisco
Reason for Wreck: Collision with the Oceanic
Lives Lost: 16
Sources:
https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/news/apr14/city-of-chester.html
