John T. Hawkes
Canal Boat · United States · Lost 1903 · New York Harbor
A coal-laden canal boat under tow across New York Harbor sank off the Staten Island ferry slip, prompting a federal admiralty lawsuit.
Become Captain of Record
The Vessel and Her Loss
The canal boat John T. Hawkes, owned by Thomas Herbert and loaded with coal, was part of a six-vessel hawser tow behind the steamtug Ganoga bound from Jersey City to East River destinations on July 22, 1903. In strong wind, she sank off the Staten Island ferry slip at the foot of Whitehall Street. Her owner and master sued the towing company for negligence, and the case, The Ganoga, was decided by the federal district court in New York in 1904.
Vessel
- Not established
- Not established
- Not established
- Wood
- Not established
- Not established
- Not established
- None (towed canal boat)
- Thomas Herbert
Loss
- July 22, 1903
- Not established
- New York Harbor, off the Staten Island ferry slip at the foot of Whitehall Street, Manhattan
- New York Harbor
- Packer Dock, foot of Morris Street, Jersey City, New Jersey → East River points, New York
- Coal
- 1
- 0
- John Tracy
The Wreck Today
- Not established
- Not established
- Not established
- Not established
- Not established
Position
- Not established
- Position not established
- Whitehall Street ferry slip, Manhattan, New York Harbor
Evidence
Overall confidence: Sparsely documented (50/100)
The exact cause of the sinking beyond the litigated negligence claim, and the vessel's construction details, are not established in the sources reviewed.
The Ganoga, District Court, S.D. New York (1904)
Date, location, cause dispute, weather, and towing arrangement of the sinking.
