because they were rescued by SS ship in the best position to have Carpathia, whose wireless o perahelped them. The loss of Vestris ultimately tor received distress signals from Titanic and relayed the informaresulted in new legislation that required passengers ships and tion to his captain. The Wireless Act, passed by Congress in all freighters of more than 1,600 1910, required ships traveling gross tons to carry radios and to maintain a 24-hour radio watch. more than 200 miles offshore and carrying more than fifty It had taken some thirty-four years, from th e time that radio passengers to carry radio equipwas first introduced in the Unitment on board. The Act, however, ed States by the twenty-six-yeardid not require a 24-hour radio old G uglielmo Marconi from watch-this would not come unthe deck of SS Ponce. til the Radio Act of 1912. PassenSS Ponce's participation in the ger ships that carried radios on first successful Marconi transa voluntary basis primarily used mission in America and in the them for handling message traffic naval parade welcoming Admiral for revenue-continuous radio Dewey in USS Olymp ia are, for watches were not maintained. the most part, long forgottenNot as well known today, but an indicator of how radios but I have not forgotten. My This photo by Vestris crewmember Fred Hanson, printed father, Captai n Nels Helgesen, could improve safety at sea, was in The Baltimore News on 15 November 1928, shows the was a ship captain for the Porthe sinking of the British passendrama ofthe scene as crew and passengers scrambled to Launch to Rico Line and commanded ger ship SS Vestris, which founand board the Lifeboats before the ship roLLed and sank. most of their vessels from 1918 dered in heavy seas 240 miles off the coast of Virginia in 1928. When the Vestris . Chief Officer George H arrison, until 1942, including Ponce, San Juan, Vestris broadcast its first SOS on 12 No- of the Montoso, testified that, at the time, and Montoso-all vessels that had a part in vember, a number of passenger ships and his ship was drifting in heavy seas while this story. He was lost at sea in 1942 when naval vessels received the distress calls and the crew grappled with a crippled steer- his ship, the US Army Transport Coamo, began racing to the liner's reported posi- ing mechanism. The weather was stormy was torpedoed by a German U-Boat in tion, but they were not close by and had to and the seas were rough , but Montoso's the North Atlantic during World War II. buck rough seas through more than a hun- crew was able to fix the problem and get USAT Coamo had just participated in the dred miles to get in range. By the time the underway again. As a cargo vessel, the North African invasion and was returning first of the rescue ships reached the survi- Montoso was not required to sail with a to the US, for more troops, running invors, more than 24 hours had passed since radio installed. When the Vestris slipped dependently. Captain Nels Helgesen was the SOS call had been sent and only two- beneath the waves, the Montoso was back inducted into the National M aritime Hall thirds of the sunken liner's 338 passengers on course, headed towards Boston and of Fame at Kings Point, NY, in 1989. Guglielmo Marconi's name will aland crew were still alive. away from the location of the sinking ship. Among the group of passenger ships No calls for help would be heard on the ways be remembered because of his historic achievements in radio technology steaming to the rescue was Ponce's sister and his contribution to the safety of life ship, the San Juan. When it fin ally arrived at sea. He was awarded the No bel Prize in at the scene, her captain, Nels H elgesen, Physics in 1909 . J, radioed, "Have reached position given by Vestris. No signs of lifeboats. Am cruising Captain H enry H elgesen went to sea in 1943 about." Almost immediately, the San Juan as a US Merchant Marine Academy cadet began receiving RCA Radiograms from the midshipman and received his commission in news m edia requesting information and ofthe Coast Guard in 1956 H e is a veteran of fering payment for any photographs of the three wars- World ~r II and the Korean tragedy, but the San Juan never found any and Vietnam ~rs-retiring in 1982. Durtrace of the Vestris. ing his Long career with the Coast Guard, he Federal hearings were held both in served as executive officer and commanding the United States and in Great Britain. officer of the cutter Tamaroa, Sea History During the hearings, it was determined "H istoric Ship on a Lee Shore" in this issue, that SS Montoso, a cargo ship, had been Captain Nels Helgesen only six miles away from the sinking (see pages 34-37).
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