The last voyage of the Morro Castle took place on September 6, 1934, when the ship left Havana. Captain Willmott was trying to out race a storm but it unfortunately had caught up with the ship. The night of September 7, the night before the scheduled docking, Captain Willmott skipped dinner he had planned with guests and retired to his cabin. Crew members found Captain Willmott’s body in his bathroom when the Chief Engineer tried to alert the Captain of a boiler problem but couldn’t get a hold of him. The official cause of death according to the ship’s doctor was “acute indigestion” and a heart attack. William Warms proclaimed himself as acting captain and oversaw navigation of the ship back to port in New York. The passengers all retired to their rooms after hearing the news while some of the crew members stayed …show more content…
The fire hydrants that were installed on the ship were used to help fight the fire, but they were used incorrectly due to improper training. Out of the 42 hydrants on board, only one-quarter should have been used at once or pressure would be lost. Over half of the hydrants had been opened and most of the water pressure was lost. The wooden interior had was installed to look attractive and grand for the passengers, only acted as an accelerant to the fire.
Acting Captain Warms was accused of “several charges including ‘misconduct, negligence and intention to duty’” and eventually convicted of negligence in 1936. (Sea Girt Lighthouse Citizens Committee) The following year, charges were dropped. Judge Augustus wrote that Warms “maintained the best tradition of the sea y staying on his ship until the bridge burned under him and no one else was aboard” (Sea Girt Lighthouse Citizens Committee). Many of the crewmen aboard the ship had shown bad judgement during the disaster, either from lack of training or disregard of duty in order to save