Alarming reports had appeared in the daily press regarding the torpedo boat destroyer Crane (length 220 feet overall, 215 feet between perpendiculars, beam 20 feet 9 inches. Draught 9 feet 9 inches; displacement 390 tons, light, 440 tons full load). According to The Times the Crane had shipped water in high seas, which had caused some deck plates to buckle. The Crane was surveyed by Dockyard officers at Portsmouth and paid off for repairs.