A starboard quarter view of the general cargo steamer James Speir (1889) moored just off the inner harbour wall at Penzance. The lock gates to the inner harbour can be seen on the left of the image. A rowing gig is alongside the starboard quarter with six people onboard looking at the damage to the bulwarks. The mizzen mast has been bent over near the deck, now leaning over the port quarter. The starboard boat davit is bent almost parallel to the deck, and the ship's boat has the side stoved inwards. One man is standing on the bent plating looking down at the men in the gig. A three-masted brigantine is moored in the inner harbour, with part of the town of Penzance in the background.

The James Speir was in collision with the Norwegian barque Magdalena west of the Scilly Isles on 18 June 1906 and sustained damage above the waterline. The ship was towed to Penzance by the trawler Buckhound.