VALUABLE SHIPS.

Auckland Star, Volume LXXII, Issue 1, 2 January 1941, Page 3

VALUABLE SHIPS.

RANGITANE LARGEST. PHOSPHATE TRADERS' LOST. Lurgcsei of the ten ship* mentioned l).v tile Prime Minister, the Hon. P. Kr«L-er. in his broadcast. the RangiUiie. 17.000 ions. wa> Iniilt for the Xerv Zealand Shipping Company by tho Clyjdebunk linn of .Tolui Brown and Co.. Ltd,., in lit2o-,'!o. Her sis-ter ships are tho liangitatu and the Kangitiki. which yvart_rceeutlj , uaiuxrncd—in~lh£ iictjbn in which the Jorvis 13ay was s>unk after an heroic battle by a '■"erhiau pocket battleship raider. The Kangitiki was chased and tired on by the sinio raider. Like her sifter t-lii]>r*. the Ilangitanc. was comfortably, ulinuift luxuriously. designed. She was built at a time when it was found "that the Panama route between England and New Zealand rather lagged behind some of the other great route- in point of view of speed, and she was designed with the object of improving this service. She could cany 100 first-class passengers. SO second-das* and 410 third-class. She had seven decks, and the passenger accommodation wa* mo.-t comfortable. Her cargo space was designed for efficiency. She had already in this war given valuable service to the Knipirc. The Rangitane was commanded by Captain H. l>. Upton, who was wellknown in New Zealand, not only as commander of this vessel, but also, previously, as , captain of the Xew Zealand Shipping Company's training ship Durham. Formerly the Tees, the .-i-l.Vton vessel Holmwood was reported missing and believed to have been shelled by an enemy raider on Monday. Dcc.mber 2. On the run between the Chatham Islands and Lyttelton. the Holmwood carried lpassengers and a crew of 17. all of whom were presumed to have been taken prisoner. She carried 1 H7~> sheep, 77 bales of wool, one horse, several tons of general cargo, and mail, and was making her second trip from the Chathams since she was bought by the Holm Shipping Company, of Wellington. The Holmwood was built in 1911 by the Goole Shipbuilding Company on the Humber. Her length was 165 ft, and her beam 20ft.

Turaklna's Heroic Fight. The Turakina, which was sunk on Auf»ust__Jo, 1940, after fighting the raider, was a ship of 8700 ton*. '■ She was built for the Xew Zealand Shipping Company, Limited, at Glasgow, in 1923. Powered by steam turbines, she, was 460 feet in length. On her last voyage, the Turakina was en route from an Australian port to load in New Zealand. Captain J. Laird, who was in command, had with him four officers and a crew of about ">O. The Komata. the second Union Company vessel of that name, was built in England about two years ago and was last in Auckland towards the end of November. Her tonnape was 3900. The Triona. one of the British Phosphate Commission oil-burners had a tonnage of 4412. a length of 305 ft and a beam of 34ft, and was specially built and equipped for laying deep sea moor-

ing* at Nauru Islands. Under the command of Captain J. E. Hughes, she had a record of 97 trips to Ocean and Nauru islands and liack to New Zealand and Australia. Another ship running for the same owners in this trade, the Triadie C 378 tons, was launched in 1!):5S,

A Norwegian motor-vessel of .USI tons, the Yinni 'was launched at (iotenburg in WM. The Kingwood. which until I!W7 was tho Beljeanne. was a ship of 720;! tons, built at Newcastle in l»2ii.

The French cillier Xotou was a vessel of 2455» tons, built at \Ye*t Hartlepool in IO.'JO. The ve-spl carried a crew of six European ullieers and -H natives. A passenger on the last trip whs M. Paul Vois. director of the nickel mines in New Caledonia, who was returning from Australia after important trade discusrions with the' Commonwealth (.Jovcrnme'iftT