LOSS OF CYRENA RECALLED

Press, Volume LXXV, Issue 22768, 21 July 1939, Page 12

LOSS OF CYRENA RECALLED

STEAMER WRECKED IN 1925 VESSEL BROKEN UP BY HEAVY SEAS The spot where the Port Bowen is stranded is apparently near where the steamer Cyrena went aground on the morning of May 24, 1925, on a sand shoal formed near the entrance to the river. The tug Terawhiti was in attendance, but little could be done, and the ship was a total loss. Under her own steam she was refloated the day she struck, but was caught by a strong , current and grounded about 600 yards north of the moles. \ At midnight the Cyrena was leaking in all holds. By May 26 she had 14 feet of water in the holds and her position, was serious. Her hull was badly damaged and she had to be beached to prevent her from sinking. By June 11 it was clear that the Cyrena was doomed. Because of the damage done to the hull below the waterline it was impossible to take any drastic measure to salyage her. The bottom of the ship was found to be split right across for six feet from tbe bilge bn either side. Each sea that smashed in on her did further damage. In order to stave off disaster the salvage party of Terawhiti had to sbt about repairing the damage'after each blow by the sea. It was a great gamble, and as such it was recognised from the start. Twice the Cyrena- was floated off. but her draught, 14 feet forward and 20J feet aft, was too much to allow the steamer to enter the river, and her structure was too badly damaged to allow her to

make for another port. On the night of July 11 the Cyrena was again floated off, but the heavy southerly swell which prevailed put in the finishing blow. The Cyrena was abandoned, and on Julv 12 a very heavy sea battered her unmercifully. She broke up behind the bridge and towards night the cargo and wreckage were drifting ashore. The Cyrena was a • steel screw steamer of 2138 tons, built in I9IS, and owned by the Anglo-Saxon Petroleum Company, Utd. ' She was carrying about 40,000 cages of oil, and little more than half was salvaged. It was stated that between £IO,OOO and £15,000 was spent in the efforts to save her. The finding of the Court was the complete exoneration of Captain Paterson and his officers, and Captain McIntyre, harbourmaster at Wanganui, and the harbour officials.