Attempt May Be Made Today To Refloat Ship

Press, Volume XCVIII, Issue 28793, 14 January 1959, Page 12

Attempt May Be Made Today To Refloat Ship

(New 'Zealand Press Association)

AUCKLAND, January 13. Hampered by a 20-knot northerly wind and a 6ft swell, seamen worked throughout most of today loading high-pressure pumps and other salvage equipment on to the Norwegian freighter Golden Master, aground near the entrance to Tauranga harbour.

By mid-afternoon the first pump was drawing water from the flooded No. 2 hold at the rate of about 3000 gallons a minute. Five Other large pumps were being made ready to go into action during the night. An attempt to refloat the ship will probably be made at high tide tomorrow morning.

The heavy seas took their toll of the operation when a giant compressor, swinging from a ship’s derrick, struck a booster pump valued about £2OO and knocked it into the sea. Two hands leapt forward in an attempt to save the pump, but were foiled by the pitching, of the pontoon. The pump sank in about 30ft of water.

The pontoon; loaded with equipment, was towed to the ship early in the morning. Unloading was not completed until 4 p.m. The equipment included 500 gallons of fuel for the pumps, a portable welding uhit, and several lengths e£ lOin steel piping.

Conserving Provisions As provisions on the ship have to be conserved in case of a long salvage operation, the extra men required to operate the pumps brought their own food. The first pump was lowered into position in No. 2 hold about 9 a.m. By 3.30 p.m. it was lifting water from the hold ’bout 16ft and

sending it over the side of the ship. This operation was carried out at low tide, when there was a minimum amount of water in the hold. Although it was not considered tonight that the weather was severe enough to endanger the ship, a close compass watch was kept to detect any movement in the ship which might indicate that it was coming broadside to the waves.

A skin-diver is standing by to inspect the hull as soon as it lifts from the sandbank. Fanner Saw Stranding

A grandstand view of the Golden Master striking the reef was had by Mr J. Paterson, who farms part of Motiti Island. He was working on the farm when he saw the ship passing what he considered to be dangerously close to the reef.

“The sea was very calm at the time,” said Mr Paterson, “and the water could not be seen breaking on the rock.”

He did not know until later that the ship had struck the reef, but he concluded that something was wrong when he saw it put on a sudden burst of speed and head for Matakana island. Mr Paterson was not able to say whether the ship had struck the reef with a glancing blow, as he was two miles and a half away. However, as he knows, the obstruction well, he was able to express the opinion that had the Golden Master hit the reef straight on she would not have been able to get off.