Diving Expert Describes Inspection Of Holmglen

Press, Volume XCIX, Issue 29138, 25 February 1960, Page 18

Diving Expert Describes Inspection Of Holmglen

(New Zealand Press Association) W ELLINGTON, February 24. The only material damage found on the motorvessel Holmglen when she was examined in diving operations was a crushed guard rail on the starboard aft of the boat deck, a naval expert said today. He was giving evidence before the Court of Inquiry into the sinking of the Holmglen off Timaru on November 24. None of the 15 crew members survived. Evidence was given by another witness that a gale-force gust which swept Oamaru on the evening of the disaster might have struck the Holmglen shortly afterwards.

The Court comprises Mr A. C. Perry, of Christchurch (chairman), Captain W. J. Keane, of Auckland, and Messrs A. M. M. Taylor and E. Brown, of Wellington (assessors).

A Crown solicitor, Mr A. J. Quill, appears for the Superintendent of Mercantile Marine; Mr L. G. Rose, with him Mr A. F. Macalister, for the Merchant Service Guild and certain dependants; Mr D. W. Virtue, with him Mr C. G. Powles, for the owners; Mr G. C. Kent, with him Mr W. G. Smith, for the New Zealand Seamen's Union; Mr W. A. Scott for the Institute of Marine and Power Engineers; and Mr J. Herlihy and Mr L. Tickler for the Cooks’ and Stewards’ Union. William Alexander, a fisherman, who put out in the 50ft Craigewan from Timaru at 1.30 p.m. after hearing of the Holmglen’s distress call, said he met weather bad enough to have turned him back had he been only trawling. He had to reduce speed, and suffered minor damage. Timaru Bight was usually calmer than the surrounding seas in a southerly, he said, but at one stage he had to heave to for a time. Finding of Lifebelts He zigzagged over the reported position until the Holmburn reported seing an oil slick He joined the riolmburn and found lifebelts tied to a cargo tray, and two bodies about 9.30 a.m All the wreckage and the two bodies were in an area of 70 or 80 yards He said it was surprising none of the searching vessels had found the wreckage before. It might have come up in a heap later. . ■ To Mr Rose the witness said the lifebelts were only hastily hitched together, the work of half a minute. Mr Virtue: If somebody who was fighting for his life lashed those lifebelts and the cargo tray together, he would have done that while the ship was afloat. The witness: Yes. Unless they were stopped by some obstruction on the ship the lifebelts would have been left on the surface when the ship went down?—That is true. The lifebelt the body was in was pulped, as if someone had struggled in it. If the pulping had been done by collision with other cargo, the body would have been damaged, and so would the other lifebelts. Mr Virtue suggested that the lifebelts be slit to determine •whether they were all of the same materials. This was done, and it showed that the damaged belt was kapoc and another of cork. The chairman, to the witness: So you no longer draw the inference that someone pulped it? The witness: Well, the body in the lifebelt was a powerful man I think some struggling was done. Ido not know whether the difference in materials accounts for all the pulping. Other Use of Belts Asked by Mr Tickler whether such belts were used as fenders to prevent ships rubbing together, the witness said he did not know of such a practice. The witness said he used selfinflating rafts on his boats, and recommended them. John Inkster, of Timaru, a fisherman, said his craft, the Norseman, took part in the search for the Holmglen and picked up a lifebelt, which did not seem to have been used, and a rope fender. Some days later, during an organised search, he saw a flock of seabirds and investigated. “We actually ran over the body before we saw it,” he .said.’ “It was wearing a life jacket. We took the remains back to Timaru.” The witness said he would be happy if he met weather no worse than that on the night of the search. To Mr Kent he said he had at times thrown his whole catch overboard in bad weather, but would never have considered doing so that night. He could not understand the Holmglen capsizing in such weather, and could only think she must have lost one of her plates. If the deck cargo had broken loose it would have tumbled overboard and the drums and sacks would then have been found over a much larger area, he said. Lights Suggested The witness recommended the use of lights on life-jackets. “If you are out there in the dark looking for something that is also dark, frankly you are wasting your time,” he said. John Gardiner Sutherland, of Timaru, ■ a fisherman, owner of the Moray Rose, said he sighted a flare, and so did his crew. It was to his south-east, six to nine miles from the wreck, which was found to his north. For lack of other explanation, he now thought it might have been sheet lightning.

John Greenfield Bisset, of Timaru, skipper of the fishing boat Seafarer, also told the Court he had seen the flare and had sailed towards it but found nothing.

Alan Geoffrey ’ Palmer, partowner of the fishing boat Kaio, said he had sighted the green flare when off Jacks Point.

“We thought we were really on to something, but when we searched the area we found nothing.” To Mr Kent the witness said there had been no electrical storm that night, and he was quite certain the green light had been a flare.

Roderick Alexander Donald, skipper of the fishing boat Nella, said he had seen no broken furniture among the floating wreckage or anything to indicate the accommodation of the Holmglen had been smashed. 1 Harbourmaster’s Evidence Captain James Edward Hancox, harbourmaster at Oamaru, said that when the Holmglen arrived at Oamaru she appeared to be perfectly in order. He did not think there was anything unusual in the deck cargo being stacked straight-sided. The cargo appeared to have been , lashed down in a good seamanlike manner. About an hour before the Holmglen sailed he noticed the after draught was about 12ft and the forward draught was well above her loading marks. The mate told him he was emptying one of the ballast tanks. He was not concerned about the weather when the Holmglen sailed. She was in good trim and upright. To Mr Virtue, the witness said that after the Holmglen sailed the weather worsened considerably. The departure of another ship due to sail that evening was put back because of high winds. About 8.30 p.m. there was a particularly strong southerly gust of gale force. This gust would probably have reached the Holmglen about the time she sent the distress signal. “It was one of the worst gusts I have felt from that quarter for a long, long time,” he said. Lashing of Lifebelts Mr Kent: We have heard that a cargo tray lashed to three lifebelts was found after the vessel sank and that the cargo trays had been placed on top of the deck cargo under the tarpaulin. Assuming that the cargo tray and the lifebelts were tied together before the ship went down, does that suggest to you that the cargo may have broken loose while the ship was afloat?

The witness: Yes it does. We have also heard that sacks of flour were found floating not far from the wreck Do you think that these sacks could have broken loose and blocked the wash ports?—Yes, that’s possible. To the chairman, the witness said it was his responsibility to check the draught of a vessel leaving port only to ensure that it could clear the harbour safely. He agreed it would be an added safety measure if harbourmasters were authorised to check the loading of ships before they sailed. Such a recommendation could, however, be difficult to put into effect in major ports. The witness said that ships’ masters were responsible for the loading of their ships, and he had no authority to prevent an overloaded ship from leaving port, except when he was acting as pilot Diver’s Search Commander Joffre Paul Sinton Valiant R.N.Z.N., officer In command of diving operations at the scene of the wreck, described the examination made of the Holmglen by a diver and television camera. The diver, he said, established that the propeller was undamaged. The rudder was also undamaged, and was set hard to port. The ship was upright, and the small part of the hull the diver was able to examine appeared to be normal. Because of the poor visibility the diver had to carry out his inspection by feel, said the witness. The diver was not put on the deck of the ship because it was not considered safe. The television camera established that the forecastle staysail was rigged, and that halfway down the mast the halyard had parted. There was a confusion of cordage around the foremast. The starboard guard rail on the aft of the boat deck was stoven in and crashed. This was the only material damage apparent, except for damage caused to the winch housing when the diving vessel Tui dragged her anchor.