FERRY SINKS

Press, Volume XCIX, Issue 29193, 2 May 1960, Page 11

FERRY SINKS

Tow From N.Z. Fails

HOBART, May 1

A gallant attempt was made to board the former New Zealand vehicular ferry Alex Alison, which sank, 240 miles from Hobart, in the Tasman Sea yesterday, by a lifeboat crew 'from the motor vessel Kaitoa, it was reported in Hobart today. The attempt was made after dark on Friday evening but the south-westerly swell and the surge of the towing cable made a boarding impossible. The report was given by the master of the Kaitoa, Captain J. A. Kirk, when the Kaitoa arrived at Hobart today. He said the ferry behaved excellently until Friday when she began to take water over her forward deck.

At 4 p.m. she showed a tendency to be heavy forward. A lifeboat crew tried to board her without success but the inspection they made disclosed no damage. By Saturday 10 feet of her bows were submerged and she sank lower, so the tow was slipped. Captain Kirk said he was bitterly disappointed that the Kaitoa had been unable to fulfil its commission. The ferry had beer, sealed *or its 1524-mile tow across the Tasman Sea. The ferry, one of the two the Tasmanian Government purchased from the North Shore Transport Company, of Auckland, was due in Hobart today. It was to have gone into service on the Bruny Island run. The Tasmanian Goverment bought the two ferries for £A12.000 and planned to spend £60.000 reconditioning them.

The Alex Alison survived one crossing of the Tasman Sea under its own steam in 1946 soon after its purchase by the Devonport Steam Ferry Company. Originally known as the Frances Peat, it was used on the Hawkesbury river, and during the war served as a Royal Australian Navy transport vessel. She was bought from the North Shore Transport Company—successors to the Devonport firm—by the Tasmanian Transport Commission in January of this year with a sister ship, the Ewen W. Allison. The purchase price for the two vessels was £12.000.—(P. A.).