Endeavour, Repaired, Reloading At Port

Press, Volume CII, Issue 30035, 21 January 1963, Page 13

Endeavour, Repaired, Reloading At Port

The Antarctic supply tanker H.M.NZS. Endeavour, in spick and span order in spite of her encounter with this season’s unusually heavy ice. berthed at Lyttelton early yesterday rooming from McMurdo Sound, after a call at Port Chakners. There, two damaged propellers were replaced in dry dock by shipboard spares. Three blades of the starboard propeller and one blade of the port propeller had been found bent. After leaving Lyttelton for Antarctica on December 22, tte supply tanker encountered exceedingly rough weather and made a brief call at Dunedin to replace a damaged launch. A scientific party under Dr. R. A. Falla. Director of the Dominion Museum, was landed at the Auckland Islands on the afternoon of Christmas Dey to study the islands’ flora and fauna.

Normal Christmas Day activities, apart from a religious service, were con-

ducted a week later on New Year’s Day when the Endeavour reached the pack ice at latitude 82deg 30min south, said Commander J. Lennox-King, yesterday. By then the ship was comfortably still, in contrast to its tossing in rough weather on both northbound and southbound trips. After discharging her petroleum cargo by hose across six miles of ice to the McMurdo Sound base, the Endeavour left on her return voyage on January 10 and, after clearing the ice, again encountered bad weather. When she called at Port Chalmers on Friday morning, most of her passengers went ashore but there were still four sea cadets aboard when she sailed for Lyttelton on Friday afternoon. It is expected that all of them will leave the vessel here. Ttiey are Cadets P. Anderson of Wellington, K White of Dunedin, A. Bullock of Christchurch, and T. H. Creagh of Auckland. Cadet Bullock said the trip had been a great experience and that their shipboard duties consisted mainly of watchkeeping. of their stay in Antarctica were trips across the ice to the McMurdo base, and a trip to Scott Base where they were entertained to tea. Both trips were made in snocats.

Two of the three Queen’s Scouts who went south with the Endeavour are still in the Antarctic. They are Campbell Hope, aged 18, of Wellington. and Brent Bythd,, aged 17. of Blenheim. Loading for the next trip south has begun. At Lyttelton, the Endeavour will take on 450,000 gallons of Arctic diesel and a small quantity of jet fuel in drums.

She is expected to leave for Wellington tomorrow where she win load the balance of her petroleum cargo, another 170.000 galtoos of Arctic diesel, and further supplies owl stores. Bunkering wiH also be done at Lyttelton.