Two Theories On Trawler

Press, Volume CIII, Issue 30631, 23 December 1964, Page 3

Two Theories On Trawler

A large trawler, believed to be Russian, has been seen by Lyttelton fishermen off Banks Peninsula.

The trawler was 21 miles south-west of Akaroa lighthouse when seen by the Lyttelton trawler, Miss Sno-Lyne, last Thursday.

Her name was Akamerikaberg and also on her hull was an inverted letter U and the ntftiber 877. She was flying the hammer and sickle of the U.S.S.R. and was trawling. This description was given by the master of the Miss Sno-Lyne, Captain A. D. Tregida, who said that his craft passed close to the Russian ship. About 20 persons were visible aboard, several of them women. The Press Association reports from Timaru, however, that commercial fishermen there are “almost certain” the iJ

foreign trawler seen operating off the Canterbury coast was a Roumanian vessel—not Russian.

For 36 hours last Thursday and Friday the Timaru trawler, Jason, worked close to the big trawler about 20 miles south of Banks Peninsula.

The Jason’s owner-skipper, Mr J. G. Bisset, and his crew, Messrs C. Solomon and W. McEwing, said yesterday that the foreign vessel was not Russian.

The Timaru men estimated her at between 8000 and 10,000 tons and said she was catching plenty of fish.

She was flying a red flag all right, but there was no sign of the hammer and sickle in gold at the top righthand corner.” said Mr Bisset.

“She had a grey hull and was carrying a lot of rust, indicating she has been at sea for a 'ong time.”

The Jason’s crew could see no name on the vessel. “Her only identification was N 877 painted in black on the vessel’s side,” said Mr Solomon. The Jason men thought she might have been the Roumanian trawler Constantia which brought out Japanese fishing experts to New Zealand earlier this year. But other fishermen rule out this possibility, saying that she was older and bigger.