FREIGHTER MASTER PRAISED FOR PART IN RESCUE

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31724, 6 July 1968, Page 38

FREIGHTER MASTER PRAISED FOR PART IN RESCUE

(New Zealand Preet Association) AUCKLAND, July 5. Four survivors of the sunken vessel Maranui told the Auckland Coroner’s Court today of their escape from the sinking ship and their rescue by the Swedish ship Mirrabooka.

The Coroner (Mr A. D. Copeland) praised the master of the Mirrabooka and directed that his commendation be referred to the appropriate authorities.

Orr, Auckland, able seaman; Louis Sydney St Bruno, Rotorua, able seaman; John Henry McPherson, Dunedin, wiper; and John Clifford Roberts, Herne Bay, steward. The joint general manager of the Northern Steamship Company, Ltd, Mr Irwin Charles Skudder, said the Maranui was carrying a full load of 900 tons of wheat. Dr Francis • John Cairns gave evidence of conducting a post-mortem examination of a body from the Maranui. Detective Constable Trevor Lester White said he identified the body as that of Mr Roberts, from fingerprints. Robert John Ingham, the Maranui’s first officer, said the order to abandon ship was given at 6.15 p.m. on June 13. The crew of 15 got into a liferaft. The water was chest high in the raft. Mr Watson was very weak and Captain Bruce was feeling the cold and shivering. When the Mirrabooka came

alongside, Mr Ingham caught one of the many ropes hanging down the side, but had to let go. He could remember being caught between two slings and hauled up. “Out of the comer of my eye I saw two bodies falling into the sea.” PULLED INTO SEA Christopher John Taylor, the second officer, said that when the Swedish freighter came alongside the raft it was difficult to get hold of the ropes. As he reached for one the trough of a wave pulled the raft away and he was pulled out into the sea, but he got back into the raft He saw three men hit the side of the freighter. Mr Henry and Mr Orr fell into the sea. “I was washed off the raft twice and finally managed to grab a rope. A lifebelt was lowered to me and I put it on." When he last saw the raft there appeared to be only four men in it. Mr Taylor said he identified a liferaft found on Great Mercury Island on June 17 as the one the crew had been in. “We could see the lights of the Mirrabooka. The waves were up to 40ft high. The raft kept spinning in the wind. “TERRIFYING” WIND “The force of the wind pushed two flares we fired back into the water. It was terrifying. Sometimes we were actually touching the Mirrabooka. “When she went up we could see right underneath her and I was afraid she would come down on top of us, but when she did come

down it pushed us away for yards.” Mr McHardy said he held on to a line from the Mirrabooka and was pulled up. Mr Monk and two others kept bashing against the side and hull, cutting their hands. “The man next to me hit the side of bis face and fell into the water. He was bleeding from the head." Mr Orr was drifting to the stern and Mr McHardy did not see him again. Captain Bruce was the only one on the raft when he last saw it SHIP LISTING Frank James McHardy, a seaman in the Maranui, said the ship was listing about 60 degrees when they abandoned her. “Waves kept throwing us back on to the deck of the Maranui,” Mr McHardy said, describing their efforts to push off in the raft “We took on a lot of water.

on June 16 it was thought there was no hope of finding further survivors and next of kin were notified. On June 16 the Navy vessel Kahawai found the body of Mr Roberts. It was most unlikely that any bodies would now be found. To Mr J. L. Charters, for the Seamen’s Union, the witness said the fullest possible search had been made.

The 739-ton wheat carrier Maranui foundered and sank off the Coromandel coast on June 13 in a storm. Nine crew members were drowned. Only one body has been recovered. Six crew members were plucked from the seas into the Mirrabooka. Inquests were held today into the deaths of the nine men. They were: Captain David Alexander Bruce,, Takapuna, the master; Michael Charles O’Flaherty, Papatoetoc, the chief engineer; Ronalu Gordon Watson, Auckland, second engineer; John Walton, Auckland, third engineer; Samuel Cameron Henry, Papatoetoe, leading able seaman; Robert Edward

Before the inquest began, the Coroner said they would be limited to who was aboard the Maranui that night, those who were rescued and those who were not, and how, when, and where those who were not rescued died.

Questions about the foundering, ship’s equipment and crew training were a matter for a marine court of inquiry.

Inspector Patrick John Gaines, who was directing the police search and rescue operation for the Maranui, gave evidence of the steps that were taken. H.M.N.Z.S. Lachlan went to the aid of the Maranui but was forced to return because of winds of up to 100 m.p.h. He read a statement by the master of the Mirrabooka, Captain Thorsten Wahlstedt, who said he got within a yard of the liferaft After taking on six men, he tried to get to the liferaft again six or seven times but was not able to. The radar had broken and his main concern was the possibility of colliding with the Maranui. Inspector Gaines said that