Wahine Breaks Up

Press, Volume CIX, Issue 31983, 9 May 1969, Page 1

Wahine Breaks Up

(N.Z. Press Association) WELLINGTON, May 8. The ghost of the Wahine stalked Wellington Harbour tonight, closing it to all ships. The wreck of the Wahine, lying in shallow waler near the harbour entrance, broke up today in the face of high winds and seas and parts floated away into shipping lanes. A spokesman for the underwriters involved in the salvage work said thousands of dollars of salvage equipment in the Wahine was lost. Lost equipment included compressors, generators, cutting gear and welding plant. No Danger

Communications with the salvage vessel Holmpark were cut but the salvage company said the crew was not in danger. The Holmpark lost some of her moorings but was still secured by two starboard lines and was riding out heavy seas. Salvage work was being carried out on the hulk after it sank with the loss of 51 lives in a storm on April 10 last i year.

Harbour Board officials closed the port as soon as news of today's break-up was known. They took the action to safeguard ships from the huge chunks of floating debris.

“We can’t let ships use the harbour with debris like that floating round,” a Harbour Board official said tonight. Service Help

The board will ask the Air Force and the Navy tomorrow to look for the debris. The main cause of concern is one piece of wreckage about 200 ft long. Navy skindivers will search the harbour depths for the pieces and Air Force antisubmarine Orion will comb the harbour from dawn tomorrow.

News of the harbour’s closing sent the inter-island steamer Maori back to her Lyttelton sailing point. Also back in port was the Railways Department’s rollon roll-off ferry Aranui, which put back to Picton after setting out on its regular run to Wellington.

According to the New Zealand Press Association staff correspondent in Sydney, the Melbourne company salvaging the wreck of the Wahine does not yet know whether today’s storm in Wellington will delay refloating operations.

“It is difficult to say until we know just how much damage the Wahine suffered,” Sir John Williams, managing director of United Salvage Proprietary, said this afternoon. Reports Incomplete In a telephone interview from Sydney, Sir John Williams said he had incomplete damage reports. Until the weather in Wellington abated it would not be possible for divers to inspect the ship. Sir John Williams said it had been planned to begin pumping foam into the Wahine in a bid to refloat her in about two weeks.