Fire delays ship relit

Press, 26 February 1977, Page 19

Fire delays ship relit

By JOHN ROSS loud n correspondent London A fire which badly damaged the cafeteria in the Royr.l New Zealand Navy .survev ship Monowai being 'refitted at Scott Lithgow's drv dock in Greenock. Scotland, will delay the work even more. Already unforeseen addi tional work on the former Island trader has meant that the original completion date of November last year has had to be extended to June or Julv. The fire itself, which occurred last Saturday, was not serious, but it burnt out vital cables, running the whole length of the ship New cables will have to be i -dered. and their arrival at the doc' may be considerably delayed Cor modore F H Biand head of defence liaison at the New Zealand High Commis sion in London, said that the cause of the fire was a com plete mystery The Greenock police are investigating "Scott Lithgow has accepted responsibility for the dam age.” said Commodore Biand, “so it con't cost us anything. Ihe High Commis stoner (Mi D J carter) and I visited the Monowai the previous Monday, and it was verv neat and tidv — .here was no waste material lying around which could have given rise to spontaneous combustion “The most likely cause is someone dropping a lighted cigarette, perhaps the prexi 'ous night ” The Monowai. formerly the

Moana Roa. has been under going an extensive refit ar i overhaul ai Greenock Fixed and liquid halla-t are being added fol greater stabilitv. tht- whole »upeistructure is being remodelled and new accommodation and extra electronic and hvdro graphic equipment are being installed But additional work has had to be done on the hull, where corroded rivets and plates have been found on the generators, which were worn out and had to b» replaced, and on the two engines which had to b* removed, rebuilt and reinstalled New cvlinder block* Mfdod about S39o.ti(Mi to the original conversion cost of $1228 million Ihe 15-vear-old ship, looking rather incongruous in a coat of dirty green primer paint, has new variable pitch propeller-- and will be fitted with a. helicopter deck and hangar