THE WARATAH.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1088, 29 March 1911, Page 8

THE WARATAH.

<« A SUDDEN END." ! JUDGMENT AND REPORT. THE COURT OUTSPOKEN. The Court of Inquiry found (hat Ihe Waratah was lost near Durban in the gale of July L'S, 100!), which was of exceptional violence for those waters, and was the first great, slorm she had encountered. ]( was led to that conclusion (writes the Sydney "Herald" correspondent) by tho facls that she overhauled the Clan Macintyrc, which afterwards experienced tiic gale, and was last seen heading in a direction which would take her into a position 'where she would feel the full I'oreo of Iho storm, and was never after sighted by the Clan Macintyre. Jtad she been only disabled it is almost certain that she would have been so sighted, and if not, would have been picked up by one of tho many ■ships subsequently oil the lookout for her. The Court could not say what particular form was taken by the catastrophe, but the fact that no wreckage had been found, ill spite of the most carcful and exhaustive search, indicated that it must have been sudden. On tho whole, tho Court inclined to the opinion thai she capsizcd, but what particular chain of circumstances brought about this result must remain undetermined. There was 110 reasonable doubt that, whatever (ho cause, all the passengers of tho Waratah met their death at sen, shortly after she left Durban,

The Kindest Course. The Court regarded it as the kindest course to emphasise this view in tho strongest manner. On tho basis of the calculation made by the expert witnesses, with tho results of which the Court was in general agreement, sho had sufficient stability as ladeu full, and she was in proper trim for the voyage she was about to undertake. She was in good condition as regarded structure, and, so far as the evidence went, in a seaworthy condition; but there was not sufficient evidence before tho Court to show that all proper precautions, such as battening down hatches, securing ports, coaling doors, etc., had been taken. The following are fuller dfctails of some parts of the Court's report, read by Mr. Dickinson in Court:—"On Thursday, November 5, 11)08, tho Waratah left Loudon on her maiden voyage. She was sur•voyed by the emigration ofiicer, who found that she fully complied with all tho requirements of the Mercantile Shipping Act. . . .

Question of Owners' Knowledge. . "No special report, as Mr. F. M. Lund assured tho Court, was made by Captain llbery as to her behaviour 011 her maiden voyage. None, he said, was looked for. Captain llbery remarked, in conversation, that she was a comfortable ship, satisfactory in a heavy sea way, but in a light condition not sa stiff as the Geelong. Mr. Lund produced to tho Court what ho said were all the letters written homo by Captain.llbery. In 110 0110 of them is tho ship's behaviour at sea touched upon. Trivial matters, such as a cow or a little dog being oil board, were mentioned, immigrants complaints as to food and attendance were dwelt on, but nowhere was the behaviour of his fipo new ship mentioned.

Court Cannot Understand Silence. "In view of (ho fact lhat the Waratah was a new departure for this line, and lhat her specification was being used as tho basis for the specification of another new ship, tho Court is quite unable to understand how silence could have been preserved on such ail important and interesting subject as her stability and behaviour at sea." It is contrary to the whole practice of shipbuilders and shipmasters to treat such a matter with the indifference with which Mr. Lund represented to the Court lhat ho and Captain Ilbery had treated it, and from this fact alone the Court is almost compelled to draw an inference unfavourable to the owners as regards their knowledge of the ship's behaviour on her maiden voyagtvan inference which was greatly strengthened by the correspondence between them and the builders after th? loading in London, and also after she relumed from her first voyage. Tho fact that after the first loading Messrs. Lund found it necessary to send details thereof to Messrs. Barclay ; and Curio, asking for an interview at the earliest possible moment to discuss the matter for their guidance in the future stowage of the vessel, indicates that some difficulty had been met with in the initial lading. The result of tho calculations of Messrs. Barclay and Curie shows that they considered some modification in the stowage advisable in the direction of lowering tho weight.

Interview With Mr. Peck. After the ship's return from the first voyage, Mr. Peek had an interview with Messrs. Lund. Mr. Peck said he assured them that in any condition the Waratah was as stable as the Geclong, and they accepted that statement. _ "There was never," ho said, "any question raised between us with regard to the vessel at sea." Mr. Lund gave Mr. Millar an account, of this interview. He represented himself a 9 easily satisfied with Mr. Peck's assurance. The correspondence could not lie reconciled with this account of tlio interview. Captain Ilbery had been able to convince the owners that this vessel had not the same stability as the Geelong, and to consider that the contract conditions fqr going to sea with ballast and bunkers and reserve bunkers full had-, not been fulfilled; yet a few words frcm Mr. Peck had settled tho whole matter. His mere assuranco carricd more weight than Captain Ilbcry's considered ; representations.

Tho Court Comments, Tho Court considered that neither Mr. Peck's nor' Mr. Lund's account of this interview was complete. Tho Court could only leave the matter there. Mr. Lund endeavoured lo explain away his strong letters by saying that at the time he wrote his firm and tho builders were in conflict over a question of demurrage, tho vessel having been delivered after the contract date. Ho said that his complaints about tho ship . were mere "blurt" intended to facilitate tho forcing of a settlement of tho monetary claim. It was a comment on this explanation that Mr. Lund was unablo to remember whether a settlement of tho demurrage question, which ho had considered so important, had ever been arrived at.

Stability on Second Voyage. "The Waratah left Loudon on her second voyage on April 17, 19011," the report. continues. "Sho was again surveyed and reported satisfactory by Captain Clark. About 0500 tons of cargo were placed in tlio ship in Australia. The largest items were 076 tons of lead concentrates, and heavy consignments of wheal, oats, flour, tallow, wool, and skins. "Ou the outward voyage two incidents should bo recorded. The lirst was related by Pinel, the carpenter's mate on the Waratah, who had been nino years in the Navy. There was, he said, a big roll crossing Iho Bight, and ho thought two or throo times she was never going to como back. The second incident was spoken to by Mr. Mason, an engineer, with a first-class certificate and 33 years' sea experience. Coming out of Melbourne, bound for Sydney, when there was a breeze, the ship heeled heavily, and did r.ot recover herself properly. lie made strong' remarks to tlio chief officer. Mr. Jiason was by Dr. Thomas, then surgeon of the Waratah. On the other hand, there was considerable evidence that she behaved well on this voyage. Tlio ship was in a distinctly light condition, especially when coming out of Melbourne. The figures as to her stability arrived at by the owners' experls substantially agreed with those of tho Board of Trade surveyor, and ou those figures tlio vessel as she left Durban had a range of stability of 00 degrees. The bases of lliese calculations were not free from ambipyiity and possible sources of error. Hut the Conrt thinks no serious error has been made. ' Other Opinions. The master of the lug which lowed her nut of Durban and the port captain deposed that the Waratah had no list at the wharf Ihere, and that none was created by the tug pulling on her, which was important. The master and chief otficcr of the Clan Maciutyre said she had i no list, mi -Proceeding steadily, The

Court found an explanation of the large ."'.mount of adverse comment upon tho Wiirat-uh's behaviour during her career in her undoubted tenderness throughout her lirsl voyage, and whilst loading. And in such a condilion (|uilo observable lists could lie produced by moderate wind pros, surcs, relatively mhhll alteration of water ballast, the consumption of fresh water, or non-symmetrical working out of coal. Discredited Stories. Tho Court put asido (ho story of the master of tho Harlow that the llnshes which he saw might have been their ship blowing up, through an explosion of gas in her bunkers. Such an occurrence was possible, but many circumstances made it improbable. Tho Court also put asido the stories of Iho finding of bodies. Assuming, as they dirt assume, that tho ship was lost in tho abnormally heavy storm which the Clan Maeiutyre reported, she probably succumbed at some distance south of tho most southerly point .where tils bodies were reported, and tho whole set of tho current was south and west. The search established the moral cortainty that the. Waratah ilid not. break down and drift, or that if she did, she succumbed at some , point to the heavy weather which was frequently met 'by the Sabine. In another part of its report, tho Court remarked tliat it was unfortunate that tho suggestion which was apparently made by Captain llbery, that the ship should be designed so that' she coiOd go to sea with permanent coul and water ballast only, should have 1 been abandoned by the insertion in tho specification of the words "if possible."