SALVAGE OF SUNKEN SHIPS

Dominion, Volume 32, Issue 264, 5 August 1939, Page 6 (Supplement)

SALVAGE OF SUNKEN SHIPS

The Paris And The Leonardo Da Vinci

What is lo be done with the Paris, tlie 34,000-ton French liner which capsized and wink in Le Havre harbour a couple of months ago? asks John H. Marsh, writing in the “Star," Johannesburg.

Tlie owners, the underwriters, the salvage firms (representing Britain, France, Holland and Denmark) and the dock authorities are all intensely in teresled in the final decision, he says. Never has so large a ship been raised from the sea bottom, nor has a ship as big as this been dispersed beneath the water by explosives or other means. The underwriters have now decided that so far as they are concerned she is a total loss, also that, although they will pay out tlie owners fully in compensation. they will not take over tlie wreck. , . Now Ute owners have been left m a rather embarrassing position. It is their responsibility to get their ship out of the way (she has put out of action one of Le Havre's most valuable deep-water berths). If they do not do so in reasonable time the authorities may do it for them—and send in the account.

Ail told, the Paris tire is going to be an expensive one, not only for the uuderwri.et's (practically the whole of the insurance risk was carried in London). but also for the owners and the dock authorities. The salvage men will be tlie only ones who will come out on tlie right side. Salvage is one of the chief topics of conversation in the shipping world since tlie Thetis tragedy. The story of a great feat of salvage, that of refloating tlie Leonardo da Vinci, has been revived.

The Leonardo da Vinci, the 24,000 ton Italian battleship (which cost over £2.000.000 to build), was sunk by an explosion one night in August, 1916. in the Bay of Taranto. For several years its hull, projecting bottom up. was a familiar sight to voyagers in the Bay of Taranto. Two Italians, General Ferrati and Major Gianclli, undertook to try refloating her.

The ship was resting on a 30ft. lied of mud, and sinking foot by foot deeper

into it, so no time could be lost. A mini her of minutely accurate models of the ship and its contents were made. Him dreds of experiments were then carried out with tlie weighted models to aster tain what air pressure would m- required to lift the ship. The delicate work of removing the live shells, torpedoes and gun charges scattered about inside the ship and on the sea bed took many months. ■When the ship was practical!.. air tight, compressed air was earel'itiiy pumped into her. Towards the en.. or 1917, after she had been 15 mouths on the bottom, the salvors saw her shudder for the first time us she tried i«. re lease herself from the gri|i oi the mud But her draught, in any case, would have been too great for her to get >o the dry dock upside down, so 150 divers spent, another year cutting away her superstructure under water. Meanwhile eight large x hollow c.G::i ders were lashed to the hull beneath tlie surface to provide extra buoyancy. At last, in September. 1919. tlie I.eoiiardo da Vinci bobbed up to the snr.-.tce with a great commotion of water.' ..ml to the cheers of tlie spectators. She was salved —but she was still ups.iie down. She was towed to dry dock and lowered into a timber bed. where she lay for another 18 months. Towards the end of Jantiar.'. i'.tfil. she was towed out into Taramo Bay again, still upside down. W.-t.cr was pumped into certain compartments o’.t the starikiard side. At last she lurched slowly, then 'heaved violet;,ty upright and over on to rhe other side. Thousands of breathless spectators watched for her to make a com.ne.e turn and finish up bottom-iqi > n e more. But the expert hail ealcitiiiivd correctly, and as tlie enormous naves subsided it was seen that the baHieship was floating deck-up this time She was again towed to Hie dry doe!’. In the end most of the labour and ixpense of 41 years (it had cost tl.m.'MO to recover the ship) was entirely wasted, for the Powers agreed just then to scrap most of their battle fleets. The Leonardo da Vinci was sold, as she lay, for a few thousand pounds am! was broken up. Her steel was itirmd into knives and forks and razor blaues.