Ships and the Sea.

Evening Post, Volume CXI, Issue 85, 10 April 1926, Page 24

Ships and the Sea.

Training for the Sea. It ,is reported in an English journal that the Lithuanians, in spite of their very limited coastline, and working with a view to the sound training of young officers tor the Mercantile Marine, which they are endeavouring to develop. The Government of the country have evolved and: put into operation a scheme whereby a certain number of cadets from tho State Navigation School are being given a threeyear course of training, including a period spent at sea on a sailing-ship. By agreement with Captain G. Erikson, of Mariehamn, who is the, owner of fifteen sailing vessels, fifteen cadets in two parties have been sent on long voyages t-> loam practical seamanship. Eight of them are serving in ■ the Olivebank, 4400 tons, whilst the remaining seven have joined the Archibald Bussell, 3950 tons. The cadets Have to pay certain fees for their upkeep and tuition during the first year of their course of training, but thereafter they receive payment from the ■ Lithuanian Govern-ment-at the rate of 100 lits per month. Navigating Panama Canal. Some interesting .figures have appeared in a recent issue of the "Panama Canal Kecord" regarding the number of ships ;passing through the Canal, toi gather with the time taken in making the journey..; As an instance, during the month of November last, the average time occupied by 217 vessels in navigating the Canal from,the Atlantic to Pacific was 7 hours 34 minut- ; per vessel, whilst in the reverse direction 202 ships took an average of 8 hours 35 minutes per vessel. Following this the report states that the fastest transit time from ..Pacific to Atlantic was 6 hours 33 minutes, made by the motorship Lochgoilj of the Boyal Mail Steam Packet Company. The fact that a motor-ship Should hold the Tecord is wqrthy oPnote at a. time when this class of vessel is rapidly gaining favour with ship owners. Excellent Care of Engines. Something rather out of the ordinary in the way of presentations has been made to the chief engineer of the motor-tanker Oljaren, ■ owned by the Transatlantic Steamship Company, of Gothenburg. A* a recognition of his excellent care' of the vessel's engines during a2O months' time charter, when only one cylinder cover was lifted, and thatfjust for the purpose of renewing some piston rings, he has been given by the builders of the machinery— Gotaverken—a gold watch. During the charter 530 days were spent at sea and 133 days in port. When it expired the Oljaren was sent to the builders' yard for overhaul arid for engine inspection, when her machinery, was found to be in excellent. condition. ... .■ Powerful Tug. A fino stamp of screw tug, possessing powerful towing capabilities and equipped with all the latest appliances for deep-sea or harbour work, is th- St. Claude, which has been imported by Messrs. Fenwick and Co. for service at Sydney and Newcastle. The St. Claude, which will bo rename-T Lindfield, arrived at Sydney on 15th March after a long ocean voyage from Botterdam, via the Suez Canal. She is the second tug purchased by tho firm to meet the demands of the towage business, and, with her predecessor, forms a valuable acquisition to the tugboat fleet of the port. Originally built for the Admiralty, the tug was one of 40 others ordered for salvage work during the war. She is constructed of steel, and is of 444 tons gross and 371 tons not. She was built by Messrs. Livingstone and Cooper, Limited, of Hull, in 1920, and" has a length of 135 ft !sin, beam of 29ft, and depth of 13ft 6in. Her engines are by Eearle's Co., Ltd., of Hull. They are on the triple expansion principle, with cylinders 18Jin # 28Jin, and 48Jin in diameter re-1

spectively, the length of stroke being 28in., The St. Claude, which is equal to a speed of 13 knots, carries Lloyd's 100 Al class. Captain E. ' Bitson brought the tug out, and he was accompanied by his daughter. The voyage was marked by spells of rough weather, and in the Bay of Biscay the tug was hard-pressed by a gale. A quantity of floating logs jeopardised the safety of the ship and crew in the gale. After running before it for a time she was eventually hove-to for 17 hoursj and remained in that position until the gale moderated. Again, after leaving Colombo, heavy south-east trades were met, but on the whole the tug proved herself a splendid sea boat. German Cable Steamer. Messrs. Blohm and Voss, Hamburg, recently launched a very interesting vessel;* the Neptun, which is the first cable steamer built in Germany since the war. She is 465 ft in length, 61ft 4in in beam, and 35ft Bin in depth, whilst she can carry 8900 tons of cable. Her propelling machinery will consist of a set of triple expansion engines designed to develop. 2700 i.h.p., and to give a maximum speed of 11 knots. Another point of interest about tin vessel is that, although intended primarily for cable-laying, she has been so constructed that she can also be easily adapted as an ordinary cargo-carrier if required. Her first task, when completed, will be to lay a new telephone cable between Holland and England, after which she will lay another from Emden to the Azores. Ship Explodes Among Sharks. A thrilling, of the disaster which overtook a crew of < nineteen in shark-infested waters when the small Brazilian freighter Mogy blew up and sank, is related by the chief off/or, Mr. Kooistra, of the Pan-American petroleum tanker Cerroazul, who recently returned to his home in New York. Tho Cerroazul rescued the captain and a fireman from the Mogy, while a Gorman steamer rescued another man. The other sixteen men- became the prey of sharks, says an Australiart journal. Mr. Kooistra sighted four men clinging to wreckage off Oape St. Home, on the morning of 22nd November. A boat was lowered in charge of the second officer, Mr. Bay, but as he rowed towards tho wreckage, one man disappeared. A shark took him. The search by tho tanker and the German 'steamer continued for four hours, but no r:orc survivors were found. Mr. Kooistra said: "Many sharks were seen among the wreckage. Tho crew of the Mogy consisted of nineteen men, only three of whom were saved. The ca-)taJ of the Mogy told of eight men who were seen in (he water after the explosion at 10 o'clock, the night before, but during the nig!/, one by one, they disappeared. The fireman told us that the captain allowed the messboy, aged 16, to hang on to him until 4 a.m., when ho could support him no longer. The boy found a piece of wreckage and clung to. it a while longer, but then disappeared." Bell That Fog Rings. New,* that an automatic f\..j siren, operated by the humidity of the air, is to be installed in- the lighthouse of the Ho d'Oleron, near La Eochelle, France, has drawn attention to an appliance already in operation at the entrance to Dublin Harbour. , In this case c.o obscuring of a light by tho fog actually causes a warning bell to ring. An. elec/'ie lamp in a llnp-housc on one side of the channel is so anangud that its light falls on to a sensitive "photoelectric cell" in a lighthouse on the opposite side of the channol. When the beam is dimmed beyond a certain point by tho fog, the reduction of the strength of light falling on the cell sets in action apparatus Which rings a warning bell. The apparatus w>i evolved by. kfr. John J. Dowling, an Irish engineer.