THE C. A. LARSEN

Evening Post, Volume CV, Issue 123, 26 May 1928, Page 28

THE C. A. LARSEN

WHALER'S SECOND VISIT. Freshly painted after her overhaul at Port "Chalmers, the C. A. Larson, mother ship of the Boss-Sea whaling fleet,'provided an imposing spectacle on Wednesday morning as sno .ounclcd Point Halswell and swung into Miramar to pump in fuel oil for her voyage to ■ ... Tho portions of the hull damaged by the mishap 'at Patersons Inlet had been well repaired by tho southern shipwrights, and in general appearance the whaler seemed in better condition than when she made her last visit to Wei-, lington at the conclusion of the summer of-1927. By far the greater part of the damage had been done below the wat'erlihe, however, and it was not until" one stood on the starboard rail and looked down through the calm water that the temporary plating could be seen slightly bulging from the original alignment of the hull. -When interviewed,, tho ship's officers would make no statement in reference' to the number of barrels of. oil that escaped through the shattered tanks. The impression was given, however, that" only a very moderate amount had been lost. The crew, which numbered about200'when the vessel was working in the Ross Sea, lost a portion of their bonus corresponding to their share in the lost oil. -When; the whaler grounded a, large quantity -of the refined oil became contaminated by salt water, and to purify it it will bo necessary to boil

the oil, again.... Repairs to .the C. A. Larson will-, be. carried out at New-eastlc-on-Tyne by Swan, Hunter, and Wigham, Kichardson, Ltd. Before slie was converted into a-whaling ship the C. A. Larsen was the oil tanker San Gregorio, owned by the Eagle Oil Transport Company. The contract for permanent repairs was awarded to the well-known British company on account of the fact that the damaged vessel had been, built by. that firm in "1913, and, having the, plans, the. necessary plates and other equipment can bo ready when the vessel arrives Home. ' Ore.'leaving the Tyne the C. A. Larsen will sail for Norway to refit for the next whaling season. Captain Neilson has command .of the C. A.,Larsen during the voyage from Now Zealand to England. . ": Westport Bar. • For a considerable time the condition of the bar at Westport-has. been giving rise to criticism of the Government policy in connection with the port. The larger colliers that trade between Westport and" Wellington have' often been forced to leave- Westport a hundred or more tons short of their maximum capacity. The General Purposes Committee of the Westport Borough Council recently sent a letter to the Prime Minister asking that a larger, and more up-to-date dredge for the port should be provided. The letter expressed the council's opinion that the depth'of the water in the harbour was not being effectively maintained, and that no permanent improvements could bo expected until a more powerful dredge was procured and engaged in systematic and continuous ■ "dredging. It was also pointed out Jhat some'years ago it was proposed to purchase a. large and more powerful dredge for. the port, and this was approved by the late Premier, the .Right Hon. W. F. Masscy. The Week's Shipping. An .interesting, arrival, on . Sunday morning was the Norwegian motor-ship FernlfiiK.', with a largo shipment of. case oil frout Port Arthur, Texas, via. Auckland. The Fcrnlaile was launched nt Copenhagen last. October, and is fitted with a 8000-h.p. 'Diesel engine of the Burnmcistcr and' Wain type.- On her voyage from Port Arthur to Auckland site averaged 13.5 knots, but is capable of maintaining a speed of 13.75 knots. She Sailed rfgain. oil Wednesday for Australian ports to complete discharge. After discharging petrol into tho 8.1.0. tanks at Miramar, the Plieodon sailed on Sunday afternoon for Lyttelton. ' The Makura, with 00 tons of cargo, mails,' and passengers, arrived early 'on Monday morning from Sydney, and sailed again on Tuesday in continuation of her,voyage to San Francisco. The Maunganui also arrived from Sydney early in the week, and after discharging general- cargo amounting to 1544 tons, left on the return trip yesterday afternoon. .Another passenger ship to arrive at Wellington was the Kimutaka from Southampton yesterday morning. Eastern cargo amounting to luOO'iohs was discharged .by.tho Sussex, which arrived front Calcutta via Auckland on Monday and sailed on Wcdnoadnv for Lyttcltou and Dunidin to complete. Tho Queen Eleanor, from St. John and New York, via Auckland, put out '2000 toils

Thursday for the South to complete disof general merchandise mid sailed on charge. Cargo for the United State's and Canada was lifted by the Canadian Transporter, -which arrived from Duncdin on Tuesday. ' Wireless and Shipping. The Imperial Merchant Service Guild has taken-up a sagacious attitude with regard to the relation of a ship's officer to the wireless equipment of his ship (states "The Shipping World"). Wireless is now a necessary aid to navigation, and the ship's master is the person ultimately responsible for the ■ safe navigation of the ship. A certain degree of technical knowledge is essential for the operation of this equipment and the tendency has been to leave it to the wireless operator, ivho, in turn, has been inclined to regard it as his peculiar province and to some extent to»resent intrusion from . the navigating staff. But wireless in ships is no longer :•. mere convenience for passengers, or an occasional aid in an emergency. With the installation of direction-finding stations and wireless beacons along thecoasts and other electrical aids to navigation, it is essential that the ship's navigating officers should be able at first hand to send, receive, and interpret messages' relating to the safety of the vessel. There ie no reason w^iy these officers,"should not be as familiar with the use of this scientific apparatus as they-are with the sextant or the chronometer.- "The guild, therefore, urges its members, especially the younger officers, to make themselves proficient in this branch' of a navigating officer's duties. In this attitude it is in agreement with the' findings of the International Wireless Conference which met at Washington last year, when it was

decided that thero was no reason why navigating officers should not acquire sufficient efficiency to enable them .to carry out the intermittent and light duties which have to be performed on board the ordinary tramp, jior why wireless operators should not, with the necessary, experience and training, develop into navigating officers. > California's Maiden Voyage. Mr. P. A. S: Franklin, president of the International.Mercantile Marine Company, on his.'return to New York from the Pacific Coast, to which 'hi1 had -travelle-l in the California, the new turbo-electric liner of the Pauama.Pacific Company, on' her maiden voy- j 'age, declared ■ himself highly satisfied .with the vessel's performance. Thero was no vibration whatever, ho said, .and the fuel economy proved to'bo j greater than was expected. As to the new -ships spoken of for the line, he stated that if tho''trade with.California continued to grow as it had been growing, weekly^ sailings would be necessary and additional ships,must bo provided. Tho Virginia, sister-ship to the California, is now under construction at Newport News, and will be added' to the service early in 1929; a third ship .will follow. The one unsatisfactory item of the. California's voyage was tho heavy outlay .in respect of tolls charged at the Panama Canal. The California had to pay tolls amounting to 14,915,.7-5 dollars on her transit of the waterways, which Mr. Franklin considers to be an inordinately high ; amount. "A Navy Second to None." A good-many people have felt for a Jonj',' time that the United States is not to bo trusted with a "'Navy. second to none." The declaration of war ■against Spain' was made in a fit of popular passion on grounds which had no foundation—that the Spaniards had sunk the Maine; "and the Americans nearly came, to war with this country during President Cleveland's regime uWing to an- ingeniously engineered anti-British campaign. An incident, which occurred the other day off the American coast suggests that a"n American Navy "second to none" might become a danger to the peace of the world. The British ship Isle of June was cruising twenty-five miles off Miami when she was fired upon by the coastal destroyer. Cassin.- The excuse of the commander was that the ship was under suspicion of carrying contraband. Search was made and it was found that no contraband was on board. ' The obvious course for tho American authorities to have taken in such circumstances was to apologise for this unwarrantable action, of firing upon a vessel of a friendly Power. Kear-Admiral Billard, the seiiior officer, not only refrained from taking,this course, but he has rushed into print to- justify the action of his junior officer. It 'is his opinion that "a foreign vessel suspected of carrying contraband within twelve miles of the American coast may be fired upon when, it .refuses. to stop." It is a him tier of proof thai 1 he British vessel was twenty-five miles oil: the coast. Such incidents do not promote good-will between nations.