THE MAUI POMARE

Evening Post, Volume CV, Issue 129, 2 June 1928, Page 28

THE MAUI POMARE

ARRIVAL AT WELLINGTON

Twice within the last few weeks have new vessels arrived at Wellington on their maiden voyages: the first was the Zealandic, the Shaw, Savil], and Albion Company's hew motor-ship; and yesterIday. . the 'Maui Pomare arrived liere with a cargo of fruit from Suva, thus 'completing, her maiden voyage, from the Old Country. The new vessel, which is of striking design, will be employed by ' the Government in the fruit trade with'the Islands. Other than this overseas shipping has been fairly busy, three ships arriving during the week with cargo to land. The Manuka came in early.on Monday morning and unloaded approximately 650 tons of cargo from Melbourne before sailing again at midday on Wednesday on the return trip to the Victorian capital. The Ruahine came in yesterday afternoon from Southampton with 1629 tons of shipments from Home to.land here; and the Port Curtis, from New York, via Auckland and Napier, reached Wellington at midday on Thursday with 2721 tons of cargo to discharge. • . " • :Vessels outward bound after loading for overseas ports were the Maimoa for London and the Bimutaka for Auckland; and others loading here during the week included the Turakina, the Tamaroa, and the Tasmania. VTorld'a Largest Ship. One result of the overhaul at South- • ampton of the White Star.liner Majestic is of interest from the ship measurement , point of view. Great improvements and considerable extensions have been.made in the passenger accommodation of the vessel in the five weeks during which she has been in the hands oft Messrs. Harland and Wolff's staff, and so' a certain amount of non-earning space has become rcvenuVproducing. In consequence, 69 tons havo. been added tol the gross measurement, which has been increased from 56,551 tons to 56,----620 tons.. The increase does riot go far to. make-the Majestic as large—on official, measurements in the. respective countries—as the Leviathan, but it indicates how such measurements may be

altered .■when th<n% is no cliango whatever in the actual size of the vessel to ■which they apply. The Leviathan is rated in America as 59,957 tons gross —larger than the overhauled Majestic' by;. 3337 tons. On the strength of this difference America claims the honour ofj having the. largest, vessel, in the ■world. "But it is a curious fact that before' the Leviathan was reconditioned in; the tJmted States after the war, she was of less tonnage than the Majestic. It; was only ■ aftor ; she was overhauled, altered in some internal constructionaldetails, and remeasured according- to 'American:- rules, that 'she. became the largest -vessel, in'the world. Her general outside dimensions were not altered in the least, but her "size" was suddenly increased. The fact is, of 'course, that gross tonnage is not an accurate and dependable measure of size. It is a cubic measurement which depends in a very considerable degree on internal arrangements, and frequently to "A pronounced extent on "tonnage openings," and any competent naval architect can. suggest alterations which ■will either increase or decrease the size of a vessel as expressed in tons gross, without interfering in nny way with dimensions (that is, real size) or outward appearance. The Majestic, although of less, tonnage than the Levia^ than, is' really the larger ship. She is 915 ft sin in length, 100 ft lin breadth, and 58ft 2in in depth; while the American vessel is 907 ft Gin by 100 ft 3in, by 58ft 2iri—all the measurements boing on similar bases and therefore accurately comparable. „ \ Lifeboat's Long Voyage. Stromness, in the Orkneys, now has a lifeboat of the most up-to-date typo. She was built at Cowes, and left there in Pebruary for her station, making :i deviation en route, calling at St. Peter Port, Guernsey, in order to give the islanders a chance of seeing tho typo of craft the; Eoyal National Lifeboat Institution are putting in service as opportunity; occurs. . From Guernsey she proceeded by the west coast, touching at a number of places, including Penzance, Pisbguard, Holyhead, Donaghadee, in Ireland, Oban, Stornoway, and Thursb. The voyage took twelve days, the distance covered being 984 miles. The new lifeboat is of the Bnrnett type, and has twin screws, with two sixcylinder oil engines of 00 li.p. each and a speed of 8i knots. There is a cabin, and all tho latest equipment, including electric lighting, line-throwing gun, and searchlight. There ha"s-.been a lifeboat station at Slromncss for over sixty years. ' Transatlantic Flights. At .a recent conference at tho Hamburg Experimental Shipbuilding Institution, the general opinion appeared •'to be that flying boats were the most hopeful means of transatlantic flight. Professor' Junkers said that while airships would never be able to, convey large quantities of freight, it would in course of time be possible to build flying boats of considerably increased size, security, and commercial utility. Professor Forster was also of the opinion that the most suitable machine for transatlantic flights would lie the large flying boat, 80 or 90 feet long and iitted witli four or live engines. Ho mado a further suggestion that • tho most promising type of engine for thu future was the steam turbine, and announced that an experiment!)] engine of this type, of which the totai weight, including the boiler, would not exceed that of a Diesel engine, was already under construction. American Shipyard Reopens. The Kensington Shipyard and Dry Dock Company has commenced to operate the Kensington works, which were formerly part of Mie establishment of the William Cramp Ship and Engine Building Company,, of Philadelphia. Work has been restarted on a small scale after the yard had been shut down for ten months.

Caligula 'a Floating Palaces. Preparations have now been mado for draining Lake Nemi, a. small lake occupying the basin of the crater of an extinct volcano in the Alban. mountains, near Rome, in order to recover ; the Koman galleys which the Emperor Caligula made his residence. The work will consist 'in boring a tunnel through the mountainside so as to make an outlet for the Jake to the Alban Lake, which lies at a lower level. "When the surface of Lake Nemi has thus been, lowered, it will be possible to raise the • galleys, which arc believed to contain many specimens of the art and luxury of the Boman court of the early Empire. Caligula, who had the reputation of being a mad Emperor, ruled from 37 to 41 A.D. He had the vessels built to form a sumptuous floating palace for_, himself, but after his death they appear to have been neglected, and they at length sank to the bottom of the lake. Various atetmpts have been made to raise them, but without success; the present scheme is the most ambitious and tho result may be the discovery of valuable archaeological treasures. "Joys" of Kuni Running. ; At the recent dinner of tho Chamber of Shipping, the president, Sir William Seager, in referring to the sportsmanship, risk and imagination that are necessary to carry on the shipping industry,: asked: "Whereas there anything more exciting than running down to the Plate at a low rate of freight, hop-. ing and praying that the market will lift to enable both ends of tho voyage to meet?" To my mind (says an English writer), "rum running" leaves a round Plate voyage a long way behind, so far as excitement is concerned. ' This was amply demonstrated in a dispute which has recently been decided by an arbitrator. In August, 1924, a Norwegian steamer, of about 2375 tons deadweight and capable of steaming 9J knots, was chartered at £1100 per month for one trans-Atl'au- < tic round voyage for what is termed "rum running." She loaded at Antwerp a cargo of about 47,684 cases of whisky and : gin, valued at about £.100,000, and cleared for. St. Pierre, Miq. She was ordered to proceed to a point about 25 miles S.E. of Ambrose Light-vessel, and there deliver the

I cargo into schooners. The vessel arrived and anchored at a point about 23 miles from the American coast, and, after discharging some thousands of cases into schooners, a small -high-pow-ered launch came alongside one of the schooners .and purchased- 25 cases.of spirits. It afterwards'transpired that the launch was a Customs craft in dis-. guise; and the steamer and one of the schooners were arrested and taken into New York, arriving .there on 12th October. ■ The United States, authorities decided to. take proceedings for the forfeiture of the steamer and her cargo, and the crew were sent to"Ellis Island and were deported on 3rd January, 1925. ■ The authorities lost their action and the appeal, and tho Norwegian vessel was released on 28th May, 1926. While, however, she .was under arrest and in charge of tho authorities, the steamer met with, several adventures, including going : aground twice, having a fire on board, and being^ involved in three collisions, while those iv charge apparently helped themselves to everything moveable. When the cargo was released, tho charterers sent it to its .destination by another steamer. The Singapore Dock Towage. In the .statement of the Navy estimates it was announoed that ai-rangc-; ments had been made to commence tho towage of the Singapore fli-ating dock in June next. It 'is "essential. that tho most powerful tugs available should be secured, and that a flrm Svith experience in such operations should undertake tho towage, states the "Shipping World." British fyms have: not. specialised to any considerable, extent in work of this kind; the country which has devoted most attention to'- thVconstruction and use of ocean-going tugs, is Holland, and it is not surprising, therefore, that the contract for.the towage of tho dock has been made with the well-known iirra -of Messrs. L. Smit and Co., of Botterdam. - In fact, this is the only firm that possesses the necessary facilities for the task and a staff with sufficient experience for the undertaking.. It: is to be hoped that: success will attend their enterprise. The •dock, it -is understood, will be towed in two sections and four tugs will be ■ used-■• for each section. The passage of 8500 miles will occupy about four months, and it is expected tliat'the dock will arrive' at- Singapore- in November. One of .tliO; most difficult problems of tho voyage will be 'the transit of the Suez1 Canal,, where, owing to the width of the dock, great caution will be necessary to avoid .fouling . the banks. ■ Not a Secret! A. ship was. approach ing port in a fog and was behind her schedule time One fussy lady passenger had been crossexamining everyone as to when she could get ashore. At last- she came across the captain. "Captain, can you tell me when we shall reach port?/' "God knows, madam," was the reply. Lady: "But the barber says we shall be in at 12.30 to-morrow." Captain: "Oh! Well, then the barber knows, too!" ■ Flying Boats. > , The progress made in -the art of 'aviation since its birth only a quarterof a century ago has been remarkable, but in many respects it is still in its infancy. The most hopeful development., however, is that of the flying boat, writes the "Shipping World."; This type has the merit of being am-, phibious, and its value not /inly as a; commercial asset, but as a naval, auxiliary, is evident.- In (he Air Ministry estimates for 1925-29 provision is made for two new flights of flying boats, one in home waters and tho other overseas. The Air Ministry states that this typo of aircraft has great potentialities for protecting Imperial communications. Its further development will be observed with interest.