Ships and the Sea

Evening Post, Volume CX, Issue 100, 25 October 1930, Page 28

Ships and the Sea

THIS OTAIO

Kelics from'the Sea Bed.., Wlicn.tho large bucket-dredger. Palus was undergoing minor repairs at Capo Town recently, some interesting abaevvations were made by a writer in the "Cape Times" on the work of the Palus. "A miscellaneous collection'of ships' fittings are still being dredged from the sea bed in the now basin, which is being developed in connection with the extension to the harbour," states the writer. "Old anchors, some of the patent stockless variety, are not uncommon; others, of an ancient.date with wooden stocks, are occasionally picked up, while iron stocks which have come adrift from anchors appear to be fairly numerous. Each item nc doubt possesses an interesting history, and in some cases tragedy is written all over them. "For instance,'"what-disaster lies be hind the" heavy iron topgallant mast or bowsprit cap '. which was recently brought to the surface? There is no break 01 crack in the metal, which ia three-quarters of- au inch in diameter, and IS inches in depth, and can only mean that a fairly large vessel was dismasted or had carried away her bowsprit near the spot many years ago. "There is always a deep significance in a broken anchor, of which several have been recovered. Among other relics of the stormy days when Capo

XBW CARGO YESSIOL

Considerable space is devoted iv the "Syren and Shipping "to a description of the New Zealand Shipping Company's new. vessel, the Otaio, which has boon.. launched at.. Barrow-iu-i'uriioss. The Otaio,,a large and fast cargo liner, has some novel arrangements for auxiliary drive. ■ According to the 'Syren and Shipping," thoso arrangements are novel in as much as, while they are essentially electric in character, _a greater and perhaps more economic use of exhaust gases from the two main engines has been made than hitherto, and the lay-out promises, if successful, to prove a rival to stereotyped methods of auxiliary powering on board ship. The Otaio's service speed is to b© 15J knots. Exhaust gas from the two main.engines is passed through two Clarksou thimblo tube boilers, which have oil firing for port use. These boilers have a total output of 60001b of steam' at 1001b per square inch working'pressure. The steam generated by the heat of thp exhaust gases passes to a .steam engine driving an electric generator set .of 160 k.w. out-

put, which supplies power for the operatiou of mau'y of the principal auxiliaries, while the ship is at.sea. : This/ however, is not all in this very, unusual arrangement, i'or the steam passes out of the last steam stage of the generator engine at 51b pm- square inch pressure" and is then used when necessary'for accommodation heating purposes. It is also used for an evapo--rator set, and in this it makes '20 tons of fresh water per 24 hours. Alternatively,1 of course, in a ship of this arrangement with two-cycle engines-it could, -be used.to. operate .a (steam) turbo-blower.f or. scavenging purposes, or, even in a four-cycle installation in more or less stereotyped fashion for driving a supercharge blower. ■ This, arrangement-is one which shows very, great foresight, coupled with'a thorough appreciation of the technique of economic power generation in a fast modern-motor liner. As has been suggested already, it" is unlikely that such' an arrangement could ever seriously ch.'illenga-the present position of the Diesel lenginerdriv.en generator, illthougtrit .must inevitably hav.e ;i modifying effect iipdn .it, particularly for tanker work,'.in. which there is consulerable scope'for. the adoption of a good type of waste'heat oil-fired exhaust gas boiler in place of the large and heavyScotch boilers at present"' used. . The main reason for their retention seems to be the very positive nature of their action and the need for such large quantities of steam, particularly in the dirty oil trades. For .cargo ships, and in particular for tramps, the use of this technique is,/in the opinion of the "Syren and Shipping," well worthy of consideration. . -Much depends, of course, upon .the type of main Diesel engine selected, but it is interesting ito note that there are on the market both four-cycle-and. two-cycle units capable of giving perfectly satisfactory "exhaust gas" service. '" : The Otaio is due in New Zealand in February, under, .the 'agency of. the Federal Company.- ' . - '■*■',-' •_ Steamer, Afire; at Sea. ■ , . Unexpectedly...the 5000-toji British cargo steamer" Brookwood called at Port Kembla, New South 'Wales, ' on 22nd September to replenish her bunkers. ' Officers.' told, a graphic story of the fire which broke out while the yessel was in-the Indian Ocean. On'her maiden voyage to-southern waters, the Brookwood'-left England on 3rd July for a direct-trip of 15.000 miles to New Caledonia, with -a mixed, cargo of coke. and coal. She-passed the Capo of Good Hope on -Ist'August, and, after a spell of rough weather, on sth August steam was noticed "rising from 2000 tons of cargo coal in No. 3'hatch. 'This developed into a serious fire, and, after ■five days of-Strenuous but unsuccessful efforts, to. stem the outbreak, the ship was headed for Mauritius, the nearest port, .on. 10th' August. During the run to Mauritius 90 tons of coal was removed to another part of the ship and 50' tons of coke.had to be thrown overl board witli.bare hands to keep the flames'and1 dangerous poison gases in check. Skilful handling of the ship arid the strenuous efforts by the crew enabled the ship.to reach Mauritius on 14th August. At Mauritius the liarbour authorities ordered the vessel to be flooded'to. extinguish the fire, but it was two days before the outbreak was : subdued in the flooded, holds. The Brookwood only put to sea in 1029, a new steamer.' She was not due to visit Port Kembla, her first Australian port, until the return voyage. Coptic in Collision. The motor-ship Coptic recently 'collided with a schooner in the Mediterranean. Only Blight damage was sustaincd to the Coptic. Ecports from the vessel, winch called at Fremanlle en route-from- the,.-b-nited lvmgdom to .Sydney, advise that the collision ooeurred at IWitoighron 2oth August- and the motor-ship snftcrcd tp the extent t riiTn - °" raiIIJIBS-'"! m 1 <l'""MgC °Thfcoptic: "towed the schooner u-ith her - damaged., .apars. and .. sails to Al-meerar'anl-though delayed by the mishap -was--able. to-:mako Fremautlo in 26 dars 19'hours-from London.

Town had no -protecting breakwater aro a cat-block; which must have be<yi lost when getting in an anchor, a portion of n pump, and, several lengths of chain :uul wire. It is quite possible that historical relics will be dredged up when the Palus works in deeper water, such as small cannon or parts of a ship to which a definite date can be affixed. Coins in small, quantities would be overlooked, but- boxes containing ships' papers and personal effects might.come to light. . "After every heavy; winder galo a quantity of Chinese porcelain is washed up on Woodstock Beach,.which has been ■broken out of wrecks lying off the shore. Pieces may be found almost at any time dating from about 1650 to 1850, showing that several vessels loaded with largo' or - small consignments must have been wrecked at various times, and this is not be wondered at, because almost every homeward-bound East Indiamau put into' Table Bay "for provisions and-water, and.carried porcelain, from China and Japan for; the European market.. : "A case of old porcelain to-day might be worlli many, hundreds'of pounds, and it. is weir known that, several tons of it; lies scattered about the Bay. TUe Palus may yet dredge up something of unusual interest, -which may throw new light on.(he past history of Table Bay." New Matson Liners. The two new passenger liners which arcs being built for the Matson Lino are to be named .the-'Monterey and the Miiriposu. They are for the company's San Francisco-Sydney service, and will replace, the. liners. Sierra-,' Sonoma, and Ventura.' The two new vessels will each have a .""displacement of 25,000 tons, and.will ha*v.e accommodation for 837 passengers.'". The dimensions will be: Lengthj 632 ft; beam, 79ft; draught,. 2Sft. The fast/speed of 201- knots is guaranteed. The-cargo, space will accommodate 5000 tons of dry cargo and 1000 tons of refrigerated cargo in six chambers. ■ . The contract between' the Matson Line and the builders, calls for the delivery of the first vessel complete in twenty-eight months from the date of signing, and the second vessel is to be delivered thirty-two month's from thedate of the execution of the coiitraet. The keel of the first vessel was laid on 17th May, 1930. It is estimated that each will "cost £1,600,000. . Each vessel will have nine decks, and will aecommodat-o 620 first-class and 217 tourist class. This tourist class travelling will be new to the Pacific and Australia. Two swimming-pools, full-sized tennis courts, deck games, and talking picture equipment 'will supply entertainment. There will also be electric elevators and a telephone system. -...,. x The speed of the vessels will enablethem to make the voyage from San JTraucisco to Sydney, via Honolulu, Pago Pago-, and Suva, in 16 days; instead of 10 days as at present. It has been stated that an'option has been exercised for the construction of a thii;d liner of the-saiue typo as the Monterey and Mariposa. No Wool Derby this cYar. Various influences have operated this year to reduce interest in the traditional, though strictly unofficial, "Wool Derby"— a, competition among vessels to make.the fastest journey to Dunkirk with the first consignments of new season's Australian wool, states the "Sydney. Morning Herald." . Those interested, indeed, have reconciled themselves to the complete absence of any elements of a rate. . Nevertheless the voyages of two fast motor-ships will be watched with interest. . The Commonwealth and ' Dominion Lino's motor-ship Port ■ Alma, which last year secured the honour, left Sydney at noon on 23rd September "for Dunkirk direct with 1360 bales of wool. The new motor-ship Thermopylae, of»the W-ilh WiUiehnseu NorwegianAustralian line, which left on 29th September, cannot hope to overtake the Port Alma, but is expected to challenge her in" the'-time occupied on tho journey. She is scheduled to reach Dunkirk on 30th October.