PATCHED-UP SHIP
LONG TOW TO SYDNEY
SYDNEY, July 12.
A rusty freighter • with holes in her sides covered with wood, concrete patches, and welded steel plate, has reached Sydney after being towed 1750 miles, the greatest distance a damaged ship has ever been towed. The vessel had been sunk by shells from a Japanese cruiser in Milne Bay, New Guinea, and was raised 15 months later by officers of the Commonwealth Salvage Board. More than 40 apertures had to be plugged up by divers before the vessel could be pumped out. Depth charges had to be exploded to frighten off sharks before the men could descend.
The ship, with its funnel sliced away level with the deck and one mast snapped off, was raised in 11 weeks. In spite of storms on the' long journey to the repair depot, all the emergency patches held fast. It is expected that the ship will be ready for recommissioning in about three months.
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Bibliographic details
Evening Post, Volume CXXXVIII, Issue 11, 13 July 1944, Page 5
Word Count
160PATCHED-UP SHIP Evening Post, Volume CXXXVIII, Issue 11, 13 July 1944, Page 5
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