PORT BOWEN WRECK

Greymouth Evening Star, 2 November 1939, Page 2

PORT BOWEN WRECK

MAGISTERIAL INQUIRY

CAPTAIN GIVES EVIDENCE.

[PER press association.]

WELLINGTON, November 3

A Magisterial inquiry into the stranding of the Port. Bowen at Castlecliff on July 19, was opened to-day before Mr. Stout. S.M. The assessors are Captain Worrall (Wellington), and Captain Channan (Christchurch). Mr. J. Prendiville appears for the Marine Department, and Mr. E. K. Kirkaldie for the master of the Port Bowen (Captain F. W. Bailey). Captain MacIndoe is., also watching the interests of the master and officers on behalf of the Navigators’, Engineers’ and Officers’ Union of England. Mr. R. C. Christie is representing the owners of the vessel.

Captain Bailey said he could not say what the insurances were. He had been .around the New Zealand coast previously. Ou the trip on which the stranding occurred, the vessel left Picton on July 19, her draft was 24ft. Sin. forward and 28ft. Sin. , aft. He set a course to bring him west of Wanganui breakwater. There was a slight southerly and a slight swell, it was dark and cloudy overhead. Mr. Prendeville: Did you take note of the tide? —I did not. According to a note in the New Zealand Nautical Almanac the tides around Cook strait are very different. Continuing, witness said about 9.45 p.in. he was on the bridge. The Port Bowen was then approaching Wanganui. At 10.50 p.m., he picked up the Castlecliff light at an estimated distance of 19 miles. He checked that up with the log distance run from the last permanent fix on the South Island. That put the vessel five and a-half miles westward of the original course, and, as he had a double check, he was quite confident the position was correct. He then laid the course 15 degrees to starboard, and maintained practically the same distance off the Wanganui mile lights. At 11.45, he proceeded to a position which gave him five and a-half miles to go to the Wanganui lights. About this time, a light was sighted, which was to him distinctly orange in colour, and he consulted the fourth officer, as they could find no orange light of any consequence. They disregarded it, and did not take a bearing on this light. Afterwards, it proved to be one of the mole lights. At 11.50. he put the engines half speed, and about this time picked up a rid light, near Castlecliff light. This was very dim, and visible only through powerful glasses. It did not look like a navigation light, and might have been anything.

About 11.55, the chief officer came on the bridge merely for orders, and not to assist in the navigation, but when witness remarked he could not see any of the light, the chief officer picked up the binoculars, and, after scanning the shore for .a few minutes sighted a green light. They did not take a bearing, but it would be to the north, on starboard bow. HAD OVER-RUN DISTANCE. About this time, witness instructed the fourth officer to get some bearings off the Castlecliff light, and another light. The fourth officer went into the chart room, and witness followed, and at once saw he had overrun the distance. He shouted to the chief officer to stop engines, and hurried to-the bridge to put the helm hard to starboard. The vessel was swinging on the starboard helm, and was slow and sluggish, so. at 12.9 a.m., he went ahead on the port engine. At 12.11, while going full speed on the port engine, the vessel touched the bank near number four hatch, on the port side. By this time he could see two mole lights. and they were a point on the port bow. He continued with the engine going ahead, and tried both engines ahead at 12.13 to see if she would work off the bank, ft made no difference. At 12.33 the vessel was not moving, so he stopped the engines altogether. At 12.35 the starboard anchor was let go to try to hold the ship’s head to the sea, but it would not hold. Soundings were taken of the holds and tanks, and, as the ship was not making any water, and there was no ’danger of life being lost, he did not abandon ship. He sent messages to the local agents at Wanganui, and to the. office in Wellington. Witness went on to give details of the attempts made thereafter to get the ship off, the breaking of anchor cables during the gales, and the driving of the vessel over a sandbank and closer inshore, with all the- subsequent salvage operations. CONFIDENT OF HIS POSITION. To the S.M., witness said he was so confident his position was safe that he did not check the echo sounding device. He had been in Wanganui roadstead about six times, over a period of 15 years as chief officer. He was making for his usual place of anchorage shown on the chart, but was actually to the north of it. He had since found out that there was rain and hail over the land that night. To Mr. Kirkaldie he said his record as a seaman was a. clean sheet. At S p.m. the ship was half a mile to the westward of her course hearing. The position along the course bearing by log, and the position by crossing bearing corresponded within a quarter of a mile. The rising bearing, such as he took on the Castlecliff light, gave a fairly-definite fix, coinciding with the log readings. Ho said that actually he was deceived by the harbour lights, and did not see them. When he did not see them when he expected to do so, ho had come to the conclu-

sion that the weather conditions ashore that night, were responsible for the orange appearance of the mile light. It was when he did not pick up tho red light that he instructed the fourth officer to take a hearing off Castlecliff Light, and immediately found that he had over-run the distance and was to tho north of the breakwater. NO HINT OF DANGER. Mr. Kirkaldio: I'p to that lime, had you any hint of danger because you could not. see the red light?—-No. I was quite sure of my position. The third ctliccr said that, the lights at the time, of the stranding were not as distinct, as they appeared later on in the water, and John Norman Devlin, fourth officer, corroborated the orange appearance of the light, as described! by the master. On several occasions i since, he had observed that one of the mile lights appeared definitely orange, and vapour always appeared off Die Castlecliff beach at night-time. | The chief oP-cer also gave corrobora- 1

tive evidence, and, to Mr. Prendeville. said there were no breakers or anything else to indicate' that they were so close inshore. (Proceeding).