OVERSEAS SHIP SAVED

Grey River Argus, 5 July 1944, Page 2

OVERSEAS SHIP SAVED

OFF NORTH CAPE Hazardous Feat of N.Z. Vessels p.A. AUCKLAND, July 4. The combined salvage efforts of New Zealand Nav v ships, two coastal vessels of the Union Steamship Coy, and an Auckland Harbour Board tug last week resulted in the salvage of an overseas freighter' with only an hour to spare before a storm broke. •The vessel, which flew the Panamanian flag, and was manned by a Greek crew was hard and fast on a sand beach two miles south of North Cape for four davs. An hour after she was refloated, a storm broke with .such fury that the ship would have been totally wrecked. “If it had not been refloated then, it would never have been refloated,’’ declared .the master of the ship, Captain . P. Dracatos, after arriving safely in the shelter of a North Island port. Captain Dracatos said he knew twelve hours beforehand that the storm was coming up, and in that time every minute was precious. The story told .by the Captain and those who commanded the other vessels concerned in the rescue was one of hard work with inadquate materials. Lines broke repeatedly under heavy strain, and rescuing ships worked at times with barely two feet of water under their keels. Throughout four days and nights Captain Dracatos and his mate remained on deck without sleep. The drama' did not cease with the refloating of the vessel. Each ship then had to battle against wind and sea in one of the worst storms recorded off the New Zealand coast in recent years. Two of the vessels, the salvaged ship and Auckland Harbour Board’s tug, the William C. Daldy, were hampered by long, < aft trailing tow lines which they were unable to bring inboard. One of the naval vessels, H.M.N.Z.S. Waipu, the Port Chalrners-built minesweeper, was hove to for forty-eight hours off Cape Brett, riding out mountainous seas with her mess decks awash. All the other vessels had taken shelter along the coast. Comparatively minor damage was done to the freighter’s hull and rudder, but she lost a considerable amount of gear, including an . anchor. Several other anchors were left at the scene of the grounding, as well as £2OOO worth of towlines, which were cut and dropped immediately the ship was refloated. Some of this gear may be salvaged later. Captain Dracatos said his vessel ■was outward bound from Auckland in ballast. After encountering bad weather all the way up the coast, they had been farced to seek shelter for twenty-four hours in the lee of the land near North Cape. The ship was weighing anchors and swinging to resume her voyage on Friday, June 23, when her stern touched a hard sand beach. It w'as full tide, but he found less water than indicated on the chart. The usual manoeuvres failed to refloat the vessel. A second attempt was made with the next tide, but it was again unsuccessful. Then he radioed for immediate assistance, and' received an answer from the naval authorities next morning that assistance was on the way. Meanwhile the vessel had swung round nearly broadside on'to the bea.'ch, and was listing, and was nearly high and dry- at . low tide. During the. early refloating attempts, both the lifeboat and the jollyboat of the freighter were broken, also two rafts, while trying to carry out anchors. In one attempt the third mate, John Coridas. • had taken out an anchor to the full length of the cable, and he had to break up the raft to drop it. He then had to swim back to the ship. The crew had worked manfully day and night. Assistance reached the scene in the earlv hours of the morning of Saturday, June 24, and the navy went immediately into action. Air Force planes co-operated, taking photographs of the situation and keeping in touch. The stories told reveal that the salvage wa's one in which co-operative and strenuous efforts triumphed over difficulties and misadventures.