WRECK OF THE NILE.

Hawera Star, Volume XLVII, 7 January 1928, Page 5

WRECK OF THE NILE.

A GRAPHIC STORY. SEAMEN’S SWIM THROUGH Oil, The Commonwealth liner Moreton Bay, which rescued the crew from the wreck of the American steamer Nile, whose crew wa s taken to England on the Moreton Bay, arrived at Fremantle iast month.

Captain Ogilvie, of the Moreton Bay said that while proceeding -on the last voyage to England, his vessel picked up an S.O.'S. message from the Nile, which was wrecked at the foot, of the nigh and rocky coastline between Tunis and Algiers, in Northern Africa. The crew of the Nile related the bravery of two of the ship’s personnel. Shortly after the vessel stuck the rocks the vessel ’s oil tank burst, and two of the seamen had to swim through oil before a line could be taken ashore. The lino was used for conveying other members of the crew, and also a quantity of provisions, from the vessel.

Distorted accounts -of an cncountei between the Nile’s men and robber Riffs, who were said to be well armed, had been published in a section of the English newspapers, Captain Oglivio continued, but the supposed robber Kills were none other than a party of Arab farmers. None of them was arnied, but a number of coastguards who accompanied thorn carried rifles. Coastguards wore there to see that the vessel, wnieh lay close to the shore, was not interfered with, and the story

■•f tin* shipwrecked men having to keep off “robbers’’ by pelting them with oranges and other fruit arose possibly through the imagination of one of the son men.

Captain Ogilvie said that, one result of the wrecking of the Nile had been that, ship designers were studying the matter of the best position of a vessl’s tank. With the breaking of the Nile’s tank the vessel settled down with a quick movement, which forced the oil from the tank through the valves on to the docks. The consequence was that, the men could not. obtain a safe foothold anywhere, and were thus hin derod seriously in whatever work they were engaged in trying to save themselves or the ship.