LOSS OF THE KAPONGA

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XXII, Issue 148, 8 June 1932, Page 11

LOSS OF THE KAPONGA

COURT ADJOURNS HEARING. MASTER OF KALINGO TO GIVE EVIDENCE, Wellington, June 7, Following the hearing of further evidence concerning the stranding of the Kaponga on the Grey bar and the opinions of counsel, the Court conducting the inquiry decided that the evidence of the master of the Kalingo should be heard, and accordingly adjourned tho hearing until the return of the vessel from Australia.

David Croll Milne, assistant engineer to the Greymouth Harbour Board, gave results of some calculations he had made concerning the Kalingo. Ho showed that from tho figures furnished by the captain as to the vessel’s speed and draught and the swell experienced in crossing the bar it would be worked out that the limit of depth reaphed by the bottom of the vessel at the lowest point in scending was 21ft. 2in. This figure was reached by means of adding to the draught the. amount of “squat” calculated from tho speed, and by tho further addition as tho scend of twothirds of the reported range of the swell. Mr Milne showed also that from soundings taken by Captain Cox the depth of water on the bar at the time the Kalingo passed over and touched it could be worked out to an identical figure. 21ft. Sin. Mr Milne accounted for the Kaponga’s stranding as are suit of local shoaling on the bar. Captain James Rankine, of the Kaimata, which touched the bar the following Tuesday morning, drawing 16ft in water that should have been more than 20 feet deep, gave it as his opinion that the stranding of the Kaponga must have been due to somo sort of a ridge that was missed by the soundings. COUNSEL’S OPINION. Tho Crown solicitor, appearing for the Marino Department, asked the Court the following questions:—(l) What was the cause of the stranding! What further precautions could have been taken to avoid it? “I think,” said counsel, “that the evidence discloses that all parties took precautions, so I don’t suggest that any wrongful act has been performed.” Counsel for Captain Gray said that in view of the way in which the Crown had shaped tho case there was really little for him to say, but as far as Captain Gray was concerned he was mainly interested in having it proved that the stranding had been in no way his fault. No allegation of negligence or failure in duty had been made. Nevertheless, it was a little disturbing, perhaps a little new, for masters to feel that they were responsible for date in connection with port and safety of navigation. SHALLOW PART MISSED. Counsel for the owners of the Kaponga said that in his opinion a very large are of the shallow part of the bar had been shown to have increased by tho soundings. Counsel for the Harbour Board said that it was quite possible that the soundings of 19ft, taken on Friday from the tug had been on either side of the tract of shoaled ground revealed by Captain Gray’s soundings the next morning after the stranding had occurred .

Counsel made it clear that the board did not ask the masters of vessels to come out to cheek the board’s soundings, but simply had adopted the practice of taking the masters out on a tug in order that they might see the soundings and conditions for themselves.

In regard to the blowing of a whistle as an indication that a vessel had touched the bar, counsel thought that the position , was unsatisfactory. Possibly some uniform regulation for the whole of New Zealand, consisting of a distinctive whistle or visual signal for vessels to use when they had touched the bottom, could bo brought into force.

After conferring briefly with the assessors the president said thst the Court felt that it should hear tho evidence of the master of the Kalingo before arriving at its finding. The inquiry was adjourned until the Kalingo returned to New Zealand from Australia.