THE WAIKATO MISHAP.

Lyttelton Times, Volume CIX, Issue 13137, 27 May 1903, Page 4

THE WAIKATO MISHAP.

SUBmSTIAL SALVAGE AWARD. E?SOM Ora Ggiuiespondext.] LONDON, April 9.' On Friday last Mr Justice ’Bucknill and. tli-a. Trinity Masters heard the action of the owners, Ulster and crew of tho stcaanehijp NtldhigaJJi, to recover salvage remuneration fox services readerelS* to the New Zealand Steamship Company’s Waikato, her ojtrgo and freight, between July 27 and 50, 19C8, thn latter boat being at the time en route, for New Zealand with a cargo of Hie value of £115,000. The facts of the case m,ay be briefly recited About midnight, on Jtme, 29, the Waikato’s tail-end shaft broke, and she became disabled being at the time in about latitude 35dsg S. and longitude sdeg’ E. Sha. drifted 1 an an easterly direction rintil July 9, -when in latitude 33deg 53’ S, and longitude lOdeg 49* Iv, 8h& And spoke a barque, which conkl render. nn assistance. A week later a steamer bound fox Rio hove in sight, but bet? oSei§ of help were declined- Other vecuela were sighted during the next few dayU- but their ’ assistance wa » not asked for ’as the "crew of the Waikato were attempting to, fe a coupling cm tho broken shaft. They succeeded in. their object on July 82, bpt after a brief period of steaming the coupling slipped and the vessel drifted northward, till,, on July 27 she fell in with, tho, Atlantic Transport Company’s Michigasy an 8000. ton steamship, with a crew of 73, cm route from Plume to Table Bay with 615 remounts. This was in latitude 27deg 25’ S.E., and longitude 12de-g 55’ B. Tho ‘Waikato signalled for assistance, and late in tho ait pm con tho vessels were; made fpst a?-d iow:>ga commenced in the direction of Tablo Buy. It proceeded without interruption untjij. tho morning of July 50, whem tha vessels arrived in the Bay, and; the, hawser wag shortened. Sopn after it parted, and tho Waikato came to anchor, and was subsequently taken into harbour by a tug. 'The distance towed Was 460 miles. Mjr J«st*c« Bucknill, in reviewing tho of the case, said that the Waikato- liadi been broken down for several days, and tiwt gh very skilful and energetic atteiapsa were* .made by her master and engineer te?, repair the broken shaft, they were nob succesaful.., and it was very doubtful if they could possibly have succeeded. ' Tho master- of tha' Waikato had on gome five previous occaantna refused assistance, but he accepted that of the Michigan when she came aifoeg, and he found himself •drifting to the north. Tho values in this case wero very largo and tho towage was skilfully performed, though without any great difficulty. There wma no bad weather met with, and tho hawser d»d not break till the «nd. Ja all the circumstances of the case, ho should award tho sum of £5500, which fee should apportion by giving £4123 to tho owners, £450 to the master, and £925 to the crew according to their rating.