LOSS OF KAPONGA

Manawatu Standard, Volume LII, Issue 175, 25 June 1932, Page 4

LOSS OF KAPONGA

COURT’S JUDGMENT. WELLINGTON, June 24. In connection with the wreck of the collier ICaponga, the Court stated in its judgment that there was rio justification for the loss of this yessel. There were no difficulties of wind, sea, current, or visibility. The area to be sounded was small, and there was ample time and opportunity for the harbour officials to have ascertained and supplied correct information as to the depth of water thereon. “The heavy south-westerly to westerly weather Was calculated to cause the bar to silt up and to change its position and formation, but no adequate steps were, in our opinion, taken to ascertain such change. We have no reason to doubt that such soundings as were taken were accurate, but, with vessels of the size of the Kaponga’nnd the Kalingo. each with a beam of over 40 feet, and with n draught descending to within a few feet of the known bottom, about to sail, soundings should, after suclr weather, have been made at considerably closer intervals and over a substantially wider area, so that the position and formation of the bar and the depth o f water thereon would he accurately ascertained. If these obvious steps had been taken the shoals would have been loented and the vessel would not have been lost. “In the result, under conditions ideal to ensure her safe departure, the vessel was allowed to steam on to, and wreck herself upon, an inadequately charted bar.

“The responsibility for this rests with the Greymouth Harbour Board. The harbourmaster assured the master of the Kaponga that there would he 21ft 3in. of navigable water on the bar. The information given by thq harbourmaster was thus vitally inaccurate.

“It is true that the master of the Kaponga was present when the soundings were taken, but he was not entitled to interfere with the operations, and his presence there was to inform himself of the general conditions of weather, swell, set of tide, and position of the bar. rather than to chock or interfere with the sounding operations.

“The harbourmaster, with his intimate daily knowledge of his harbour, was the one to decide what soundings ho needed to take. We think that the master of the Kaponga was justified in relying on the information and advice given to him by the harbourmaster. “It is unfortunate that the master of the Kalingo did not ensure that an adequate whistle was given when hi? vessel touched the bar. and it is unfortunate that those who saw the signal that was given should have all failed to communicate it to the master of the Kaponga. but. in our opinion, the real and substantial cause of the loss of the vessel was due to the inaccurate information as to the depth of water on the bar given by the harbourmaster to the master of the Kapongn. “We make an order that the Grcymout.h Harbour Board pay the costs of this inquiry, which we fix at £ls 15s for each_of the three counsel representing tile Marine Department, the Union Steamship Company of New Zealand Limited, and Captain Gray respectively, plus the assessors’ fees and witnesses’ expenses.’ Mr E. Page. S.M., was president of the Court, and Captain A. T. Dowell and Captain L. C. H. Worrall were the assessors.