WHEAT SHIPS IN TROUBLE.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLII, Issue 12759, 9 January 1905, Page 7

WHEAT SHIPS IN TROUBLE.

THE MELVILLE ISLAND AT I QUEENSTOWN. j PART OF CARGO JETTISONED. The Sydney Marine Underwriters' Association received a cable message on December 31 stating that the ship Melville Island, which left Melbourne on September 25. had arrived at Queenstovrn, and the captain reported that he had been compelled to jettison part of the wheat cargo. j The Melville Island is an iron ship of 1468 j tons gross register, ami 1429 tons net. She I was built by Mesa's. Russell and Co. in I 1884 at Port Glasgow, and is owned by j Messrs. Stuart Bret liens, of Glasgow. On September 23 last she left Melbourne with j a cargo of 20,785 bags of wheat, shipped by I Messrs. F. W. IV. i! and Co. Her destina- j tion was not disclosed, but the cable re- ', ceived by the underwriters shows that on arriving in the English Channel she received j orders to proceed to Queenstovrn. No reason is given for jettisoning the. j cargo, but it is presumed that the. vessel met ! heavy weather, and it was found necessary j to throw part of the cargo overboard in order to save the ship. Wheat ships from Australia have been j singularly unfortunate dining the season. | The ship Invereargill recently reached [ Queenstown from Sydney after a sensational J experience in a gale. She had to jettison part of her cargo. A cable received by the j Sydney Underwriters announced that the ship Clan Macpherson. from Melbourne to Queenstown, with 22,725 bags of wheat, arrived at Falmouth in a damaged condition, and reported that 30 tons of her cargo had j been jettisoned. The loss of the four-masted barque Trafalgar, wheat-laden from Sydney, was advised a few weeks ago. She was wrecked oft' the Brazilian coast. This vessel was loaded by Messrs. XV. and A. McArthur. | and the ship and cargo proved a total loss, j Other casualties to wheat vessels were numer- j ous about the middle of the year. The ship Astracana, from Geelong to Algoa Bay, was roughly handled in the Tasman Sea. and she put into Auckland for repairs. She resumed her voyage on October 29. Then j the ship Andrcta, from Sydney to the Eng- j lish Channel, was partially dismasted off the 'coast, and had to put back for repairs. She lias since reached her destination. Another wheat vessel reported in trouble was the French barque Boildicu. which carried away her rudder in heavy weather whilst homeward bound from Sydney, and put into Lyttelton. She bad a new rudder fitted there, and a. few days ago made another start for the English Channel. The ship General Gordon, with a Victorian wheat cargo for I the Channel, put into Sydney through stress j of weather, and was detained there some , time for repairs. Early in the season the barque Cairnsmore, from Sydney to Callao, put back to repair damages sustained in heavy weather off the coast. She has since arrived at Callao. The Russian barque Favell, with wheat from Australia, was in collision in the English Channel on September 23, and suffered some damage.