DISABLED AT SEA.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LIII, Issue 16213, 26 April 1916, Page 4

DISABLED AT SEA.

ARRIVAL OF DQNGARRA,

STORM AND BROKEN SHAFT,

ENGINEERS' HARD TASK.

The Australian and American Steamship Company's chartered steamer Dongarra yesterday afternoon from New. York, after a voyage of 73 days, during which time two exciting incidents recurred.

The Dongarri, which as the Hants liner StolzenfeJs was interned in Australia early in the war and subsequently secured by her present charterers from the Australian Naval Department, left New York on February 12 for Auckland and Australian ports. A call was made at St.. Lucia for coal. Coaling also took placo at Durban, at, which port, owing to th« quantity of shipping, the had to wait her turn for four days. Up to this time the weather had been fine, a.nd the officers were congratulating themselves on making a good voyage. A few davg after leaving Durban, however, the vessel encountered a severe gale, which continued for over a week. Mountainous sea-, swept the vessel, and while the ..-ilo lasted she was 'inablo to make much headway. One particularly heavy sea struck a case containing a motor-car which had been shipped ; s deck TV rase was smashed and the motor 'Mr badly damaged. With this exception there w-jj no further darrage, and a few days later the gale subsided and the steamer continued her voyage in fine weather to Auckland

The vessel'? troubles, however, were not over. On Good Friday, at 8.3U pin., when tho Donga rra was ouly a short distance from .Auckland, a mishap occurred in the engine-room, and the steamer had to stop. She is fitted with quadruple expansion engines, and upon examination the engineers found that the second intermediary crank-shaft had been broken. This meant that tho damaged engine and two others of the quartette had to be uncoupled and the cylinder covers removed, in order to enable the remaining engine to propel tho ship. For 12 hours the engineers worked at top speed doing the necessary work, nd for 12 hours the vessel drifted at the mercy of the current. The multiplicity of nuts to be unscrewed, flanges to be removed, and other technicalities to bo i performed before the one engine could ' be brought into use meant hard work, and I when at the end of the 12 flours the engineers were ablo to report that the vessel could be brought under control again th-;y were very weary but very proud that success had crowned their efforts. A fc-.T minutes after tho work was finished the screw commenced to revolve, and with only one of her four engines working the steamer continued her voyage to Auckland at a speed of six knots. Owing to the strain on the one engine which going astern would involve, the Dongarra was met in the channel by the lugs Young §ungaree and To Awhina, and with the former pulling and the latter pushing the vessel was quickly and .skilfully berthed by Captain \Yainhouse atlh» King's Wharf.