ROSS SEA WHALERS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20823, 16 March 1931, Page 10

ROSS SEA WHALERS.

MOST SUCCESSFUL SEASON.

CARGO 'WORTH £450,000. I

ICEPACK! UNUSUALLY HEAVY.

CRUISE OF FACTORY SHIP,

[riY TELEGRAPH. —OWN COnrMSSrONDENT.] INVERCARGILL. Saturday.

After several months spent in the Antarctic, the Rosshavct Whaling Company's new motor factory ship Sir James Clark Ross, accompanied by her seven chasers, arrived off Stewart Island this week after ono of the most successful seasons in tho history of the company. She was heavily laden with a capacity load of 113,000 barrels of whale oil, valued at about £450,000, and, although not as plentiful as on previous occasions, tho whales were reported to bo fairly numerous. Indeed, tho yield of oil was so great that it was necessary to jettison almost 1000 tons of crude fuel oil to make room for the more valuable whale oil.

The new motor ship of 18,500 tons behaved splendidly in the Antarctic waters, the thoroughly modern equipment giving every satisfaction. Captain Nielsen, who is in command, was formerly on tho bridge of tho C. A. Larsen, which, until the recent launching of the new Sir James Clark Ross, was the chief of the company's factory ships. The vessel is driven by powerful Diesel engines, and crude fuel oil is used for the boilers, the steam being available solely for extracting the oil from the whales. This, proved to be a great advantage during the trip, as the speed of tho factory ship in moving from point to point was not affected by the demands on steam for oil extraction.

No other factory ships will visit New Zealand on their return from the whaling grounds this season, as the majority left the Ross Sea comparatively early to seek whales in other localities to the westward, where they were reported to be more plentiful. Id is not expected that the other ships which have previously operated in the Ross Sea will return, as the whales are considered to be diminishing there.

Immediate Departure. The Sir James Clark Ross will not enter Paterson Inlet to visit the company's base, but will proceed to Panama without any loss of time with her valuable cargo. She was drawing 34ft. of water fore and aft, and, in view of the unfortunate mishap to the C. A. Larson some three years ago, it was considered inadvisable for her to venture into shallow' water. The chasers, however, will make their way to the base [ov the winter, r.nd will be overhauled, about 45 mon remaining to carry out this work. The 16 local men who accompanied the vessel on her southern cruise were paid off, and returned to their homes at Bluff or Stewart Island, and the remainder of the crew of 200 will return to Norway, where they are due, after discharge of their cargo at New York, about the middlo of May. In tho early part of tho season the whales were not. very plentiful, and the other two factories operating in the vicinity, the Kosmos and tho Nielsen Alonso, sought more profitable localities, leaving tho Sir James Clark Ross alone. After a few weeks, however, moro whales were caught, and although the facory ship worked only intermittently throughout the season, the catch was a reasonably satisfactory one. As was thp case during tho previous season, the percentage of blue whales, the more profitable species to handle, wag considerable lower than some years ago, and it was necessary to register a very much larger catch before the quantity of oil reached tho total- of previous seasons, 1444 whales being necessary before tho vessel's capacity, had been filled. Toward tho end of tho season tho whales were more plentiful and in better condition after the summer, and every tank was full by the end of February. Early in January the chaser .Star XV. forced a passage through the ice to ascertain whether the whales were plentiful in the Ross Sea, but the results of an extended cruise did not justify the rest of the fleet's undertaking the risk of going through tho heavy ice. It was late in February beforo the ice had broken up and drifted outwards to such an extent that the fleet found itself inside it and in the Ross Sea. The lowest latitude reached during the cruise was which is considerably north of the area usually prospected. At this lutitudc it could just be said that the vessels had entered tho Ross Sea. Incidents of the Cruise.

An unfortunate mishap occurred to Star XIV. a few days before tho end of Hip season The propeller shaft broke and a portion of it, together with the propeller, was lost. This involved a certain amount of delay in the return journey as the factory ship had to tow this disabled chaser a portion of the way. The fleofc was duo at Stewart Island on Sunday, but on this account two extra days were taken on the northward trip. During the last day, tho factory ship made all haste to reach the island according to tho revised schedule and raced several of the chasers to the base.

A fortunate escape from n serious accident occurred toward tho end of tho cruise when tho pressure on a large winch hauling a whalo up the slipway in the stern of the vessel was eased and the entire weight of the huge whalo came on a smaller winch mounted on the superstructure amidships. Tho small winch, weighing several .tons in weight, crashed down on to the deck and was badly fractured, but fortunately no ono was in the path of the machine and no one was injured. An interesting experience) for the whalers was a visit paid to them in the middle of January by Sir Douglas Mawson's expedition on the Discovery. Tho Sir James Clark Boss was carrying a supply of coal for the expedition ship and, while this was being transferred, tho scientists from tho Discovery paid a visit of inspection to the whaler. At that stage the expedition had not done a great deal of exploration work, except at McQuarrio Island, and consequently had not a great deal to relate to tho whalers. The scientists displayed tho greatest interest in the whaling work and undertook extensive investigations of the whales.