SHIPPING.

New Zealand Mail, Issue 1315, 13 May 1897, Page 33

SHIPPING.

Palmer’s Shipbuilding and Iron Company (Limited) recently sent the Socotra on her official trial. The vessel was built to the order of the P. and O. Company. Her dimensions are:— Length between perpendiculars, 450 ft; beam, 52ft; moulded depth, 33ft Gin. The vessel is of the threedeck type, with poop, bridge and forecastle, and has been built under special survey to class 100 A 1 at Lloyd's, and to comply with admiralty requirements for transport service. The upper and main decks are of steel and wood-sheathed all fore and aft, and the lower deck is laid throughout the cargo holds. A double bottom is fitted on the cellular system for water ballast, and extending all fore and aft, and the hull is subdivided by a large number of water-tight steel bulkheads. The vessel is fitted with steam cranes, winches, &c.. for rapid loading and discharging, and is lighted throughout with electricity. She is designed to load about 6000 tons deadweight on Lloyd’s summer freeboard. The engines, also constructed by the Palmer Company, are triple expansion, with cylinders 22Ain, 3GAin and 60in, driving twin screws, and two boilers, with Howden’s forced draught. During the trial a mean speed of 13. V knots was attained on the measured mile, and continued for several hours. H.M.s: Whiting, torpedo boat destroyer, built at Jarrow by Palmer’s Shipbuilding and Iron Company (Limited), has been taken out to sea for trial previous to being despatched to the dockyard. She was run a number of times over the measured mile at an average speed of 30'2 knots, and was kept running for three hours at an ■ average speed of 30T knots per hour. The machinery and- boilers worked *in a highly satisfactory manner. Experiments were made in circle turning with both engines running at a high speed astern and helm hard over, and the vessel made a complete circle with a diameter of a little over twice her own length. She is fitted with three-crank triple-expansion erg'nrs, and Jleod’s patent water-tube boilers, similar i.j those mtod to the previous torpedo-boat destroyers bunt at Jarrow. H.M.S. Seal is the ninth of the 10 30-knot torpedo-boat destroyers under construction by Messrs Laird 131*05., 33irkGnlion.(I, for fckey L>iitisii Admiralty. H.M.S. Flying Pish was launched from the Howdon Yard of Palmer’s Shipbuilding and r-on Company (Limited). Her dimensions arc:— > jpn.n.h, •!!.",ft; breadth (moulded), 20ft !)in ; depth, i. 'jo i’i ; draught, sft bin ; displacement, 300 tuns; speed, 30 knots; Ol)iJO indicated horse-power. On the (Jilt March the first-class battleship J upiter, having completed her trials, returned to Chatham. Tin- oi r, ht hours’ full-power natural draught trial was run in a perfect gale, but the engines developed 10,‘248 liorsti-power, aiul tliu average speen oJ Llic ship, with a pressure in the boilers of Lißlb, was lf>-8 knots an hour.. The following figures from the official record of the four hours’ full-power loreed draught trial show that the ship made an excellent performance Draught of water, forward 2;Jt fain, aft 26ft 2Ain; speed of ship, 18'4 knots an uoul , steam pressure in boilers, 1501 b per square inch; mean indicated liorse-power, 12,175. The 30 hours continuous steaming test showed that the consumption of coal was l’sllb per indicated horse-power P< The°dredge Tirnaru has arrived at Port Chalmers from Tirnaru, and after landing part of her machinery, she steamed into the gtaving dock foi cleaning and painting. , The barque Estrella, now at the Bluff, has been fixed to load oats at that place for Sydney, thence to the Friendly Islands to load copra for Europe. The Otago Harbour Board notifies that on and after May fatli, 1837, a plain white light elevated 16ft above high-water level will he exhibited from dusk to daylight on a black triangular beacon oil Deborah Bay, erected in 1816 at low water. As something had gone wrong with the lirs.-.v-i s propeller, the steamer was decked at -Lyttelton to enable an examination to be made, i.epv.us ..-to expected to be finished yesterday. The ketch Rosetta, a fishing smac.t o. i-, tons register, which has just been pnrcuia.seo ,y Messrs It. Warnes and Co., ol Ghristcnureh, lor use in connection with their fish business, arrived at Lyttelton on Tuesday night. She left Katpara m company with the brigantine bArs.ts. lirth (which reached Lyttelton on Monday), and was brought down by Captain Johnston, formerly of tbe schooner Marmion,

The Dunedin-owned barque Onyx has been chartered to load two cargoes of Malden Island guano for New Zealand ports. The scow Rata, from Auckland via Napier, was sighted off the Heads on Saturday morning, and in the afternoon she sailed into port, dropping anchor in the harbour at 3.45. Particulars of how the vessel was forced to make for Napier for shelter, and how she went ashore on the Petane beach and was eventually successfully refloated and repaired, have already been published in the New Zealand Times. After leaving Napier on Tuesday there was no wind for several days, and it was not until Thursday that the Rata rounded the Kidnappers. However, the vessel at last reached her destination safely. Captain T. Richards, of the brigantine Mabel, who has purchased the barque Dilpussund, now at Lyttelton, intends to employ her in the intercolonial trade. The barque sails for the Kaipara shortly to load timber for Fiji. The Wanganui river and bar being in a good condition, loading operations at the Indramayo, which was anchored in the roadstead, were greatly facilitated, and the big steamer was able to leave for the Bluff on Saturday. The Huia, which was acting as tender, ran the cargo out very smartly, the total amount put on board the Tyser liner being as follows :—7402 carcases mutton, 2CO carcases lamb, 74 crates shoulders-mutton, 9000 legs mutton, Ifal bales wool, 115 casks tallow, 25 casks pelts, 200 hags kidneys, 161 bales wool. The Huia returned to Wellington from Wanganui at 12.15 p.rn. yesterday. The Shaw, Savill and Albion Company’s cargo steamer Maraari left Lyttelton for London on Sunday morning. , , ... it is considered very likely that the vessels of the new Japanese steamship company, Toyo Kisen Kaisha, may alternate between San Francisco and the Orient. The older Japanese company, Nippon Yusen Kaisha, is now operating a line between the Orient and Seattle, Washington, in connection witn the Great Northern Railway, and will scon put on an increased number of freight steamships. . With the arrival of the American clipper-ship h>. T. Oakes at New York recently, there is an interesting incident connected. She had a most unfortunate vovage, Out 259 days on a voyage from Hong Kong to Now York, most of the time in the region of storms, with six men of the crew sickening to thendeath in the forecastle, and the captain almost a physical wreck from over-work and hardships, Mrs Reed, the captain’s wife, nursed the sick men, took her turn at the wheel, helped bury the dead, ami when the vessel was taken in tow by the tug Ivashek, she was the only “man” on board. This was not her first appearance as a heroine. Ten years ago, when a. crew mutinied! in the South Seas, sne held the mutineers at bay with a pistol, and saved the life of her husband. The steamer Bellinger, which was purchased the other day by the Northern Steamship Company, proved livrself to be a splendid seaboat duiing the trying experience she had on her voyage from Hobart to Auckland. The Bellinger was formerly employed as an “ opposition ” boat in the Whangarci-Auckland running some eight years ago, being afterwards sold to a Tasmanian firm. Since she was last in Auckland the internal littings of the vessel have been greatly improved, and she should prove a thoroughly serviceable boat. J 1.0 main saloon, which is aft, has state-rooms on either side, and at the tables 26 persons can be seated at a time. The gentlemen’s cabin amidships on the starboard side has comfortable berths for eight passengers, together with a sofa-bed, and similar accommodation is provided for ladies on the port side. The officers’ cabins are on deck aft. In the steerage, which is forward, 14 passengers can bo accommodated. Captain W. Farquliar brought the steamer across, with Mr Blaeklock as chief officer, Mr W. Laird, chief engineer ; Mr George Chappell, second ; and Mr Woodside as chief steward. News from Sydney by the Hauroto shows that the steel ship Addovley, which recently was driven on Brockton beach and loft high and dry, ’s bc--licvcd tc be uninjured. The vessel, which is' insured in English offices represented by_ Lloyu s agent in Newcastle, was visited by Captain j. .-.1. Banks, the marine surveyor. Captain Banks was able to walk aboard the stranded ship at low woter, and lie spent two or three hours on hoard. He states that the Adderley can bo floated, and it would pav a syndicate well to Set her dftV Captain Banks feels confident that on the no cure no pay prnfeipio the. Adderiey can he delivered in .Bydney not much the worse for her accident; p-, -