THE PAPAROA ON FIRE

New Zealand Times, Volume XXX, Issue 6704, 30 December 1908, Page 6

THE PAPAROA ON FIRE

EEPOUTED FKOM ST. VINCENT. Cablo advice has been received by the Now Zealand Shipping Company that tho steamer Paparoa, which left Wellington on November 20th for London, has put into St. Vincent on lire. The message statea that tho outbreak had occurred in tho bunkers, and had spread into No. 3 hold, which was adjacent. Tho No. 3 hold had been flooded, in tho. lower hold is stowed about 30,000 boxes of butter (the bulk of the vessel's butter shipment), and id tho Tween docks there is stowed 6500 crates of cheese out of about 10,000. the total quantity aboard. The total cargo comprises:—From Auckland—l9o bales wool, 13,291 boxes butter, 373 crates cheese, From Oamarvi—26 bales wool, 42 bales sheepskins, 1 -package general. From lUufi—9 bales wool, 2GGB crates cheese, -13 bales sheepskins, 13,035 carcases mutton, 195 carcases lamb, 283 crates rabbits, 17 bales rabbitskins, 52 bales fibre, 114 casks' tallow, 75 sacks fescue, 256 bales tow, 34 casks pelts, 10 casks -intestines. From Port Chalmers —70 bales wool, 392 bales sheepskins, 711 crates cheese, 7 packages sundries, 561 carcases mutton, 605 crates rabbits, 113 bales rabbitskins. 75 casks tallow, 33 sacks fescue. From Timaru—4B7 bales wool, 121 bales sheepskins, 3 packages sundries, 5009 carcases muttop, 939 carcases lamb, 93 casks tallow, 52 casks pelts, 1000 sacks oats, 92 boxes kidneys. From Lyttelton—7s3 bales wool, 204 bales sheepskins, 1700 boxes butter, 144 crates cheese, 17 packages sundries, 200 carcases mutton, 109 carcases lamb, 116 casks tallow, 67 casks pelts, 77 bales leather ami basils, 50 boxes tongues, 1780 bags gnFss seed. From Wellington—--25,455 boxes butter, 4833 crates cheese, 3931 bales wool, _ 231 bales sheepskins, 31 packages sundries, 46 halos basils. 24 bales leather, 11 carcases lamb. The estimated value of the dairy produce wan *£lßl.ooo. It is considered that the outbreak of fire in the ship's bunkers is not due to New Zealand coal, as it is estimated that her bunkers contained only t\vc or threo hundred tons of coal w:hen she arrived at Monte Video, ■where the supplies were replenished with English coal. Tho Paparoa was bunkered solely by the Blackball Company at Wellington, and between October 29th and November 19th she shipped about 2028 tons of coal at this port. Allowing for the consumption of coal whilst engaged in loading in Now’ Zealand and during her passage to Monte Video, little coal, ns stated before, remained in her bunkers. Luring the past fifteen years there hns not been one known case of Blackball coal firing by spontaneous combustion.