A “SICK” LINER

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXVI, Issue 8171, 12 July 1912, Page 8

A “SICK” LINER

STAR OF CANADA STILL PLOUGHING INTO THE PAPA ROCKS. JETTISONING THE GRAIN. PEESS ASSOCIATION. GISBORNE, July 11. Attempts that are being made to refloat the Star of Canada off the rocks on Haiti beach are largely dependent on the weather, and it is hoped that the heavy southerly seas today running at Capo Campbell and Cape Palliser will not reach Gisborne. It is now nearly three weeks since the liner went ashore, and as she lies at present she presents a sorry sight, or as an official remarked to-day, “She looks very sick.” The steamer continues .to plough into the papa rock at the bows, and her head is now submerged at low tide, whilst at the stern sho is only about nine feet nine inches deep, the water having lifted it over two feet since last Saturday. Good progress is being made with tho discharging of grain from No. 3 hold. The pumping venture was not altogether successful, so the work is now being carried out with manual labor. A fairly strong smell is arising from the hold consequent upon the stirring of the grain, which nas been soaked with water and has commenced to ferment. The ’tween deck space has been pretty well cleared out. One of the large centrifugal pumps is being kept going to cope with the water as the cargo of grain is reduced, and the one pump is fulfilling the purpose successfully. There is the danger of the pump becoming blocked, but to keep the intake clear divers Lloyd and Smith are at work. The loose grain is‘being slung to the top deck - in baskets, and deposited overboard, whilst the unbroken sacks are likewise landed on the deck, where men are waiting to slit the bags with knives and then jettison their contents. Diver F. W. Walters arrived by the Victoria last night, and made a descent this afternoon. Diver Walters was employed on the Kaipara when she struck the uncharted rock at Auckland last year.