STEAMER HUNTINGDON

Otago Daily Times, Issue 21668, 11 June 1932, Page 13

STEAMER HUNTINGDON

OFFICIAL SURVEY OF DAMAGE MANY PLATES BADLY BUCKLED. (Per United Press Association.) WELLINGTON, June 10. ■ A survey of the Huntingdon was commenced to-day. No 'official summary of the damage was available to-night, though it appears to be fairly extensive. Forward, where the bow begins to broaden, the whole of the bottom of the ship has been buckled upwards or inwards for from 20ft to 30ft. Over this area the bottom is inches clear of the keel blocks in the dock, instead of resting on them. This setting up of the plates is continued for a short way up the sides of the ship, more particularly on the stargoard side, where many of the rivets have been sprung or loosened. Water is still trickling out of the ship aft on the port side, roughly under the after Samson posts. A number of plates are badly buckled and several continuous Streams of water indicate that here the damage is also fairly severe. It is not yet known how long the Huntingdon will remain in dock. This will depend upon whether temporary or permanent repairs are effected in Wellington. The Federal Company’s cargo steamer Huntingdon was placed on the floating dock at Wellington to enable an inspection to be made of the damage to her hull and to estimate the work neecssary to effect repairs. The Huntingdon arrived at Wellington on June i leaking forward as a result of the heavy pounding which she received in a when approaching New Zealand. The Jubilee Dock was prepared on Thursday for the big lift. In hull measurement the Huntingdon is considerably larger than the New Zealand Shipping Company’s liner Ruahinc, which was used in the olheial trial. The Huntingdon’s measurements, with those of the Ruahinc in parentheses, are as follows: —Length, 520.7 feet (480.6 feet); breadth, G 4.2 feet (G 0.3 feet); depth, 38.1 feet (32.1 feet); gross tonnage, 10,751 (10,870).