BATTLE WITH ICE SAILORS' TERRIBLE ORDEAL

Otago Daily Times, Issue 22672, 10 September 1935, Page 10

BATTLE WITH ICE

SAILORS' TERRIBLE ORDEAL

The ship crushed by ice, 22 feet of water in the hold, and the pumps failing to work, the captain collapsing with cold. . . . These were some of the experiences of thirty British seamen on board the tramp steamer Tower Bridge in their battle with death among icebergs, told by members of the crew on the ship's arrival at Halifax recently. The Tower Bridge was on her way to Montreal when she was holed by ice. " How we ever reached port I do not know," said Mr S. A. Bromage, the chief officer, in an interview. "We left Blyth in ballast for St. John's. A few days out we ran into a gaMe, which increased in force until it became a hurricane. Shipping was disorganised and several vessels went down. We survived the storm, and then we encountered ice. " The ice got thicker and thicker, and began to press in the plates against .the frames inside, causing deep corrugation. The cold was intense. " The captain collapsed, and for days he lingered between life and death. Eventuallv the holds gave in, and water poured through to the second hold. "The men sent out an 5.0.5., and an ice patrol ship 300 miles away replied that the liner Newfoundland was 30 miles away. I took charge of a party of mfen, and we went down into the hold to repair the suction pipee by putting cement boxes around them," said Mr Bromage. "All night we worked in swirling water while the ship rolled and ground .among the iceflow3. Eventually we stopped the inflow of water and wirelessed the Newfoundland that we were all right. " Finally, 60 hours after entering the icefield, we got into clear water again. For five more days we limped through high seas and fog until we reached Halifax."