COLLISION AT SEA

Otago Daily Times, Issue 24491, 27 December 1940, Page 4

COLLISION AT SEA

A " BLAQK-OUT " ACCIDENT FREIGHTER HOLED AND SUNK NEW ZEALANDER INJURED (From Our Own Correspondent) SYDNEY, Dec. 19. The interstate . freighter Cardross (1896 tons) sank at 7 a.m. on Sunday after a collision .with the Sydney freighter Fiona (2198 tons) near Sydney Heads at 3 a.m. All hands. on the Cardross were rescued, only one of the complement of 29 being seriously injured. He was the fourth engineer. Mr G. Isherwood. a New Zealander. He is in a Sydney hospital suffering from a fractured leg. severe abrasions, and shock. ■ \ • .. . The vessels met with a terrific impact about 20 miles south of the heads. The bows of the Fiona bit deep into the Cardross amidships, almost cutting her in half. Many of the crew of the Fiona suffered cuts and bruises when the collision flung them from their bunks. . A remarkable salvage feat was accomplished by Captain G. Murdock and the crew of the Fiona in getting their leaking ship to port Only skilful handling prevented the .Fiona's strained collision- bulkhead from collapsing. The forepeak of the Fiona was holed, and the stem.of the vessel was forced back 15 feet by the force of the crash. Slow Tow to Port Moving slowly under her own power, she barely had steerage Way approaching the heads, where two tugs took her in charge. The dead-slow return trip from the scene of the collision to a Sydney wharf.took more than six hours. Rivets in plates for 20 feet along the bow of the Fiona were snapped out. and water spouted through the holes. The Fiona presented an extraordinary appearance as she went up the harbour. The stem was. cleanly undercut for about 15 feet, six feet below deck level. Underneath this overhanging portion the plates of the bow were wrapped backwards as if the heavy steel were tinfoil. Both ships were " blacked out" when the collision occurred. According to members of the Cardross's crew, there was little sea running, and the night was fine. The stem of the Fiona, they said, struck the Cardro'ss amidships and cut a huge hole in her plates near the engine room. It sheared through the plates between the cabins of the third and fourth engineers, missing the boiler by about 10 feet. The ship's dynamo received a terrific blow. The Fiona's stem burst into Mr Isherwood's cabin, where he was asleep, and threw Mr Isherwood' violently to the floor. He was rescued from a tangled mass of twisted steel by other members of the crew. Considerable damage was caused to the Cardross by the Fiona's port anchor, which was torn from its hawse-hole and was left in the hull of the Cardross when the vessel wenl down. E. Waketell, who was on duty in the engine room of the Cardross. said the engine room started to fill quickly with water, which poured in rapidly through a hole in the plates. "We made about three feet of water in a few minutes. The.water was splashing in my face when I started to climb the ladder," he said. "It was a miracle to me that the stem of the Fiona did not touch the boiler. In that case there would have been an explosion, and we would not have got out of the stokehold alive. As I was staggering up the ladder I remembered that I had left my tobacco behind, so I went back to recover it. Smokes might have been rather scarce if we had been forced to take to the boats. I had to grope round in the dark for my tobacco, as the whole ship was in pitch darkness." R. J. Rowlands, a seaman on the Fiona, who was sleeping in the forecastle, was a few feet above that part of the Fiona's bows which suffered most in the collision, but slept soundly through the noise of the first impact Settled Down by Stern The tug Heros. which was one of the first vessels to arrive on the scene in response to distress signals, got a line on board the Cardross and attempted to tow her. The Cardross was then settling down by the stern. As the Heros took up the strain the hawser parted. The after bulkhead appeared to give way, and as the bow of the Cardross lifted out of the water orders were given to abandon ship. The crew got away a few minutes before the Cardross disappeared.' The starboard lifeboat of the Cardross was crushed in the collision, and the crew, who stood by their ship until it was apparent that there was no hope of saving her. had only one boat in which to make their way to safety after the tug Heros lost her tow. Mr Isherwood, who was suffering great pain, was taken over first and slung up the side of the Fiona. The rest of the crew of the Cardross transferred to the Heros. The Cardross had 3000 tons of cargo, all of which went down with her.