A NEW STEAMER FOR THE NEW ZEALAND TRADE.

Otago Witness, Issue 1851, 17 August 1893, Page 36

A NEW STEAMER FOR THE NEW ZEALAND TRADE.

Messrs Harland and Wolff, of Belfast, on June 29, launched a large twin-screw steamer, named the Gothic, the latest addition to the fleet of the White Star Bteamers. The dimensions are:— Length, 490 f t; breadth, B3ft ; and depth of hold, 37ft Gin ; the gross tonnage being about 7500 Although it is probable that the Gothic may make a few voyages in the New York service, it is intended that she shall ultimately take her place with her predecessors— the lonic, Doric, and Coptic, and the steamers of the Shaw, Savill, and Albion Company, the Arawa and Tainui— in the New Zealand trade, sailing from Plymouth each month, and calling at Teneriffe, Capetown, and, Hobart outwards, and Rio de Janeiro and Tene-' riffe homewards. Elaborate accommodation of the highest class, similar in character to that in the Teutonic and Majestic, has been arranged for 104 saloon passengers amidships. In the quarterdeck aft accommodation will be provided for 114 steerage passengers. The Gothic will be the largest steemer, as well as the largest carrier, in the Australian and New Zealand trades, and will have an insulated capacity for some 75,000 carcases of sheep.

During the week ended 13th August, 13 vessels with a total of 7568 "tons register arrived at the Dunedin wharves, and nine vessels with a total of 6278 tons left them. The Shaw, Savlll, and Albion Company's ship Oamaru was towed to sea on Saturday afternoon, and sailed for Wellington, at which, port she loads for London. We wish Captain Thomas eveiy success with the good ship on her passage Home. The s.s. Duke of Devonshire finished discharging the Dunedin portion of her cargo on Saturday forenoon, and sailed in the afternoon for Lyttelton, During the past five year 320 large ships carrycoal from New South Wales to the other side of the Pacific have been^iost. Of these nine were wrecked, one foundered, one was burnt, and nine have the ominous word " missing" placed against their names.

A steel sailing barque, the Almora, of 3150 tons register, was launched on June 6 from the yards of Messrs W. Hamilton and Co., at Port Glasgow. Her owners are Messrs W. and J. Crawford, of Greenock. At present tha fastest cruiser in the world is owned by the Argentine Government, having been built tor them by Sir W. Armstrong, Mitchell, and Co., of Newcastle. She is named the De Julio, and has a displacement of 3500 tons.' She steams 22 knots with natural and 22J with forced draughts. The project of making Brussels a seaport continues to make progress. The latest step in connection with the scheme is an important one, the Belgian Government having decided how f*r it is prepared to support the project. In the first place it proposes to contribute 4,000,000f & fonds perdu; and it is willing, further, to t(ike over shares of the company which is to be formed to th > value of 6,u00,000f, and to guarantee the obligations of. the concern. For this purpose tho Government will bring in a bill seeking powers to establish a company on a similar basis to that of the Brussels District Railway Company. Naturally the people of Antwerp do not view the scheme with favour. The following is an extract from a letter from Captain Rich, the master of the Brier Holme,* which arrived at Ealmouth from Adelaide on June 24 :— " When in lat. 49 S., and long. 51 W., we got nearly surrounded with icebergs. Some of them were of enormous size, I consider from two to three miles long, and from 500 ft to 1000 ft high, and owing to the snow and sleet Rqualls, < which made the nights very dark, I had to lay my vessel to on the nights of April 18 and 19. On the last-named date by steering N. true we got clear, and proceeded on our voyage without seeing any more ice. Am pleased to say we met with no damage."

Ship 3* boats are a necessity that is expensive and annoying. It is impossible to do without them, it is deemed that they shall be in efficient condition at all times, and in most cases, on long voyages and on steamships, it is almost impossible to keep them always in shape for instant use. The chief trouble is that generally ships' boats are made of wood, and it will at once be seen how difficult it is to keep them tight and seaworthy after they are placed in position for the voyage. How to replace this expensive and really inefficient part ot life-saving appliances which a ship must carry by something that can be depended upon has long been a puzzle. The small wood boat has until lately been the only thing, all things considered, that was found available. Lately a seamless steel boat has been invented that appears to serve the purpose much better than the wood boat.' The first cost may he greater, but in the end the steel boat appears to be the most economical. At least it is worth trial- by shipmasters, as something that promises tn'.be at all times ready for use. — New York Maritime Register. Gable news was received some time since of a distressing accident on board the New Zealand Shipping Company's clipper ship_ Waimea. Further particulars are to hand :— TEe -barque was on a voyage from Wellington to JBoston with a cargo of flax. A letter received from tho chief officer states that the explosion took" place on 26th April, in lat. 45 S., long, f0 W. The steward and a boy named Clements went down into the lazaretto with a light, arid by some means the rockets, which were stored there, were set alight, and the flames spread to the powder magazine, which contained about 251b -of powder." The result of the explosion was that the poop .deck was blown up and the cabin demolished. The lad Clements was blown clean away by the foj-ge of the explosion, and vas never. sesn again. Captain M. Reston was sitting writing at the cabin table at the time, and hearing the .rockets explode, called down to the boy to smofjher them, when the magazine exploded, and he was hurled, through the cabin, receiving considerable injuryto his head, face, and hands, besuTes having all his hair scorched. He suffered terribly, and was blind for over a week. A seaman named Wilson lud his thigh dislocated and his ribs broken, and at the time the letter was written .was in a dangerous condition. The man at the Wheel had a narrow escape, as he was knocked away from the wheel, and had his hair scorched. The wheel was broken, and the officers' cabins completely wrecked.