S.O.S. MESSAGES.

Otago Witness, Issue 3613, 12 June 1923, Page 32

S.O.S. MESSAGES.

A STEAMER SINKING. ST GUY BY WIRELESS. INDIAN OCEAN DISASTER. VAGUE DETAILS. WELLINGTON, June 4. The General Post Office has received a message from the radio station at Awarua stating:—-S.O.S. calls were received from the steamer Trevessa at 7.36 a.m. in latitude 28deg 45min south, longitude 85deg 42min east. The messages stated Trevessa going down, and asking for help immediately. Tregenna is going to her assistance, but is 400 miles away. At 8.3 a message from Trevessa stated settling down ; going t-o boats. At 8.6 the Trevessa was still calling the 5.0.,5., but the signals faded with daylight. At 7.28 a.m. a message was received from Naldera instructing all stations to cease transmitting. At 7.32 a.m. Perth received messages from Boonali and Gilgai, which said that they heard an S.O.S. from the Trevessa, At 7.36 a.m. S.O.S. was received from the Trevessa, At 7.37 all stations received advice that Perth had got the S.O.S. from Trevessa. in latitude 28.45

At 7.36 a.m. S.O.S. was received from the Trevessa, At 7.37 all stations received advice that Perth had got t-ne S.O.S. from Trevessa, in latitude 28.45 south, longitude 85.42.

At 7.49 Borda asked the Trevessa “W T hat is wrong?” Borda also received a message from Naldera saying: “You are not near that S.O.S.’" At 7.58 an S.O.S. was received from the Trevessa: “I am Trevessa; going down; come quick.” At 7.59 the Trevessa was informed oy the Tregenna: “ I am making for you; I am distant from you 400 miles.” At 7.59 all stations received a message from the Trevessa: “ Your signals are weak.” She repeated her position. At 8 a.m. the Trevessa received a message from the (Tregenna: “Sorry you faded.” At 8.3 the Trevessa sent: “Settling down; going to boats.” At 8.5 the Tregenna sent: “I am distant from him 400 miles, and am making for him.” CREW TAKE TO THE BOATS. FREMANTLE, June o. The Trevessa, which foundered in the Indian Ocean, was formerly Germanowned. She was purchased by the Hain Steamship Company, and left Port Pirie South Australia, on May 15 for the United Kingdom, with a full cargo of concentrates shipped by the Broken Hill Company. It is understood that the steamer carried a crew of 43 all told, consisting of 31 Britishers and 12 coloured firemen. The position at the time of foundering was estimated as over 2000 miles from Fremantle, on a direct trade route to Perim (an island at the entrance to the Red Sea). The latest report states that the crew have taken to the boats. The latest news of the Treveesa is that the crew took to the boats at 4.30 a.m. The Tregenna is expected to arrive on the scene to-morrow. The steamer Runic received an S.O.S. call, and was proceeding to the rescue when she learned that the Tregenna was on the same errand. The Runic turned back to- await further news as to the plight of the crew.

PROBABLY DUE TO NATURE OF CARGO. SYDNEY, June 6. It is now stated that the Trevessa carried 6000 tons of zinc concentrates, which were shipped by the Zinc Producers’ Corporation The supposition is that the steamer met with heavy weather, and, owing to the nature of the cargo, she was unable to rise quickly enough to keep her head on to the seas, and that this may have strained or smashed part of her forward decks, thus admitting quantities of water in the forward hatches. This agrees with the report that she was sinking by the head. No further news has been received of the Trevessa. SEARCH TOR THE CREW. SYDNEY, June 7. Three vessels are searching for the crew of the Trevessa, Each is zig-zagging across the routes in the vicinity of the wreck. It is believed that strong seas have carried the boats away. LIFEBOAT DISCOVERED BOTTOM UPWARDS. SYDNEY, June 7. A wireless message has been received from the steamer Moreton Bay stating that while the Trevean and the Tregenna were cruising in the vicinity of the place where the Trevessa foundered they discovered the ship’s lifeboat, bottom upwards. The vessel’s position is apparently somewhere in the Indian Ocean, midway oetween Fremantle and Capetown. The Trevessa is a steel vessel of 3566 tons gross, and was built by J. Readhead and Sons (Ltd.), at South Shields, in 1899, for the Hain Steam Ship Company (Ltd.), of St. Ives. Her principal dimensions are: Length 341 ft, breadth 46ft 7in, and depth 26ft. The Trevessa loaded at Port Pirie towards the end of April, and sailed some time in May for the United Kingdom. The Tregenna is also a steel vessel, and is owned by the same firm. She loaded at Port Pirie, and sailed recently for the United Kingdom.