THE STRANDED WHALER.

Otago Witness, Issue 3861, 13 March 1928, Page 59

THE STRANDED WHALER.

HOLES IN HULL PATCHED. SUCCESSFULLY REFLOATED. INVERCARGILL, March 8. The C. A. Larsen was successfully floated to-day and moored in a perfectly safe position in South-west Bay. WORK PROCEEDING STEADILY. HALF MOON BAY, March (5. The salvage work on the stranded whaler, C. A. Larsen, in Paterson’s Inlet, is going ahead slowly but surely. A visit to the ship is of outstanding interest Work starts at daylight, but it actually never stops. Powerful pumps, driven by the vessel’s own steam, are working continuously. A huge volume of water and oil is beiug discharged. The Star chasers and small tow boats are here, there, and everywhere. First comes a small launch crowded with Stewart Islanders, who are doing valuable salvage work. Next comes a Star boat from Bluff with more officials and more gea”. Then comes the tug Southland. She unloads stores and takes away 100 of the crew, who are being sent to Norway. Pleasure craft carrying sightseers slowly steam round the ship. No visitors are allowed on board, and the craft keep well away. . On one side of the ship a squad of Stewart Islanders are working the diving pumps. Nearby two divers are going down and coming up all day long. They are stringing huge beams across the holes ready for more delicate patching. On deck everyone is busily employed. Carpenters, riggers, shipwrights, plumbers, in fact representatives of every trade are all there—men from one end of New Zealand to the other, and still more are coming daily. Norwegians and New Zealanders are working together with the utmost harmony. There is no hitch of any description. Everyone is too busy. Inside the ship one sees divers descending into the dark oily depths of the flooded pump room. The pump room is ready to be emptied. It has been patched up inside and out. Soon the ship’s own pumps will be in action. What are the prospects of refloating the ship?” one may ask. Who can say? But if energy, enthusiasm, and faithful work count for anything, then the C. A. Larsen will soon be on her way to a dry dock for permanent repairs.

TO BE DOCKED AT PORT CHALMERS. _ ARRANGEMENTS COMPLETED. A start has now been made by thb Harbour Board on the blowing-out of tho heavy concrete wall at the head of the Otago Dock, and the alterations will be pushed through as quickly as possible. The proposal is to e. tend the length of the dock by about 25ft or 30ft. It is expected that the whole work will be completed within the next three weeks. Final arrangements have been completed between the board .mil representatives of the C. A. Larsen for the docking of the vessel at Port Chalmers, and it is hoped that it will take place within the next three weeks. The board does not, of course, hope to be recouped to anything like the amount of the cost of its outlay, as the actual expenditure on the repairs will run into many thousands. The board, however, will have a dock of a sufficient length to accommodate all the vessels trading to New Zealand.