STEAMERS IN COLLISION.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XXXIX, Issue 12739, 17 April 1912, Page 5

STEAMERS IN COLLISION.

286 PASSENGERS ON BOARD-!; 1

LONDON, March 8. The cross-channel maw packet Le Nord, with 286? passengers fri-mf Calais, was m collision with the' steamer Lockwood (1,143 tons), Penarth to Rotterdam i with coal, about three miles off Hover last Friday afternotoh* ' -The mail steamer was struck m front of the -gprt paddle-box, the Lockwood cutting her decking ahont 6ft. or Bft. Tlie Loekwood's steni was smashed, and bflth vessels \Vere making water, but no #ne Wasinjlired. 'Signals for assistance -v^ffre sent up. Tugs and motor-boats wjire [sent out' from Dover, and the vesspls were towed 1 -ihtto the 'harbor, each Jjpw down at the, head. Le Nord had waiter m, her foreholcj, ;and ,the tug assisted, m "pumping /operations, ,^'he following .'jftre extracts frohi" a /letter., sent to his jfion , by a -well^ihown Liverpool sMpow-ji'er, who wa* oh* board the Erench mail boat Le Nord when . the collision took ptyfie : — "We had a very narrow escape, ahd before thp investigation,. I do not -jare to sa.y M-liicli captain was m the wrong. Thp collision should, never .h^ye, i^ppeped. It was about % , p'clock „m : jfhe afternoon ; fine, clear 1 Weather*, butV a choppy, sea, and a fresh breeze. There were nvy vesels; about. :The Lockvrood was il\ sight, ful}s, ten minutjes beforethe collision. To me it s,eeme'd a, case,/' of neither captain. ; \vishing to give a\yay and thp Lqckwoqd trying to cross our bows. Had she struck ns a . few 'feet further aft her bow would have gone .right into-- the. engine/ room and -the ship would have gone down like a stone, with 300 passengers and »&. full^ctew- 'on board. I fear very few would have been saved. >I attribute tlie want of prompt help from the Dover to the fact that the vessel was riot supplied with wireless telegraphy/ ahd -was only able to hoist two small signals of distress on the foremast. When we got into the harbor we had 9ft. of water m the' forehold, and if t/he' collision had been a few miles further off we should have fared very badly. I am told by the ladies, who were m the saloon that the stewardess beha-ved remarkably well, and , asked everyone there to remain quiet till they saw what was wrong, which they all did. In fact, it was a pleasing feature 'to see the absence of any panic or excitement among tho passenger!. ,"