Marine Tattle

Sun (Auckland), Volume 1, Issue 32, 30 April 1927, Page 2

Marine Tattle

NEW DUTCH SHIPS.— Two new steamers have been ordered by the Royal Packet Navigation Company (Dutch) for their Sydney-Batavia-Singapore service now served by the Houtman, Tasman and Roggeveen, reports “The Harbour.” Harking back to a past century when Dutch navigators sailed these seas long before Captain Cook, the Royal Packet Navigation Company has named its new vessels the Nieuw Holland and the Nieuw Zeeland respectively. The names must have a pathetic sound in a Dutchman’s ears, for if the Netherlands Government had shown more enterprise and had seized the opportunity offered to them by Abel Janszoon Tasman’s discovery, Australia might have been a Dutch possession to-day—and also New Zealand. Australia was named New Holland on the chart that Captain Cook had on board the Endeavour when he entered Botany Bay. The name will be poignantly recalled when it appears on the bow of the new steamer which is being built for the Royal Packet Navigation Company by the Netherland Shipbuilding Company, Amsterdam. Her sister ship, the Nieuw Zeeland, is being built by the Rotterdam Dry Dock Company.

FERRY MISHAP INQUIRY.—The recent collision between the Sydney Ferries’ steamer Kosciusko, and the Port Jackson and Manly Company’s steamer Baragoola, has been inquired into by Judge Scholes sitting in the Marine Court, which held that it was caused through the neglect of Captain Hayes in not observing the rules, and called upon him to show cause why his certificate should not be suspended, or otherwise dealt with. Captain Hayes said that he had been in the employ of the Sydney Ferries for 17 years, and had been a ferry captain for two and a half years. He held a clean record. In delivering judgment, Judge Scholes said the Court was of opinion that the failure of the captain of the Kosciusko was not an error of judgment, but one of negligence and faulty navigation. The Court expressed its condemnation of the action of Captain Hayes in leaving his post immediately after the collision to inspect the damage, instead of sending a deck-hand for the purpose, and remaining at his post. The engineer of the Kosciusko, who also left his post and went for'ard, should not have done so. The vessel, added his Honour, was left adrift, practically in mid-channel, at night, without control. and with passengers on board. Deckhands should always be kept within easy call of the master. HIGH SALVAGE REMUNERATION.—Fifty pounds a minute was the rate of salvage remuneration awarded by Mr. Justice Bateson, in the Admiralty Court, to Middlesbrough tugs for the salvage of the Atsuta Maru from her dockside peril when a fire was raging in the sheds of a Middlesbrough dock on the night of March 23. last year, reports “The Harbour.” Mr.’Justice Bateson gave the owners, master and crew of the tug Cleveland £450 for rather more than ten minutes’ work, and £SO to Harry Page and Joseph Harrison, tugmen, of the same port. The Cleveland is of 172 tons gross and 120 feet in length and 20 feet 6 inches in beam, valued at about £5,000. The Atsuta Maru is of 7,978 tons gross, and her value is £50,000, the value of her cargo at the time of the service being £B,OOO. At 9.45 p.m. the fire broke out in the transit shed of the L.N.E.R., and burned very rapidly. The Atsuta Maru was lying at No. 9 quay, alongside the blazing warehouse. The Cleveland, with her steam up, was at No. 11 quay, and, seeing foe danger of the defendants’ vessel, went to her assistance; the two other plaintiffs maned the tug N.E.R. No. 3 lying by and gave other assistance, with the result that the vessel was towed to another berth in safety. The defendants’ case was that the ship was not in any danger, and the tugs were never in an^risk.

RIVER GUNBOATS— ~~ row and Co. have recenr'w-i srs - Yarof the tour lieht!drauk t nChedt »- which they have on hand L ish Admiralty. The hc Attended for service in the **• *** lo ' mainly for river navigation =, ?»«. consequence their draught A.?" 4 !h 3 to 4ft. Previously Messrs n v fr ° Cl completed the destroyer a'v iarr '».- the first war vessel to be b^l? Uscadf wan 6 SmCe thC ter tnination «* {£ MOTOR-SHIP NIMBIN vU»\vn on the Richmon 1 ’ Ri^ lmb ln. * South Wales, is the n™,. "' -A* tlte board of directors Tor th!, 01 ? 1 b ' Coast S.X. company's new mot * No h« now in course of construction s Si ! ’' , Srl - 1S belnß built bv Bu— , Ti ' and Warn, at Copenhagen and expected to he ready for i. 4 " e next month. The new vessel wml hi °S 1,000 tons capacity. ** <* mont will be of the latest vessels of the class. Tim xnSS fl » intended for the Clarence .n ‘? b A n *» mond Rivers trade. and Rich. ADVICE BY WIRELESS.-Thewn, of wireless at sea was again luZS* on a recent voyage of the Aoran Vancouver to Auckland. While.. ing across the Pacifle, Cat,tain o ford, master of the Aorangi a wireless message from the ‘ steamer West Islip. The the latter vessel reported thaf'one the crew had dislocated his shneia “ and asked for instructions how me 4 "' with the case. Dr. A. E. Shaw °f S Aorangi sent the desired Informal and a later message from the w^ - Islfp stated that the seaman was INCREASE OF OIL-BURNERc A great change has taken place in ,T relative use of coal and oil 7ue? , ' boilers. In 1914 the tonnage of steamers fitted for oil fuel was 1 Jinn,! tons, whilst the 1926 figures a! fewer than 18,250,000 tons % months ago there were over six mini™ tons of Shipping laid up in the wort including four million tons of VmtXi States ships. At the end of Semen, ber—the latest figures available-u 1 British vessels laid up in Great Brits . and Ireland amounted to slightlv i... than 650,000 tons gross. IQ * NEW MOTOR SHIPS Cantata Christen Smith, of Oslo, has contracted wntli Sir W. G. Armstrong, Whitworth and Co., Newcastle, for the construetion of two motor vessels of abo* ♦ 7,300 tons each, to be fitted with Sulxer engines of 1,350 h.p. The vessels have been specially designed for locomotive transport, and will be fitted with electric cranes of 100 tons and 30 tons capacity. NEW STEAMER ALCANTARA.— The largest ship launched in Great Britain and Ireland during 1926 was the Alcantara, of 22,150 tons gross whereas France floated the lie de France, of 43,500 tons, and Italy the Roma, of 32,583 tons, Augustus, of 33,000 tons, and Vulcania, of 23,700 tons, states “Fairplay.” In Great Britain and Ireland motor-ships amounted to 31.86 per cent, of the mechanicallypropelled tonnage launched in 1926 the corresponding figure for countries other than Great Britain and Ireland was 50.4 per cent. On these figures Great Britain is, obviously, not much leading at the moment COASTAL MOTOR-SHIP. a motor-ship, the Minnipa, has been built to the order of the Adelaide Steamship Company, Ltd., and is designed for coasting service in Australian waters. She is the latest vessel to be launched at Copenhagen by Messrs. Burmeister and Wain, and, incidentally, is another addition to the long list of motor-ships fitted with B. and W. Diesel engines. It is to be noted that the number of vessels in which this type of engine has been installed has now reached SI. with a gross tonnage of 1,548,487 and i.h.p. of 932,063. '’’he Minnipa has n length of 252 ft 3in, breadth 39ft 9in, and depth 24ft 3in. Her one main Diesel engine will develop 3,600 i.h.p. She has been built to class 100A1 Lloyd’s, and all her deck machinery will be electrically driven. FAST ITALIAN STEAMERS.—With reference to the proposed liners, Rex and Dux, which are to cross the Atlantic from Naples to New York in four days, and from Naples to Buenos Aires in nine days, II Piccolo Marittimo at Naples writes that the inventor of the propelling machinery of these vessels is Ing. De Meo, formerly of the Registro Navale Italiano, states the Italian correspondent of Fairplay. The engines are very small, and the propellers, instead of being astern as usual, are disposed amidships, at the turn of the bilge. These engines will develop, according to the writer of the paper, 42 miles per hour, but they will not require to run at more than 38 mil** to do the passage from Naples to >ew York in four days. These vessels mu be built, one at the Ansaldo Shipbuilding Company at Sestri Ponente, near Genoa, and one at the Cantiere Naval Triestino at Monfalcone, near Tnesi • For their repairs special large arjdocks are to be built, since in I > there is none for vessels of over 4 • tons, and this means, of course, tn the Rex and Dux will be larger the Roma. FIRES ON SHIPBOARD.— This subject continues to cause grave cone to underwriters and all interestea ships at sea. According to the annual report of the committee o Liverpool Underwriters’ Association, the number of fires which occuitco during last year exceeded the averag of 536 for the past five years, cording to the association s recoris fires have occurred, of which place in bunkers and 413 in‘ etc. The committee is in oorresp De . enee with the Mercantile Marine partment of the Board or Tra garding the matter, and us year the question of the spon n combustion of certain cargoes h ■ referred to the Department o trial and Scientific liese ?7,tion of causes of spontaneous combos™' coal in ships are being ’, nv<^rft eeo la'the Fuel Research Board. Tn ® , tions relating to the carriage gerous goods on board ah I-■ hinp those relating to the fire appliances in passenger ship . been revised and consideration being given by the board to 1 tion of fire-extinguishing apph* to be provided in cargo ships.

UP-TO-DATE PLANT.—' 7 ?° known firm of Messrs. Burme Wain, Ltd.. of Copenhagen. founded in 1854, and since , . fiiaii they have constructed no fe Q 347 vessels, x of which 242 ha fir--steamers and 57 motor-ships. • oi of the latter type being the iD 7.400 tons d.w., which was -aver*** 1912. At the present time thea v annual output is about n , . 011 d.w., while repairs are carried o about 400 vessels each year. 1 doc t pair plant consists of a grn 0 * 475 ft. in length, two floating and 13,600 and 8,000 tons lifting POj» • w three patent slips with capa s ijps 2,000 tons, all these docks being well provided wl “, jn fact, facilities, compressed air. ana. en . everything which is Lution sure prompt and economic e _ . 1S of repair orders. Moreover, by nlnifloating electric w-elding ~r mei ster pressed air plants, Messrs. coßand Wain can undertake s‘™‘ la f ng or tracts on vessels actu f U} „J nea r tb* discharging anywhere in also port of Copenhagen. lne . n a nd owns large steel w ?rks an mo dern brass foundries equipped y. heaV iest plant for dealing with td hiner y of castings, forgings, and mac he;n i: all kinds, the average output 12.000 tons of iron tons of forgings, and 2o,UUU steel ingots per annum.