WOODEN STEAMER HOLED

Sun (Auckland), Volume 1, Issue 142, 6 September 1927, Page 16

WOODEN STEAMER HOLED

RAMMED BY HIKURANGI COLLISION AT KING’S WHARF Coming alongside to coal the small steamer Tiroa at the King’s Wharf yesterday afternoon, the Hikurangi failed to answer her helm. There was a resounding crash as it struck the Tiroa amidships, holing the vessel from the deck to two feet below the waterline. The Tiroa is owned by the Gisborne Farmers’ Meat Company, and had arrived from Gisborne yesterday morning. Unloading operations were in progress at the time of the collision, which occurred shortly after 3 p.m. The Hikurangi, owned by James Smith and Co., Ltd., is an iron steamer, 287 tons gross, and the Tiroa is a wooden vessel of 206 tons gross. The Hikurangi was approaching the Tiroa when it failed to answer the helm, and rammed the Tiroa. The latter began to leak badly, and was in danger of sinking. A collision mat in the form of a weighted tarpaulin was used to check the inrush of water, and the Harbour Board's fire-float was soon in action with its powerful salvage pump. At the point of the collision the bulwarks were driven inboard, and the deck was considerably buckled and splintered. The erigineroom, copper piping, pumps, and bilge connections were also badly damaged. The Tiroa was placed on the slips to-day for repairs. The Hikurangi carries coal from Whangarei to Auckland, and the Tiroa runs between Auckland, Hicks Bay, and Gisborne.