TAHITI INQUIRY

Sun (Auckland), Volume IV, Issue 1075, 12 September 1930, Page 10

TAHITI INQUIRY

(Continued from Page 1.) When he left the ship witness left the pumps running with the door to the stokehold closed. TAIL SHAFT NOT NEW Witness said the tail end of the shaft was' put in last July. It appeared not to be a new shaft and appeared to have been used before. There were two small radial cracks in tlie flange of the starboard stern bush, but even bad they then gone right through they would not have affected the propeller or the shaft. Tlie bush, witness remarked, was about seven feet long. Witness considered that when the shaft broke the engine end, trying to overtake the broken part., caused it to whip round and fracture the side of the ship. Also the top bearing might have been pushed through the bossing. The water got into number three and four holds only very slowly and might easily have been the result even of a strained gland. CHIEF ENGINEER’S TALE

Mr. McPherson, chief engineer, said he had been oh the Tahiti about two years. When leaving Wellington nothing out of the ordinary occurred. Witness said he was asleep when the accident occurred, but was awakened by the vibration. When he got to -the engine-room the tunnel door was shut and the engines stopped. Water was coming from around the door very much more than would be the case ordinarily. It was squirting through. The door normally was a pretty close, wedge-shaped fit. The water entering as it did indicated a fracture in the bulkhead or a bulge in the door itself. Witness got the pumps going and reported to the master. Straight away he asked for the carpenter and to send down shoring for the bulkhead door. Witness went on to detail the steps taken to accomplish this. The water gained all the time till about six o’clock, when it was about 3ft Gin deep at the bulkhead. The port engine was kept going slowly throughout. He could see bubbling of the water below.. suggesting a fracture. He inspected the place aud there appeared to be a fracture from the door to the starboard shaft. Fie could not tell the length nor the width of the opening. With the pressure of water this fracture extended and as far as lie could see reached to the port shaft. CRACK GREW BIGGER To Mr. Kirkcaldie witness said the inrush of water into the tunnel imprisoning the air would have an hydraulic effect on the tunnel walls and the bulkhead. The crack in the bulkhead seemed to increase in length all the time they were fighting to keep the ship afloat. In reply to various question witness said there were certain pipes into the tunnel, but these were closed. Jn regard to the old closed ventilator the second engineer had mentioned, witness did not think this would have anything to do with water getting into the holds.

To Captain Worrall he saijl he thought the vibration was the primary cause of the fracture of the bulkhead door. By the way the door lay on its seat he had the impression that the door frame itself was fractured.

To Mr. Page, he said he had no doubt whatever that there was a frac- | ture of the tail shaft and that the side J of the ship was fractured. To Mr. Hay witness gave as his | reason for not using the port engine j after the first two hours the fact that ■ he had discovered the crack in the bulkhead and was afraid that the 1 vibration of the engine would hasten its growth toward the port shaft, to which it ultimately reached. Witness did not know how far the crack extended on the starboard side. BREAKAGE OF SHAFT Questioiied as to broken shafts, he said he had no experience of one. Broken shafts were not uncommon, particularly with some ships. He quoted two cases of ships, one of which had lost IT and the other 21. He did not mean always at sea, but including shafts taken out when the vessels were docked and flaws discovered which would have ultimately meant breakage at sea. He. knew of no case of a broken shaft causing such damage as had occurred to the Tahiti. Damage from broken shafts was rare. He himself knew of only one other case and on that occasion the after-peak filled with water, but there was no damage to the tunnel walls or bulkheads. Shafts broke most frequently when they were long and when ships were lightly built aft. He thought the shaft was out of alignment or fouled. He had no doubt some damage was done to the ; bulkhead by the shaft's getting out of j alignment and further by the racing | engine. (Proceeding.)