STRANGE SEA STORY

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LV, Issue 305, 17 May 1913, Page 9

STRANGE SEA STORY

OTL STEAMER'S ADVENTURES. TWICE SAVED BY CHANCE. Old seafarers are fond of saying that the romance of the sea vanished with the advent of steamers. The incidents of the last voyage of the British Imperial Oil Company's steamer Bullmouth, which arrived in Melbourne last week, furnish a complete disproval of that statement (says the Melbourne Amis). Since Christmas the Bullmouth has°lost her propellor, ran short of provisions, had trouble with a mutinous Chinese crew, and finally was towed 2200 miles to .Singapore. The vessel was saved from disaster on two separate occasions by the most remarkable coincidences. On Christmas- Day the Bullmouth left Aberdan, in the Persian Gulf, for Para- } kan, Sumatra, there to load oil for Mel- ! bourne.' A few days later, when the steamer had entered the Arabian Sea, the propeller stripped, all of the blades breaking oh" short at the boss. For several days the Bullmouth drifted aimlessly about until she reached the Laecadive Islands, wlnre in anchorage was found on what is known as the Padua Bank. Here an attempt was made to rig a new propeller. Before this could be done, however, the boss or hub of the old one had to be removed from the shaft. The cargo was all shifted forward, to cant up the stern of the vessel, and the white officers (the Chinese crew were not of much use in the emergency), suspended on slender rafts, endeavoured for several days to remove the old boss. This was exceedingly dangerous work, for not only was a high sea running and continually drenching the men, but numbers of huge sharks patrolled the water under the rafts^waiting for one of the workers to' drop off. After a week's hard toil, the boss not having budged an inch, it was decided to seek assistance, and the chief officer. (Mr. Dalton), with four Chinese and an engineer, was despatched in an open boat to Mangalore, on the Indian coast, a distance of about 200 miles. ANXIOUS TIME ON BOARD. Renewed efforts were made to remove the boss after Mr. Dalton's departure. A heavy anchor was dragged from the bows and suspended over the stern by a chain from the end of a boom. This was swung backwards and forwards, hitting the boss a tremendous blow each time, but it failed to loosen it. This was kept up for another week, and then the Chinese crew began to grumble, and show signs of muthiy. The vessel seemed coirdonned to remain on the bank. It was miles out of the usual course of vessels, on a dangerous shoal, and, worst of all, the provisions began to give out. The only hope was the mate's boat. Would it reach Mangalore safely, and could it obtain immediate assistance? Three weeks passed, and still no help had arrived. The Chinese were openly grumbling, and did their work grudgingly, and with scowling faces. On the night of .January 3, however, a steamer hove in sight. She proved to be another British Imperial Oil Company's steamer, named the Sultan Van Koete. CHANCE AGAIN TXTER VEXES. The Bnlniouth was taken in tow by the Sultan Van Koete, and brought to Mangalore. where the chief officer and his crew were taken on board. Then, at Colombo, the .Sultan Van Koete .transferred the disabled steamer to one of the British Imperial Oil Company's tugs for conveyance to Singapore. This was reckoned to be a 12-days' tow. and the tug took on board sufficient coal to last IS days. Rough weather and head winds altered, the calculations of the engineers, however, and when about 200> miles up the Malacca Straits it was found that the supply of coal on the tug was failing. A decision was then reluctantly come to by the captain of the tug to set the Bullmouth adrift, and return for move fuel. This almost meant the loss of the steamer. Possibly, it would restilt in the death of some of her crew, as the water was too dee]) to anchor in, and the vessel would have drifted aimlessly in a sea where the currents ran at the rale of 00 knots a day. Tn addition, the straits were dotted with numberless islands, upon which the steamer might be wrecked. However, chance again intervened. .Tust as the tug was loosening Hie ropes ready to cast-off a steamer appeared on the horizon. It proved to be another vessel belonging to the same : company, named the Cardium. This ve«- ! sol then took charge of the Bullmouth and towed her to Singapore, where -lie was fitted with a new propeller. She ]pft for Parakau. Sumatra, at llu> beginning of last month, and afterwards came on to Melbourne.