TAHITI SINKING

Taranaki Daily News, 12 September 1930, Page 9

TAHITI SINKING

STORY TOLD AT INQUIRY PROPELLOR SHAFT BROKEN HOLES RIPPED IN THE HULL ' EVIDENCE OF'THE OFFICERS ■ : , By Telegraph.—Press Association. • i • Wellington, Sept. 11. The nautical inquiry into the loss of the Tahiti opened to-day. The court . consisted of Mr.. E. Page, S.M., Captain Worrall (nautical assessor), Mr. Parker (engineer assessor)" and Mr. Huntley, (naval architect).' Mr! J. Prendeville appeared for the Marine Department ' with Mr. E, K. Kirkcaldie, with him Mr, E. Parry, for the master and deck officers, Mr, E. P. Hay, for the engineers and Mr. Q. G. White for the Union Steamship Company. Mr. Prendeville said he did not think it would be necessary to say anything at ‘ the opening. Ife at once called Robert Livingstone-Gillies,, assistant superintenf' dent engineer to the Marine Department, ’ who produced for the court certain plans in .connection with the lost vessel. Captain Toten, master, of the Tahiti, ■ produced the oflieial log book of the ship. The ship left Auckland for Sjrn Fran- \ cisco on August 12! with a crew of 149 and, he thought, 103 passengers. On leaving the ship experienced moderate to fresh;-southerly winds up. to August 15 (Western time). Everything was all right that morning. ' He .was asleep in his cabin under the bridge and he woke up on hearing a loud noise and feeling, a violent shaking ...of the ship. The second officer came * down from the bridge at the same time and informed him that the starboard engine had stopped. At the same time a messenger arrived from the engine room, 'telling them that the starboard shaft; had apparently broken and that the tunnel was full of water apd the engine room flooded. From the time he r?as wakened by the, vibration to this was not more than two op three minutes. , CAPTAIN AWAKENED. Witness at once, ordered all hands to be called and proceeded to the engineroom himself to ascertain the extent of the damage. Hhe saw the engine-room bulkhead door was shut but water was spurting out all round the flank of the. door. The ship was rolling a little and the water was washing up to the men’s The engineers and carpenter were busy at work at the door trying to ■ stop "the water. He returned to the deck to give in- ' structions to sepd all the material and whatever men the engineers required" to help , them in shoring up the, bulkhead. Ho then sent wireless messages to the company and later returned to the bridge and sent the second and third officers to prepare the boats. ' When the engines stopped the ship lest steerage way and as she had no steam or steering she got into the trough df the sea and rolled consifier- ‘ abjy; "The position was serious.and he. sent further wireless-messages. At„5.30 a wireless message was sent reporting that No. 4 . hold and the. engine-room were filling and. the position was getting bad. At (5.16 a message was sent that the port engines had stopped and tiie dynamos were flooded and useless and the water , was rapidly gaining, in ‘tlib'erigifl^T''bonl’' i a'rid in’"Nos, 3 and .4. holdfs. Thb passengers were all called at that stage and ordered to assemble in the lounge with their life-belts on. Two boats were then being prepared and the stewards were ordered to equip ■ thqm with extra provisions. Meantime • the wireless officers were told to try to laise any station on the emergency set. Mr. Page:- The main wireless was then out of commisgion?.... . - ' . . Captqih Toten: Yes. Asked if they knew of any vessel jn the close vicinity witness said they knew an unknown steamer* had passed between mid-night anil 1 a.m. on the LI th, but there was nothing nearer. It was soon found that the holds were filling and they got ready to bail them. The pumps were all concentrated on tjie engine room. The pumps had been working since 6 a.m. Pumping and bailing was Jcept going continuously. The pas, seiigers were assembled on deck and allotted tp boats. There' was a crisis every now and again and it was necessary to assemble the passengers by the boats at different times, A successful message was got away by the use of 1.119 dynamo. This was, “It might be. necessary to abandon the ship.” Witness spoke of the possibility of receiving assistance from, the Penybryn and messages were being sent to attract her attention. The position remained the same in the'evening. There was a crisis about 1 a.m. and the passengers were, again made ready. At 4.30 on the 16th the water came 011 the freezer platform on the lower decks. The lower, hold was full: and the water was up between the lower deck and main decks. The water ’was right up in num- ■ her 3 hold and therefore above the men 'Working at the • bulkhead door. Just before 7 p.m. rockets were sentun for the Penybryn. She arrived at 10.10 p.m. and came within a mile. . The Ventura was expected at 10 o’clock on the following morning and the Tofua was' due the following night. • Earlier steam had somehow been raised on. the steering gear and the vessel was making 2.7 miles an hour. This enabled he;; to bo kept steady. ANOTHER CRISIS OCCURS. Op- thb morning of the 17th, at 7.lfi the position was again serious, and at 9.3 Q the engineer reported that he hoped control the water for about opo hour. On that report witness decided to abandon the ship. The Penybryn was to windward and camo nearer- upon receiving the abandonment signal. The Ventura was in sight. After the passengers had gone bailing was stopped and the mails and luggage were collected. The Ventura arrived about 10.15. There were then about six boa’s in the water. Witness abandoned the Tahiti at 1.35, but went back on a Ventura boat for a final inspection to ascertain how long the Tahiti would float, as the Ventura was’ anxious to continue her voyage. He thought she might go down immediately and called off those on board. About 15 minutes later Bho sank, at 2.34 p.m. Iff reply to a question if he had any theory- as to the cause of the logs of tho ship Captain Toten said he knew something very unusual had happened to make the ship shake as she did. If the tail end of- the z shaft broke with a scarf break it was possible the loose end would fly round and cause a rent. Witness gave details of his surmises to support his (belief. There were fractures into numbers three and four holds. Besides the danger of fouling the port propellor by lines jn looking for damage over the stern, witness said the engineers and crew were too busy keeping tho vessel afloat to investigate oyer the stern, .

In reply to a question witness said that the chief engineer and staff, acted without reproach. They did everything in their- power, To Mr. White, who wanted the reply on tho record, he said that the Penyhryn on arrival was fully prepared to take the Tahiti’s passengers. She asked if they wanted to abandon the ship that night. The Penybryn did not actually launch her boats, but was fully prepared for any action. "Witness, in reply to a further question, was definitely not of opinion that the Tahiti struck a submerged object. SECOND OFFICER’S STORY. Duncan McKenzie, second officer, who was on watch when the accident occurred, said there was a rather rough sea, with a long, heavy swell. At about 4.30 a.m. he felt a violent vibration and dull rumpling sound. The engine room rang stop in about a minute, indicating that they had stopped. He knew something very unusual had happened in the engine room. Witness immediately went down and notified the captain. He was OUt of bed. While speaking to tho captain a messenger arrived front the engine room with a verbal message that apparently the starboard tail-shaft had broken the tunnel. The water-tight door was closed, but the engine room was filling rapidly. Witness went back to the bridge. The Tahiti was still steering her course the other engine going slowly. ' ‘ At approximately 6 o’clock he was sent by the captain to see that all the boats were in orderi for a hurried abandonment of the ship. He saw that all tho boats had extra provisions and that, everything was ready for any emorgency. It was 6.15 when the port engine stopped. , Witness was on board the Tahiti till the last boat left and returned with the master for a final look round. All the boats and life-saving appliances were in perfect order. ■ «? NOTHING BEFORE RUMBLING. When the inquiry was resumed this afternoon Mr. Duncan McKenzie, second officer, continued llis evidence. He heard nothing unusual before the rumbling. From the beginning of August 15 to the ni'dit of August 16 the vessel kept fairly upright but after that it listed to port. That was adjusted by shifting- heavy stores in the second saloon. Mr. Norman Siepen, chief officer, said he had been making his' second trip on the vessel at the time the trouble occurred. He was sleeping and was aroused by the second officer. He went at once to the engine-room and found, the conditions as described by Captain Toten. He found from -two to four feet of water in No. 4 hold and he reported immediately to the captain. No. 3 but not No. 4 hold contained cargo, which was afloat. Mr. Siepen took oyer supervision of the pumping - and bailing.

Mr. Prendeville: Can you give any estimate of the quantity of the water you bailed? . v . Witness; Yes. I estimated that we were bailing at the rate of 150 gallons a minute. “Have you any idea whether the ship s side was smashed or whether the water was coming from the stern tube?” — “No, I cannot say at all.” The vessel sank by the stern, said witness. The use of a collision mat was impracticableTo Mr. Huntley witness said he had ordered as much timber as possible to ■be taken to the engine-room, in order to be on the safe side, not because the bulkhead was showing immediate signs of giving way. Mr. Robert Wilson, able seaman, said that at the outset there was another sound beside the rumbling for which he could riot account. Mr. Frank Davidson, wireless operator, gave evidence that he was on duty on the morning of August 15. He was practically above the bulkhead. Witness sent messages after the alarm, but was unable to send any from 6.16 a.m. until the evening at five o’clock, when more were dispatched. Au emergency wireless set was in one of the , boats and with the erection of a temporary aerial tills was brought into use. Mr. Archibald Thomson, second engineer on the Tahiti, said he had been on the vessel for three years arid uine months, and had previously served on her. He had known of no' irregularity with the propeller shaft. The first alarming noise made witness think the whole of the stayboard engine was lifting. The engine then started to rape very violently. Witness stopped the engine immediately. He then ran down to investigate the damage. Witness entered the tunnel and went two or three feet aft of the ceiitre, bulkhead, passing through the centre door. The tunnel was about 100 feet long and 8 or 10 feet high. GREAT SHEET OF WATER. “When I got along through the tunnel the well was full and water was conv ing from the starboard side aft of the bulkhead,” said witness. “A greal sheet of water was coming over the port side; it was coming right across to the other side.” Mr. Prendeville: Coming in a solid mass to the bulkhead?—ln a solid wall. Mr- Page: What light had you?—The lights were on in the deok-head, I could see plainly. Mr. Prendeville: You saw this volume of water and ran out?—l ran out. Did you have a chance to close the centre door? —Nb, there was' too much water in tho tunnel. . The water caught up to you? —Yes, there was no possibility of closing the door. There was /ilso the possibility of the engineer coming down into the engine-room, seeing the water and as he should have done shutting the door and I was inside. Witness said that after getting out of the tunnel he sent a man named Rooke to close the nearer door. That was the one opening from tile tunnel on to the engine-room. Witness was 'positive not more than a minute elapsed from the time he heard the noise to the shutting of the inner door. All the time the dpor was shut water was pouring into the engine-room. It came into the engine-room before the door was shut. One man was swept away and so were some dishes on a bench three feet high. Witness thought there was an increase in tiie flow of water as he ran out of the tunnel. He threw some sacks over the dynamo to protect it, said witness. Water was welling up white and boiling from under tire plates of the bulkhead and was coming from the bilges. After the bulkhead was closed witness sent advice to the captain. Going into the stokehold, witness asked a stoker: “Did you feel anything?” The other replied; “Feel it! The boilers were meeting.” The captain then camo down and took over, witness going to the pumps. The door was not the danger in the engine-room, but the water which was gushing up from under the engine-room. By six o’clock witness was up to his neck in water. The vessel had a list to port. The plates were all up, making pitfalls, and work was very difficult. Sometimes witness was sitting in the water. The dynamo was flooded and the fans had Stopped. At ton o’clock that night there was a decided bulge in the bulkhead, cracking the paint. The dynamo was kept in reserve for the wireless and only a few lights were used. “I think that the propeller shaft (broke on the scarf,” said whpn

asked his opinion as to what had happened. “The propeller tended to remain stationary and the engnne end of tho shajt to continue revolving and so the ship’s side was carried away. The propeller and the shaft must have been pulled out. “ ‘The ship’s side is gone, the ship's side is punctured.’ Tfiat is what I reported to the chief engineer. The break must have been between the last coupling and the peak-head glands.” Witness said the whipping shafts would need to describe a circle of only four or five inches to knock the side of the ship owing to the shape of the stern. Like a huge flail it would punch out the side of the ship at the first shock. The Boilers had danced in the stokehold. The inquiry was adjburned till tomorrow morning. .