SAFE AT LAST

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 19773, 22 February 1927, Page 7

SAFE AT LAST

THE NORTHUMBERLAND DOCKED AT AUCKLAND (Special to “ Chronicle. AUCKLAND, Feb. 21. The steamer Northumberland, which struck a submerged rock near Gable end Foreland on January 25, was float- | ed into Calliope Dock to-day for re- • pairs. | It has not been decided yet whether i these are to be of a permanent or tem--1 porary nature. Besting on the concrete floor of the dock, her sides shored up with timber, the steamer presented a curious sight when the dock was pumped dry. In tho lower part of her bull, on the port side, a huge dent was exposed where the ves- ! sei had been struck a glancing blow. ■ The plates have been buckled in over !an area of approximately 40 feet by 115 feet, and in two or three parts have I been ripped out from their places, ! leaving gaping holes that are at presi ent filled with the remains of the I sheepskin mats fitted over the hall while tho Northumberland was at Gisborne. At the further end of the dock the steamer’s bow projects into a recess that has been enlarged to take it, the dock being too short for the ship’s length, which is 550 feet overall. Even with this alteration there is not much more than two feet co spare. Extensively Damaged. As soon as the water was out of the dock a start was made by the engineers to measure up the area in the hull : that will have to be repaired. It is estimated that about 600 square feet of new plates will be required to replace those torn and buckled. Some doubt exists as to whether any quantity of plates of the Northumberland’s type exists in New Zealand, and the opinion is expressed in engineering I quarters that if permanent repairs are to be carried out at Auckland the necessary plates will have to be brought from Australia. Tho question arises, however, whether it would not be more economical to patch the rents with plates already in stock in the Dominion and leazc permanent repairs until the vessel returns to England. This is a matter that has not been decided upon. Whatever the decision may be, a call for tenders will be made shortly, in order that a start may be made to effect repairs. Preliminary Work. Considerable preliminary work however, remains to be done before this task can begin. The lower hold, behind the holes in the hull, was sealed up at Gisborne with cement two feet in thickness, this preventing the waller from spreading to other parts of the ship. This wall will first have to be broken down. Explosives will probably have to be used, and the debris, including the sodden cargo that still remains inside, will all have to be removed. Thera is every prospect of the ship being in dock for a number of weeks.

Engineers who inspected the damaged hull to-day said repairs would not constitute a very big job as such jobs