SHIPPING ENQUIRY.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume V, Issue 1261, 23 May 1884, Page 2

SHIPPING ENQUIRY.

A'preliminary inquiry into the cause of the grounding of the barque Latona at the Otago Heads on the 14th Inst., was held yesterday in the Custom Honse, Port Chalmers, before Mr Haokwortk (Collector of Customs), and Captain Thomson (Nautical Assessor). Mr Haggitt appeared to watch the proceedings on behalf of Captain Jeffry. James Loudon, signalmaster at the Heads, deposed that the vessel was poming in about noon. She got too far to the eastward of the channel.' He continued —I saw the ship stop. She stopped, I suppose, a couple of minutes. Just after she stopped two seas rolled over the poop, and I saw the man run from the wheel and take to the mizzen rigging. The third sea lifted her along for a good bit, and then she stopped again. From the time she first stopped till she was over and in deep water would be, as near as I oould guess, five minutes. Pilot Milne also gave evidence. He said the Latona was never near the chan* nel across the bar but was fully 160 yards to the eastward of it. The signals given to Latona were MOS, which means remain, look out for a pilot.” It was too rough for the pilot boat to go outside the Heads. He put off in the pilot boat to meet the vessel.

The following «re r.fie more important parts of the captain's evidence ;—John - Jeffry, master of the Latona, said—l hold a certificate of competency!rom the Board of Trade. The vessel is registered at Liverpool. We bad loaded 380 tons of wheat at Titnaru, and cleared for Falmouth or Queenstown for orders. We left Timaru on May the Bth, and had fine weather for three days. On the 10th May u a experienced a heavy gale from the S.S.E., with a heavy cross sea from the S. W. and S.S.E , which caused the ship to labor heavily. At noon the same day we found that she was making, more water'; she was making 3tn an hour. ' At 8 p.m. there was 2ft of water in the hold, and the leak increasing. The pumps were getting choked with the wheat, which was stowed in bags. All hands were kept at the pumps during the night, and to* wards daylight in the morning the water had been reduced to 12in. The crew came aft and requested me to put back to a place of safety. I consulted my officer! then, and they were of the same opinion. I deemed it prudent to put back to the first port. We had then reached 176 deg. E. and4sdeg. S.; about’ 600 miles from Timaru. On the 12th the wind moderated, and we experienced fine weather till the following day, when we met another gale from the N.E.. and from the N.N.E. on the 14th. I then determined to run to Port Ohalmen, the nearest port. About noon on that day we sighted the Taiaroa head, lighthouse, bearing south, about ten miles off. As I came close in I saw “ M O S,” which T made out to mean~“ Look out for the pilot boat, and steer by its signals.” When about half a mile off the lighthouse I observed a red buoy on the starboard bow, aud steered fer it, hauling the ship up to westward till a heavy sea struck the vessel on the starboard bow, and canted ■ her off to the eastward again. I had not seen the pilot. boat up to this time. 1 was at the forecastle-head looking out for the pilot boat, but could not see it owing to the heavy surf. Not knowing that tha man was away from the wheel, and noticing the ship canting off more to the eastward, I looked round to see if the wheel was put the right way, and saw the helms* man was in the mizzen rigging, and the wheel deserted. The mate directly ran aft to put the helm hard-a-port. The ship struck nefore the mate left the forecastle, and would not answer her helm. She ' struck several times. I should say it was ' about ten minutes from the time 'she struck firot till she was over. The pilot came aboard directly we g-,t in. To Mr iiaggit! : We had some bad weather when we were lying in the outer roadstead at Timaru. We lost an anchor and twenty-five fathoms of chain on tha day we left, but she made no water till we' met with the gale on the 11th. This is my first visit to Port Chalmers. I had the latest charts for the port, and Hors-borough’s-sailing directions. In answer to Captain Thomson, the witness said that be had not a copy of the New Zealand Regulations on board, and was not conversant with the signals for the New Zealand harbors. While the Latona was lying alongside the Timaru breakwater a very heavy sea came in at times, and the vessel bumped heavily against the piles, to which he attributed a good deal of tha straining of the topsides. He could not say that she got all her straining there. The gale of wind en the 11th imt. bad something to do with it. When witness asked the man what made him run away from the wheel he said that he was afraid he would get washed overboard. If be h d known there were leading beacons iu the harbour he would have looked out for them. He had a letter authorising him to sell the Latona for L 2.300. She was insured, but be cou'd not say for what amount. To Mr Haggitt—Witness believed that he would have got oyer safely if the man had not run away from the wheel. Ha had been at sea for the last forty-two years, and served his time in bar harbors. He had been a master since 1862, but this was the first accident he had had. Had he been bound fur this port he would ' have provided himself with a chart on a large scale. He had endeavored to get a copy of the “ New Zealand Pilot ” at Newcastle, but failed. Captain Russell, Surveyor for Lloyd’s Register and the Otago Underwriters’ Association, stated that he had examined the vessel in dock, and found the -fore end of the keel split, and other signs in* dicating that she had been in contact with some hard substance, svoh as a break* water or pile. The vessel would require c -nsiderable repairs, which 'he estimated to cost L7OO, exclusive of expenses to the cargo. He had surveyed the cargo and found 200 bags of wheat damaged. The loss on the wheat was L2OO. The cargo was insured with the Union Company and belonged to the Grain Agency Com* pany. No doubt the damage to the keel and false keel was done while crossing the bar.

The evidence of the chief mate, Mp Stevens, was not important, and after it had been taken the enquiry was adjourned until to-day.