LOSS OF CYRENA.

Press, Volume LXI, Issue 18409, 16 June 1925, Page 13

LOSS OF CYRENA.

NAUTICAL ENQUIRY.

HARBOUR MASTER'S EVIDENCE

(mESS ASSOCIATION TELEGRAM.)

M'ANGANTI, June lo

A nautical enquiry into the wreck of th-e Cyrena was commenced this morning before Mr Barton, S.M., and Captains Edwin and Barron-, assessors. The evidence of the Harbour Master, Captain Mclntyre. occupied six hours. This was the only evidence taken. Captain Mclntyre said that when ho boarded the Cyrena for the purpose of piloting her in. Captain Paterson informed him that the steamer was drawing 16 feet- (J inches fore ami aft. Witness's soundings and measures indicated that there should be IS feet (i inches at high tide. He also informed Paterson that- the bar was composed of mud. Paterson and witness wero quite satisfied that with two feet under the, Cyrena' s bottom it was perfectly safe to. take the bar, considering that, the ica was smooth. At 10.30 a.m., the Cyrena headed for the. entrance. >She grounded gently at 10.10. There was no jar. just- a. gradual pulling up as would be expected on a mud bottom. On grounding, the engine room, telegraph was at full speed ahead in accordance with witness's instructions, nnd he estimated the speed, immediately prior to grounding,, at 7 knots, as the vessel had not had time to gather full speed, which would bo about 9£ or 10 knots. After grounding she appeared to be afloat forward, and for about two-thirds of her length, aiid fast from there aft. There was, however, no noticeable cant on the vessel.

Coming in the Q.M. was in the chains, Intt as soon as she grounded tho second officer, who was on the bridge, took the lead line from him ana went to the beak of the forecastle head, heaved the lead, and reported 18 feet. He then walked along aft, dragging the lead, feeling the bottom alt tho way, and reported less than 17 feet just forward of the mainmast—that would be just abaft the bridge—and 18 \feet at the poop. Ho took soundings on both sides of the vossel with the same result. The distance from the beak of the forecastle head to the poop was approximately 180 feet. Soundings were taken in the vessel, and it was found that she was making no water.

Endeavours were made for some 11 hours after grounding to work her off with tho engines, but there was no result. A kedge anchor, with wire rope, was got ready to run out astern, but it was eventually decided not to do so, and a message was sent'ashore for lighters. The hatches were taken off and the derricks got ready. Measures were also taken to lift the . stern by pumping 19 tons of water into the fore peak, filling it up, and shifting 37 tons of fuejj oil from th© after to the forward copper dam, and pumping all the boiler water overboard from the after peak. The captain estimated that tins would lift tho stern l>v about a foot. With the falling tide a heavy swell came in from the south. At 3 p.m. th:; agent came oif and reported that it was too' rough for the lighters to come alongside with tho swcl] and the incoming tido which would bo high at) 1.26 p.m. The vessel commenced bumping badly, and at 8.22 it was decided to start tho engines and endeavour to work her off the bank. At 8.30 it was found the vessel was making water-fast in tho after hold, and also in the forward hold, although the engine-room was dry, and the ship's pumps were unable- to cop© with the inflow. From 8.22 the engines were working in an endeavour to shift the vossel, but she did not move till about 9.G. At 9.46 .she began dragging towards the north mole, and had 14ft of water in the after hold and 10ft in tho forward hold. An indication of the damage slip had sustained by 9 p.m. was a bent sounding pipo under %he bridge and in the after hold. This pipe went through tho double, bottom to within a foot of tho bottom of the ship, and was fastened by a flange to tho inner bottom. It was found impossible to get the sounding rod down a distance of more than about Bft from the top, which was in the captain's outer cabin, "thereby indicating that the bottom had been forced up at least a foot, causing the bend in the sounding pipe. An endeavour was made to get the steamer in between tho moles, but as she was bumping and dragging all the time, and the wind and seas were foreins; her towards the north mole, it was decided to beach her north of the north mole. This manoeuvre was eventually carried out and the'captain succeeded in squaring the vessel up ueforc she took the bottom more iirmly by the stern, about a quarter of a mile to the northward of the north mole. At 9.59 p.m. heavy seas were "ureaking over the stern. An examination next morning showed that the plates were, buckled on both sides of the vessel, at tho waterline, just forward of the mainmast and abaft the watertight bulkhead between No.l and No. 2 holds, and there- was a crack on each side of the ship extending to the rail. The stanchions in No. 2 hold for a distance of about 20 feet, and just about opposite the cracks in the vessel's side, were* found to be bent .as if forced up from below. The vessel had .since (on June 11th) sparted in two at the line of the cracks. Every endeavour had been made in the meantime to bring her into port. It would appear that the vessel was badly damaged on the bar, and that the damage "was sustained about 8.30 p.m. on Sundav, the 24th, as it was then found that she was rapidly making water. She was practically unmanageable from tho time she got off the bar. Soundings were taken after the casualty on the bar and an obstruction was found on the position where the vessel had' grounded. This obstruction was buoved bv means of a spear. It was thought to be a log of wood lying on the bottom. A southerly came up latar and covered the obstruction with sand, and the dredge, in an endeavour to re-move the sand, fouled th© buoy and carried it away, and the obstruction had not since been located.