PINNACLE OF ROCK FIVE FEET INTO HOLD

Chronicle (Levin), 8 February 1947, Page 4

PINNACLE OF ROCK FIVE FEET INTO HOLD

— Press AssDciation

Bv Telemiravh-

WELLINGTON, Feb. 1 "It was a miracle— we only made it by the skin of the teeth," said Diver A. Johnstone, in an interview today on the moving of the Wanganella. Mr. Johnstone qualified the statement slightly by saying the miracle was brought about to a large extent by hard work, knowledge, experieri.ee and ingenuity, and he paid tribute to Captain G. McDonald who was in charge oj operations, and Mr. John Dilworth, a uondon salvage expert, who assiated Captain McDonald. Of Mr. Johnstone these men said: ' ' He 's the man who knows most about it and has the backgrOund- for atu story you want." ' ' The method used in salvaging the Wanganella was a most ingenions oue dcciddd by Captain McDonald anl Dilworth and it was the only one which could have saved the ship," said Mr. Johnstone. "'The bftttom of thp ship was so badly torn that it would be hofieless to try to patch No. I and No. - holds. There was a jxinnacle of hard rock extending five feet into No. 2 liol(l above the keel, and a ledge of rock undemeath on which the ship was pivoting badly. It would have been hopeless to try to pull her off. We had to lift her off; the rocks and the only way to shift her .was by buoyance. So we sealed the forward holds, decks, hatches, trunkways and ventilators. Air was forced i'n and the water thereby forced out oi" the holes below. " Mr. Johnstone said the port side of No. 2 liold had a gaping hole 20 feet deep by 13. This was only one of many and the position ehanged daily with the ship buniping on the reef. His first examinaVTon showed five holes in No. 1 hold but in thrpe days he had losl eount of the number there.- Water in No. 3- hold caine from leaks eaused by strained irlates. ' ' On my past experience I" wcruld say that this was an outstanding piece of salvage — the ship could easily have been lost," he continued. "Yesterday we were afraid of the weather and svvell and it was only in desperation that we got at it last night. When I saw her moving I knew she was right. ' ' Mr. Johnstone said the use of explosives was first mooted and the rocks had been drilled for tests but explosives could not be used on tanlcs under pressure so the salvage worlcers had to concentrate on the use of air coinpressors. 1-Ie would make no estimate of the time needed to make the ship ready to go into doek, saying the work was only starting now. The whole crew from Captain down, had given of their best and were interested not in how long they worked but in how soon they could save the ship. "The sealing operations are a eredit to New Zealand workmen," Mr. Johnstone concluded. "The men put in most exacting work. It was the best job I liave seen yet done in so short a time. Not one of William Cable's men let up. ' ' The Wanganella came into port on eompressed air literally. The two forward holds are eapped with welded steel plates and beneath them air undqz compression lifts the forepart of tlie ship by pressing down on the water which the jagged rocks of the reef let in. No. 3 hold hel'd about 30 feet of water by noon with the level rising slowlv as the bow fell slightly. This hold is not sealed off. With a list to that side, the starboard side ;of the saloon had about two feet of water in it about midday. Now that the Wanganella is off the reef one of the problems confronting her owners is the almost desperate position of the steel supply in New Zealand but untfi the ship is docked and surveyed, no idea of the requirement in steel plating and other steelwork ean be known. Ah official of the Ministry of VVorks said today that there would be no' difficulty in malcing available any stocks of suitable steel held by the de partment or available to it, if it were not possible to procure supplies through normal channels. *