THE TUG DUCO MISSING.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 630, 6 October 1909, Page 8

THE TUG DUCO MISSING.

!OTTEEW SOULS ABOARD. NEARLY A MONTH OUT TO THE CHATHAM ISLANDS, FEARS THAT SHE HAS FOUNDERED.

With the arrival of the little 6teamer Alexander from the Chatham Islands yesterday morning came disquieting news concerning the well-known local trawler s.s. Duco. When the Alexander left Waitangi, the chief portrof the Chatham, Islands, on Saturday last, there was no sign of the-Duco, which left Wellington with mails for Waitangi on September 7 lastnearly a menth-ago. The news travelled fast, as bad news does, and the possible fate of the sturdy little .tug (so lately converted into ' a trawler to exploit the fisheries : if the Chathams) was*tie general topic discussed in shipping .circles yesterday., THE ALEXANDER'S TRIP. Captain Vickerman, of the Alexander,. had little to say about the matter. The Duco had left Wellington'with mails on Septetmber 7 for. Waitangi .direct. There, was to be, no fishing until after she had called at Waitangi with her. mails. '-The Alexander,: which took down 200 tons.of'coal from Westport (50 tons of which.the Duco was to take in down there); left..Westport; on September 22, and arrived after an ordinary trip on Saturday, September 25.:- i '" - ."■'''' : !'. ■'.■'■' ■ On' arrival'there they, ware snrprised and shocked to learn that the Duco had not put in an.'ftppearancoj;at'all—nothing- had. been'seen or heard": of.her... since {her- last,, visit to ■- the group.' The'.captain and the. residents of Waitangi at chce concluded that something un-' .toward'.had; occurred t6.,the: trawler.to, delay, her'for so{, long.a.time." ,The Alexander remained there, for a week discharging her coal, an'op'erafion which took longer than usual on account of the difficulty in getting labour (owing to the shearing having started). " There .was: still.; no news, of the Duco when the Alexander,; left- on; Saturday ..-last.- .Fine weather was'-experienced the whole time the Alexander was .at .Waitangi, It blew hard tho day. they left, and; a,couple of light southwest gales were/experienced on'the Wellingtoni'but nothing more serious. .' MEETING OF OWNERS. ' The Duco. is owned by the Wellington Harbour Ferries Company,, Ltd.,; which company employed her as'/a tug up till a few months ago,' when'they decided to convert her into an up-to-date trawler. - As;, soon as -Captain Vickerman's alarming news tcss told, Mr. J. M. Sampson (who is acting in place of Mr. E. G. F. Zohrab, at present on' a ;trjp to Sydney) communicated with'the directors of the company, who met at once. At the meeting it was decided to take immediate steps to make a search between Wellington'and the Chathams, and, round, that group in the hope that- tho Dnco may merely have broken down, and be still above, water.

The Minister for; Marine (the Hon. J. A. Millar), was,communicated.'with, and later'in the afternoon,' advised the. company ■ that' the training; ship Amokura, then in the Marlborough Sounds,, would, search; for- the missing umtructionl" bavin? .beensent forward. She will-.'.roturn'-.. to .'Wellington ■ this take ln'coal and stores,,,and follow the line of ■ dr ' f ''in. a.southeasterly direofioh.; : '.-'AW-- G . erhe . "Chartered, by the Duco's owners, 15 'also to. search the.-pcean between New'-Zea-land and_ the Chathams, taking a zigzag cou'rso : iu W'W ? - la ? d:rt °wn by Captain Post; :of itne lutanekai..,;:.-'.:-. .- ' • '".

THE LINE OF DRIFT. On more than one occasion the line of. drift jrora the'tastern.entrance l to Cook' Strait has ;been in the diction. of the Chatham Group. n£l resident threw into corked bottle; containing a-mes-sage .-.to some months later it' "TilS-;S 1 w n P_J n -; Wait angi Beaeh (Chatham'' l™?3 ■ that• there, is an ocead : j vL*^ e ■?j? c 9'., , 'B.'n°t overwhelmed, and-is' drifting about, with , helpless engi'nes7 the JSiS? ? >^i}\ S ? dn - « tha.tfshe at lelst stood a .chance ofrstxiking the Chatham*, but: a "light"' ocean current'.might not; as a floating vessel.is concerned,,.prevail against heavy weather from.any;.direQtion 'other that in which, the..current-is-running.- Then; again, Stf „*. m f aro a fe y sro? 0 in a remote ,part of a.vastocean. would be far more .easily missedi,than-hit..'. ;., ~..:' . ° '• * N ALT S f ' E,D PUCO-THE COAL CARGO. . There is; a! seafaring men iwho know the Ducp„,that she, m,ay .have.-.-.either broken-down- orjbeen.'.'-'pwaimped/at' sea.-, 'The ,Duco rccehtly: underwent eitensive 'alterations"' to fit her for'hernew trade'.' The fofehold.was •insulated, tons of pig'and" railway iron were dispensed with in order, presumably,'to' provide for the weight of frozen fish the vessel expected.to,secure. The loss of the ballast' ™W' ° aTe bßßn ™. a de up by. taking in, water Her top hamper-was incrMsed'.by'reising 'the forecastle' about four feet;' a refngerating engine .was. plncedvjnst ,aft of .amidships, on- the niam. deck; and a big 600-gallon tank- full of. fresh water - was -xigged .under. -■- the ' '(whalebacr ■ aft'onthe-main- deck. ' ' .■When theDuco left she-took, according to Mr Sampson, 50 tons of coal; about 5-tons of which were'carried oh deck. ; Besides stores for the month s-trip; she also-hod onboardsome concrete blocks: with embedded ■ shackles; to be used;as anchors when.fishing.'.

was to be decided as to whether she would continue her Chatham expeditions or be diverted to some other locality. Mr. Abram will return to Wellington by tomorrow morning's first train. EX-MATE ON THE DUCO*S SEA-GOING QUALITIES. ■" .. '. On the occasion of' the first trip to the Chatham Islands, Mr. T. Skye was mate of the Duco: He is now second officer of the Blackball Coal Co.'s Ngahere, and when that vessel arrived from Greymouth last night- he was astonished to hear that the Duco was reported as missing. From ■ his experience on the previous trip he formed a very high opinion, of. the vessel's sea-going qualities. He wae at the wheel for a considerable portion of the run home from the islands, and though he had some anxious moments when heavy seas flooded ( the ship, he thought she could live, through almost any gale. 'I'.- "" THE SEARCH. ' • GERTIE AND AMOKUEA. LEAVE TO-DAY. ■Yesterday afternoon the Minister for Mari?e (the Hon. J. A. Millar)'gave instructions that the Government training ship Amokura,

which was cruising in Marlborough Sounds, was-to be sent to search for the missing, vessel. Mr. G. Allport, secretary of the, Depart-, iment, immediately telegraphed, to the different .'points'where ,tho. Amokura was -likely -to be communicated with, and as luck, would .have it' he got in touch withher at Picton, .where she had been detained owing to a small leak ■in her boiler. The Amokura was instructed, to leave for Wellington with as little delay as possible, and on arrival, here to-day will take 'in. coal and provisions for .the voyage. The Ferry Company has arrange!. for the steamer Gortie to search, and the steamer will arrive - here from' Foxton early this morning. Captain Hooper, R.N.R., commander- of .the Amokura, will confer with the master of tho Gertie, and the 'course of the vessels will then bo arranged.. '■•-..''

;:;-P u ?P'S,:HUMAN'COMPUM'EIJT.•'''.., . The ' following,, is the- list : of /the .' Dnco's officers and,.crew. (fifteen/all.told):-:. ...... . ..Captain.J..-Abram,. of, Austin Street,'' Wellington, .formerly'of the Union "Company's . 'service'};aged' 60 years. ' Married main - '>with.vfa"mily'.' '• " '" .-■'■.. :William' Waddilove/' chief.' 1 mate,'. formerlyoccupied'the'same position'on the Tor-. ... gau ten, and .Ripple. Married man; aged ... .. 50, years.. . , .;. •.:•.-'.'•'■..: ;,■ .Charles, ..Williams, second officer.; aged 44' '.. ,:•/ years; ' r ,'- .//:' ■~ .■;',;,..•■;.;.,.,•",,.-.: -~; A. ..J.- Menard, .chief .engineer, of. .103, ;Pirie . Stre'ot;, married'man, with' wife' and -•' -one child. ,>• Aged ; 38-years. • - John H;Waiters; second■ engineer, widower, Believed to have two children'in Eng- '•' '-land. ,; - ! Age'd■ 48 years.' ;" '■■"•■'. J.'' Porter," cook;- aged 26; years.'J'Understood' 'to'bevisingle.' '',' : >'--'.. :J. Dahlbergi.'.'A'.B., a Swede.' "A single man! ... >',25. years ofv-age;.. .«: v; •■• •':v,"f' ' C. 1 : Sellstromj;; Aiß., a Swede; believed' to be ;.J; ; a widower', with two; children.'' Aged.S2' '.',.. years';-'''.-■;- . :''' ■' "■ "■ ; Charles-'Hansehi' A.B':;',by 'nationality; a Dane; ..'..■•■ 55' years' of age... . -,- Peter. Holmegard, . A.8., a Norwegian, 31 ■•"..-■■ years/of. age.■ ■•" ■.. ~ Allan Cameron,. A.8., a 'brother''of Mr. John "■•. Cameron', .of Muritai. ' A 'single man, ■ ■■ 45 years'-of-age. .>■',.•-■. •.W.' Mackay; Ai.B;, lately . a member, of. the' ! '.crew: of. the fiipple. A single man, 32 yeirs, of/age.. ■ Wfc Murdoch,'A.B., aged'46"year. .''./.

As some.seafaring men hold that there ' is at ,times a set to the northward well; out,from_ : Cape Palliser, which belief is 'held' by Captain' Tost, it is understood that the Gertie will zigzag in a north-easterly direction' for some distance:'"That steamer will probably be out .eight or ten days.. Mr: Whitoford, chief officerof the. Tutanekai,may go in the Gertie as a representative of the Marine Department. The Amokura will probably make in the direction of the Chatham, Islands. , . _.'■'■"' '•'.". H.M.S. CHALLENGER... ' The 1 , commander of H.M.S. Challenger, now at Auckland, has been communicated with in" regard' to the.search that is being instituted for tho missing trawler. !The warship is due' at Wellington'.on October 12. and it is understood that she will make a , wide sweep to'lio eastward on the run' down, in the hopo of findingtho little steamer. .'■.,■ . ;CAPTAIN ABRAM AND HIS OFFICERS. , .Captain Abram,' of the Duco, was horn in, 1849 at L'etheringsett,' Norfolk, England,', and after'finishing; his education was' apprenticed to-a large London shipowning firm, lie came out to .Australia in 1871 and joined one of Messrs. M'Meiken and Co.'s boats trading \ out of .Melbourne. ' After five" years in this employ ho transferred to the.barquo Falcon (Captain! Bendall) and afterwards served, as chief officer''of the Manaia, ■ running out of Napier, and'.as; captain of the barqno Camillo Laurel and :the. whaler Isabella.. Captain 'Abram 1 next took charge of the Moa, then a tow boat in ■Wellington,' but afterwards altered into a coastal.'trader by the Union Company. He remained in'this vessel for, sixteen years, dur-' irig-.'the'last eight of which'the vessel "traded between-Wanganui and the-West Coast. Subsequently, Captain Abrani commanded.-various

... INSURED'FOR'£2SOO. ■ The Duco'was: insured for.the,sum.'of JE2500 in the. following.-offices :— . ■ . ;."" Royal Exchange, SM. ..-■•' New Zealand, £500. . . Commercial Union, £500. Canton; .'■■'■ '■■ .United, £250: ■ Australian Alliance, <£250. "COULO LIVE ,IN ANY WEATHEB." THE OPINION OP-CAPTAIN,ABRAM'S SON. (Bi Telegraph-Special Correspondent.! ■ ' Wanganul, October 5. Mr. H. J. Abram, eon of Captain Abram, who arrived in Wanjjanui this evening from the Main Trunk line, ib inolincd to the opinion that the.Dueb has broken down and that she is drifting. .In proof of this statement; he states that-on-the occasion of her last visit' to the Chatham* the weather was extremely rough, and Captain Abram said that the vessel could . live. in;' any weather.' Mr. Abram says, that he- is not aware that-the Dnco's decks were' coal-laden- when' she left •Wellington, and she carried' plenty d! oil. '■It is: very likely, that she has broken do».n and. run' short of poal,':;arid .is,-: now drifting' about'under sail," continued Air. .Abram, "and I do not intend .to give up hope'for another month." ~Mr.; Abram Baid' that oh' the DuooY return .from v the .present Journey the* question'

Hnijffl Company steamers and thon entered the service of the Patea. Shipping Company' as master of the Kapiti, and later succeeded Cap,tain W. ."Jr. Muir in command. of the missing tug..; ,■ : • : it ■ .;.„:■ ■ '.;- Mr. Win. Wnddilove, mate.of the Duco, only joined the.vessel a few weeks ago. He had a long career'on the sea. and before he' came to j\ew Zealand had command'of one of the bii; .Pacific- Strain -Navigation" liners.' Ho 'filled the'position of mate on.several of the small' coasters.trading, out of •.Wellington,, and not

very long Bgn hnd command of the Torgauten, now known as the Hnlmdalc. Mr. Waddilove's family reside in Wellington, and his son was ono of the survivors of the Pitcairn Island, which was burnt at sea whilst.on a voyago from Wellington to London, laden with wool, Mr. Alexander L. Menard, : chief engineer of the Duco, has been on tho vessel for about two years and had previously served in deep waters. He holds a first-class Board of Trade certificate and is regarded as a capnble engineer of the first order. His wife nnd familv reside at the corner of Austin Street and l'irie Street, and ho has two brothers iu Now Zealand, one of them residing in Wellington. For several years Mr. Menard was in the Shav-Snvill Company's service, his latest vessels being the Wniwera. nnd the Mntatua. He was in the latter vessel oii her mninen trip from London to New Zealand, but left her on account of his health. After deciding to settle ln ?\ew Zealand he entered into'negotiations for the purchase of a boat for himself, but the negotiations fell through. . Mr. Menard made .the first trip to the Chathams. in the Duco, but ho appeared to have peculiar foreboding of misfortune before tho vessel left Wellington last trip and expressed his willingness to give up his position on the boot if he could get anything else,to do. His efforts to secure another berth were.not successful. , Mr. J. H. Wafers, second engineer, is a widower, and only joined the vessel before she left Wellington last month. Ho has no relatives in New Zealand, but is understood to have two childicn in England. Ho- is wollknown in' Wellington, having, served .on tho coastal steamers Rob Roy, and Wootton, and other'small craft. Ho holds a second-class Board of Trade.certificate.

DESCRIPTION OF THE. VESSEL. The Duco was built on the Clyde for use as a tug'boat'in Wellington Harbour. She was a vessel of 130 tons gross, .but. as a great deal of her space was taken up by machinery, her net; register was only 26 tons. .Her hull was of iron, and was, constructed on very pretty lines, which gave' tho little boat a yaeht-liko appearance. She was-built'by Mackio-and Thomson, of Govan, Glasgow, for Mr. J. H. Williams, of Wellington, and her dimensions are as follow:—Length between perpendiculars, 101 ft.; beam, 21ft.; and depth, 10ft. Gin., or lift. 9iu. moulded. The machinery, was of the

triptaexpansion,,order... The,.engines, were sur T a'nd'dtrect-actirig, -,and pf .60' horse-power nominal or 530 horse-power effective. The main boiler'was steel, and was 9ft, 6in. in length and lift. lOin. in diameter. It 'was heated by three furnaces, with corrugated roofs. The boiler worked on'a pressure; of ,1601b., and was tested by hydraulic force' to .8201b. Tho low-pressed. cylinder was 34in. in diameter, the intermediate Min.j and the high.pressed 13in. The-piston'stroke-was 27in. A ■Wellington pump, for extinguishing fires" Or 'other uses, was fitted up in the engine-room'. ,The machinery was supplied :by Muir and iHouston, of Glasgow. The Duco, for a vessel .of her description, was complete at all points, ; and was a credit to -her/designers and builders. Only a few months-ago the vessel underwent 'extensive alterations .to'fit'her for fishing .about the Chathams,'her-previous'work'hav,- : ing been confined to the harbour. ' '. ' ' SOME NOTES, v WELL STOCKED 'WITH PROVISIONS. | The Duco carried two boats—double-ended ship's boats—on her boat deck. Sh'o was. well.foundin respect to life-belts, flares, etc.

Both the Duco's bonis were'fitted arid stocked with provisions,' .writer, etc., according to- the Board of-Trade regulations. This.was insisted on hefore the vessel was: permitted to. engage la-the trawling trade at the Chatham's.' The Duco had six or seven weeks' provisions, which could under ■ necessitous circumstances last quite'.twice .that length of time. ' Mr. Sampson, acting manager'of the Harbour Ferries, Ltd., travelled to the Chathams ou.tho first trip of tho Duco, having been signed on the articles as purser. He was to have gono again last month (tho present trip), but Mr. Zohrab's' departure to Australia made it incumbent on him to remain ashore.: Ho speaks in the very highest terms of the Duco's seagoing qualities. ■'.■ , The Duco's mail for- the Chatham Islands consisted of ten bags and seven hampers.. The largo number of hampers is accounted for by 'the fact that the residents of'the group have to do all their shopping by mail,'and parcels from all'parts of Now Zealand soon, collect. Still the mail was a big one for tho Chathams. It was at Port Hutt that the Alexander discharged her coal for the Duco at the Chatham Islands, Port Hutt is about twelve miles from Wnitangi. '•'..'".• Mr.Zohrab, manager of tho Harbour Ferries, I;td., was. expected to leave Sydney for Wellington by the Warrimoo, due hero this morning. ■' It is not. known definitely whether ho did sail by that steamer. ■ -, .' FEARS AT THE CHATHAMS. A PLETHORA OF FISH. Mr..A. Hamilton, Director of the Dominion Musfiim, receivrd a letter yesterday' from- Mr A. Shand; nf the Chathams, which refers (o the P"* ~~* r *>u:t of the Duco, and fears that she

had foundorcd. The letter is dated October 2, ana is written from Whangamarino. Chatham Islands. It states: "Dear Mr. Hamilton,—l intended writing to you by the Duco last trip 0.-i a matter it occurred to.mo would be of interest to you in relation', to the fishing, but by what appeal's to bo. a; most sad accident, there being no tidings whatever'of her, am, afraid it may be useless now mentioning it, although I may, on the off-chance of tho fishing venture being gono on with, irany years ago Sir James Hector, in looking round tho museum, said he would like, to get specimens of the varieties of our fish, that might bo preserved in pickle and sent to him, which, if not common or known "! '"™" Zealand, might have been secured iliieci. for you or for one of the professorial .staff who rlealswith the subject. Until the arrival of the Alexander with coal for the Duco .wn.could- not understand the, delay, and whether the company mil' carry-on the venture, or another company,, remains to' be seen. One thing, owing to the exceptional position.and configuration of the.. islands,- with. .broken Kround aiid sweeping currents developing the best of fish, there ought to be atrawling industwo days' steam to Wellington, -in. that line sooner or later. Fancy drifting ''?Jm vt a PP ears 'to bo-a deep bank, catching 1600 blue cod in four hours, standing,up, to the knees in fish! If, as wo fear, the Duco is lost, all our mail, letters; papers, etc., are gone too, and it occurred to me, in case it is so.and my copy of,the Transactions,' published this year, has been posted by her, to ask you. if you could kindly,supply; another copy." In a pestscript Mr. Snand adds, "I suppose they will send some vessel out to look for- the Duco, which may visit here and afford chance ,of a mail, otherwise shall have-nothing till' December." i•■ ■( ..".-' '