THE DUCO INQUIRY.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 669, 20 November 1909, Page 10

THE DUCO INQUIRY.

HER DECK COAL AND STABILITY. GOVERNMENT OFFICEES'-OHNION, - MORE FACTS 'ASKED TOO. The nautical inquiry into the circumstances t surrounding tho loss of tho fishing steamer Duco was begun yesterday morning. Br. A. M'Arthur, , S.M., presided, and Captain Gray and Mr. Jas, M'Xean sat as assessors. Mr. C. S. Nixon, Collector of Customs, ap- ' peared for theiCustoms Department, and Captain G. G. Smith for the Marine Department Mr. F G. Dalziell represented tho Wellington Steam Company; Mr. T Young represented tho relatives of three members or tho , ship's company, Messrs Menard, Waddjove, and Waltors) Mr. D Jackson appeared for the relatives of Captain Abram, and Mr A. A. S. Monteath watched tha case on behalf of the .Royal Exchange Assurance Company and othor underwriters. Mr NixDh, ih otlonmg the caso, stated that the Duco left Wellington on the afternoon of September T on a fishing cruise to the Chatham Islands. At about 8 o'clock tho same night the weather became vory bad, and later in tho night a hurricane was blowing. Nothing ,had been heard of the vessel since sho left Wolhngton About a month after sho loft Wellington the Alexnnder came back from the , Chathams, and reported her non arrival there The Government at onto dispatched tho traming, ship Amokuva in search, while the agents diipatchcd the steamer Gertie out on a similar mission. >' \lhe Loading .of the Coal. Captain Stringer, assistant superintendent of Mercantile Marine, stated that ho snrveyed the Duco before she loft for tho Chithams Her annual surveys as effected in July, and la also surveyed her agam after alterations had been mado to fit Tier for the trawling trade She had two lifeboats ou tho first tnp to the islands, and threo on tho last itrip. Tho three boats Would carry 30 odd people, and they were properly provisioned. Tho whole of tho vessel's fittings ivcro jn good order , To Mr. Dalziell .He had net tho slightest < difficulty of getting the i Terry Company to do what ho askod'should be dono to tho boat. In fart, ho got more than ho asked. To Mr. Young Witness looked upon the Duco as a fielung-boat, but she was registered m New Zealand as a tug-boat. A certificate was subsequently gi\en her as a fishing-boat. (The net tonnage of -. the Duco was 26 tons iShe was carrying coal, but witness did not knov the quantitj On the day the • Tcssel left ho saw her about mid day Tho liold was full of coal, and coal was being loaded on deck in bags Witness stopped tho ,gang just befoie midday as ho thought a vossol of thp sire of tho Duco should have her decks left sufficiently clear. Ho did not eec the T.cswl again bocweon then and the tuno sho loft At mid-day he thought that , there was between threo and four tons of coal on deck. If ho had been master of the ,ship ho would not have been afraid to fill her fore and aft with coal The bags wero t not losncd whon ho stopped tho mm, but he jprcsumed they would bo lashed before tho \essel put to sea ' Tha vessel had threo wash porta' on each bide which, from memory, ho would sav would bo about 15 inches by fivo 'inches If a bag K of coal shifted it might block a prt, bnt with the • lashings on this was not likely to happen The coil wonld not i bo hkoly ,to block tho tiller head or chains The Duco had no Plimsoll mark When he eaw her last tho after T>art of her boltinglnas ,]U3t touching tho water. This was quito a info load line There wonld t be about 18 inches epnee from the bolting to tho main deck If no more cargo had been put on after .wit ness loft her, tho vessel would be safe. Tho» alterations tto tho forecast'e head imt proved the seaworthiness of the vessel. Was She Fit for the' Voyage. v < To Mr Menteath -Tho Duco left her articles \ behind her, which was an irregular proceeding. She should nave taken them with her ' \7hat does it indicate whon a vessel bustles out of jwrt 1 without her, articles'" asked counsel. j - ~ I Witness answered that it was noti an un-hcard-oft" thing for articles to be loft behind through a misunderstanding between a master and mate. If. anpther twenty tons of coal had beeM taken on tho vessel after witness left, i neither ho nor the Customs would know. The Customs officers watched boats as closely as " they could Ho gave his instructions to tho vessel's ofticOTS, and expected them to bo carried out.. The vessel was allowed to carry 2G f|ons of coal in her hold, and tho bunkers had ,n oi 25 .tons space, Hβ did not know that'the Duco, took in 60 tons of coal from a hulk in tho harbour. There was a 400 gallon tank 4 m the after deck, also a quantity of timber stacked on tho dock. There was, perhaps, a ton or- two tons m the timber Mr Menteath Bearing in mind tho weirht of tap powerful ongmes, tho fact that the "vessel carried <i conplo of tons of timber on deck, also au iron wator-tanL, of 4flO gallons capacity, and threo or foui tons of coal, also 1C

tthat she had no Plimsoll mark arid no load line, you consider that the vessel was fit to gp to the Chatham Islands? (Witness- "I would take the ship all over the world without any hesitation under the conditions she in when I was last on board her." J 'Mr, Monteath- And with 60 tons of coal' on board?—" Yes." j Mr. Menteath. And you considor she would have sufficient buoyancy to weather a southerly gale on the way to the Chathams? I —"Yes—to weather anything " | Duco's Value and Insurance. Arthur Cal-vert, surveyor of ships and inspector of machinery, 6tated that he- had surveyed the vessel as a. foreign-going ship, and satisfied himself that she met all tho requirements of the Department i Under examD-nation, witness said that certain alterations which hod been made to- the bulkhead wonld improve the seaworthiness of the ship, especially when going into a head sea She had good carrying capacity for 60 tons of coal i Captain G G Smith, superintendent of mercantile marine, saw the Duco leaving port, and she appeared to bo in good trim She wae m the unique position of being a fishing boat and a -foreign-going ship The position had not been experienced here before, and ehe Was treated as a fishing-boat. Witness did not consider the deck cargo a source of dangei, and did not think the removing of 16 tons of iron ballast from her bottom and increasing the weight higher wfr would affeot the stability of the ship ' E G. f. Zohrab, secretary of the Harbour Femes Company, stated that the Duco was insured for J2500, and wn3 valued on the com pany's books at X 3300 The company had wit ten down its boats recently, and considered the Duco -ftas well written down, especially m view of the new freezing pkint installed She was fully equipped in every way, and it was to the company's Interest to make her as safe as possible Witness had not heard of any uneasiness on the part of any of the- ciew as to undertaking the second tap Mr Menard, chief «n----gmeei, however, had mentioned that his wife did not bke him going ,olx so far, but he (Menard) rather laughed at it Witness was also examined as to statemente alleged to have been made'by other members of tho crew Certain Other Evidence Wanted. This concluded the evidence, but Mr Young of importance At preseut, 'aid Mr Young, submitted thai the Court 4ould have had eu deuce from some of tho crew who had been on the vessel on her first; inp, as ttie behaviour of tho ship on that trip might bo of importance, and at present, said Mr. Young, tho Court was qmte m the dark, Mr Jackson thought that some evidence should be given as to how the deck cargo would afieol the vessel. Dr M'Arthur thought that these requests were only fair Mr Young We do not know what happened on the vessel between midday and 2pm' I Mr. Menteath thought the fact that the vessel went away without her articles was a circumstance worthy of note, and called for more evidence as to tho actual state of tho vessel yhen sho cleared. , Dr M'Arthur considered that an adjourn> ment would be necessary. Something was required about the first tnp The Court must bavo sufficient ondence from tho Customs Depal traent to clear up the case, and more evidence was needed Mr. Young said the Collector of Customs had a list of the first crew and of the second crew, and he could easily hnd out the men who had loft after the first trip, and call them. Mr. Menteath The omployeo of tho Westport Coal Company who had loaied the vessel could be called to'show what coal had bean placed on the vessel's deck. Dr. M'Arthur pointed out that the present position of affairs was no fault of Mr Nixon's These duties had, he understood, been put on the Collector of Customs, whereas a lawyer had alwajs previously, , as should he the case, conducted the cases fort the Mr. Young thought Mr. Nixon should be cbmpbmeuted on tha way ho had conducted the case. * ' Mr. Nixon' stlid he was willing to call any witnesses counsel could supply the name and address of, and on adjournment to 2.15 p m, on Monday was accordingly made.