EXPLOSION AT SEA.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 705, 3 January 1910, Page 5

EXPLOSION AT SEA.

ON S.S. ANGLO-SAXON.

THE CHIEF ENGINEER KILLED.

VESSEL RETURNS TO PORT.

-With flags at half-mast, the cargo steamer Anglo-Saxon, which 1 eaileU. for tondon! direot': at -s'. o'clock on Friday evening,., returned to port at B'' a.m. on Saturday to report the death -of tho chief'engineer, Mri ' Francis''Lawrence,' a' man 38 years - of age,, who leaves ,a wife dnd .ohe . child at' Sunderland,.' land, lie joshed the Anglo-Saxon as fourth engineer in- 1002—the year of her launch—and sailed ii) her ever\.since.. ;""W i It appears that .when the "steamer was' proceeding at 'full speed off : Capel'alliser a' v loud;'expl6sion 'ocWred : .m tlio ;ehgine7room,':.wh'ich naturally, startled all on : board.:■ When the: steam -.had' been it iwas ..possiblG. ; tp ,;get ;. to,, the spot where, the explosion : had occurred, it was found that the ;cvajpora-' top—a portion - oft.-' the: vessel's I auxiliarymachinery,;; for • heating Vwater-: for the mains, had been hurled about the engme.iiiigtiies? .Uiiderneath several 1 'of; ~ cast-iron-., and pipes. that ■ had ..been';wrenched from their holdings;,was'v.found'.the : . ohief 1 engineer,' evidently .vety; badly.-iiirtj; and;". in fact, just breathing his last.- Tho head* neck, and legs had the : . fivingl :fi*aßments,y:teMbloV; ; .;ihjuries i resulting,' while' there were also 'eitensive marks of scalding,' by the -super-heated; contents' of the. eyapbrato'r^the: tefopferatiire of whidh at the timewaff 260 degrees Fahr. Tho unfortunate man expired within two or three minuted.of the occurrence. ,-;-S

CORONER'S INQUIRY. "NO BLAME ATTACHABLE " v An inquiry into tho» terribleoccur-, fence was held by . Mr. Riddell,, S.M;,; at the ■ morguo yesterday V morning. '.: JP .. William TiUisonj .; donkeynian; of . the .steamer, that the - Anglo-SaMU had left, .Wellington .■'aV.'SVp^ni^ He had. seen the. body; lyjng in, the morgue, 1 arid. reCogni^'d'-it-as'thafv of- Mr.: Lawrence, . .chiefl'e&gm«rl'j : . At.; about-9 p.m. he was on duty standing against the store:door of the.engiheVroom',''at\which : .time, he : saw ,the. -down' near the evaporator. Ho could • not, see ivhat;:he .:wasudoihg;; ; ; HaV.dhly.Vsaw, him/ for a ■ secpud : ;:ordtiy.piiwlieh; : :an-explosion, occiif red—&:■•' report.'■like : off.; Witness'/,ivasV kbp'ut-;;,4.0 i .fMt;',awa"y.'; Ho '(witnoss). called .out VMy 'tiod, - the Chief engineer is killed!"' Someone shut off; the 'steatri, .and .hp.; nin to .where ho hadlast Seen Mr. Laiyrcnce, ' and; found him lying,., with; a v :v ; his.-ibodyiHe.;'seeinedl to ''be; .then ; : : inse'n-; sible.

Third Engiluor's Story. ~ John Rountree, tlii.ru - engineer, bf the stated: that" Kemp's oil* ditty at 9 p.m. on Decerabef 31.;: Deceased was there; ; also. ■■ The flatter.: was - standing ■ in front of ;the platform;' arid he and witness ifeht .on. top of..the ;\)bilers.''.tbi examine: a pipe. connection. ;f went: straight'jiotintlV to>the: vevipbratbr/: ; Witness remaining; on. the front platform. About two. mmutes afterwards the explosion'. 'occurred.'/."The evaporator .had been' shut , off oh;,leaving, port, but the chief . had "started iit'^hiinselt. at ''about, 8.80 , jj.tii., By. the polico:-: Can' you acttount. :for" .the' explosionP::V.| : ; V ii^r;.'v Witness replied, that-the, baffle platei might. have-'been';; choked, teMyiherTelwf!,':Vawe';;'qo!Bldfyiiot\' ; :wprk.,'The' evaporator; had been in use .on the trip'-frpm'' , ,UiipbM. ; plained,^. .wasO only. .put. inte'usa':: when! ..They did- not,; need 'to;Tepleiifsh' :'the;sup-. ply onleaying,';;as'there : sufli-; cient. water in the boilers. Tho .last, lima the / "evaporator r -was'' inspected; '^as:'when.-, the steamer was - off . : the South ''American " s -- 'coast,'";';;>'bbtwMnS;'".,Oct(&er' ■!!3 ; :and £November:;v,lb|:;<;l9o9ij ; hot.been;inspected,v'iii:•/ Ho could only account for the explosion by. attributing it to 'softie) in'; the evaporator, which might bo drawn-up on?to.and' choked. the bnffle • plate's. i lie. could'' not say what the defect Was, sas .theVnidehihery' had been destroyed.- Tno only otherway In which an oxplosion could have ■ occurred'; was; the'escape,vftlve iibt ing, but ho favoured tne first theory, as ! the" secbndf/eugindef, had VoWrhauledAthb? qscaps; vdlvo' Bomb: little : tiaevpfevibuSi' Thb ongmes had beofl-kept in first-tlasS order.

The Possible Cahses, .. Scott; Hallyburtoli; ' Becond engineer, ;stated.'iii,.evidence'.that' ho : wtis on duty frheri the vessel left fibrt on. Friday night. He: was standing by the' engines—attendin;; to, the stop - valve,, as was Usual;-. At' about.;: 9T' p*cl(li clc . hex heard ; 'the :; and .went '.round- thekbackj (but. could/not.' get to • tho deceased/ owing to 'the- steamiind hot water.■ He ahut;dff( theTsteam' from l the engines, and : thon r heardthe donkeyman cry out—-"Here's .the Chief I" He went! roUnd and:sa\v'hifli\lying;.lindDi'. the coils of tho evaporator. ' They got: -him' : out, and he was; attended to:.by,':the' carpenter: and,, steward. -: : The \vas used to ' supply ■: wfltei I for tho (boilers, ;:Wifaless .ÜBaaUy'stkttedi' it, r.'biit ,is he': was attending 1 '; tov the;;engines ; :th'e; chief,; ,endeutly>;thinkiig.f it jw-as; (heeded; set/it would have performed as soon as, the. ' telegi-aph .from:.'the 1 had' told ; them • ■ that: they/.were clear away.The t (engines' had previously been--stoppedmowing to a broken steam-pipe,. which witness .'.had :abtfut i 'fi:.'6'clockj:';:They. did-hot'; repair it- then, ?but' did so after tea; He did not know how. long .tho engines -.were stopped,-and'; lie. never saw the chief .en.giiieer•,;afterha... aid ■' tho thirdengineer went on top to :Topair('the. .steam-pipe:' (I'ho explosion , could ,only--have, occurred throughtwo; 'caiises: Either 1 •-th'o:.ba ffle piatoa were: choked:, or .tho- -safety' -.valve was stopped. When they were.' off •. tho (South(American: coast; "the safety . valvo Was overhauled, ''and-vtho baffle platbs 'Were'.; cleaned.,;.'((-Witness' had-' ; started the' ■evaporator, himself .'on, leaVing.'Napier.! on December. 23, and it was in usO <until' the arrived' - in>^Wellington hour;. - lie "iould ' tell..from- the quantity .of •• - water : whioh the evaporator makes nvbciu in!; use' whether it. required, pjeaiiiiig or/not; (but (it; wns( doing good work, and, in liis : opinion', did, not: require 'clMhihg;"/.',The evaporator , wotild' not; be : affected" bj^itS : hon-uso: in porti There,,way,, a.vapour, cook; vwhifch should be as;:;soqh(';as);:the 'stcaiu, in' tho -eviipbratoi"rose-to (a-ce'rtiiin height,- ; and the chi^f; yas:;:evidently opening it when-'ho "was • seen 'bending down by, the donkeymnft. The only other manner of ■ relieving the pressure was. tho Safety valve, .and .if the' baffle .plates .werp choked up the steam: would (jot get to 1 tho. cook . that. works the safety valve. ■ There Was nothing to-ihdicato .what steaiii thero !was. in j otliorl; (thaii':by : turning ;on;:the : ..'oock' ,bericath.v ; ;.;:WitritkA had. beeni oil' theVAnjflo Saj.mivfive. years, ■ for: tho last throe( as second engineer, . Captain's Evidence.

Walter Isaacs, captain v of; the Anglo-Saxon (uuder charter- to tho .New Zealand Shipping Company) stated that tloccasod was a: competent and very careful man;. The steamer lett port at*s p.m. on December 31, and proceeded to sea (bound for London).'> Between G p.m.-aml ; 7.p.m., the.ongines .wei'o.stoppedhalt! a. steam- pipe ;foiiueotjd' with the Btcanl steeritfg! gtar.oSKoliairs: ivere;elfect6d, and the..steamerproceeded "once, more: at,: full speed. Tho- steamer was about fivo miles to tho east of 'Capo Palliser jyhen,an explosion occurred iii.the engine-; room. Ho ran down and found a'lot of broken metal at tho back .of the and : he' saw--' deceased , beiiig' taken ' from beneath, lumps of metal pipe"., 'As. s"on M theygot \ the : engines , fixed ;,iip the steamer'returned: (o port, arriving at 8;a-.m. on Saturday,: and'the accident was reported,to tho nuthmities. He had been master, of :the?Btenmor for; four years; l and there had nevor been a serious accident to the ongines or evaporator since: lie had had command.

Tho Verdict. Tho Coroner returned . a vcrdiet that deceasod died-at sea on DeComber 31 from injuries received by the accideilt&l ex-

plosion l -cf 't'as-cvo.jioi'ator : in.- the encino- . .•-j... juglu&jxuTi.' ; '■■■-; In delivering, tho- verdiot;..Mr., ltiddell .: : -.x staled'that one of llioso 'uufortUnatevac-, , cidents that/occurred from, time tc); tinso had happened. From the evidence, tlio • . ■ - engines were in good order, and the chief " onginoer. was t■: competont • and careful man who had been five years in charge - of the engines. It was unfortunate, perhaps, . that tho evaporator had been eo ' much ; damaged j. otherwise they might ■ ; have been ablo to form a moro' definite , conclusion. But from whatever causq the explosion had occurred there was,no < blanw attachable to,'anyone. IN THE ENGINE-ROOM. Bopaars in' the : engine-room 'of- ■ tha ;■ Anglo-Saxon aro being carried, out by Messrs.' Jenkins and .Mack; 1 .who, -witli. ahd day. It is anticipated that: the-work . will' beV sufficiently ■; advanced to enable :i * the: steamer, to proceed;-to sea to-inorr'ow. ■ eveiiing. The fullextent of the damogo -. '•' in the engine-room was not apparent . • when.ol:o first,' stepped down the! ladders,'''-;. /; but a glance ;into tho part where the ; : coiidenser "-. stood « sufficed to show what a terrific explosion had / taken place. A coil of:pipes, a few picces thick >iTon(re.:: ■ ■ mWnß'of.ithe''eyappraOT) : : lay-.on\the.'flboW'.?i^f ; but. wherothe.evanoratori itself; hadsl»btfx?:''V waij.a. clear; 6pa&" and all aronhd. pipes been brokejr and- bent, 'while the.;,; ' 'glass on. the ■ skylight,' l somo. 30ft.. above,-;' had been blown-, olean out. by tho s • ploson./ The flooring al6o had suffered.; - '