EXPERTS TO CONFER

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1747, 12 May 1913, Page 5

EXPERTS TO CONFER

CHANCES OF REFLOATING. . A DIFFICULT JOB. Motor-eras have played « prominent pari" dtnintf the \vi"nk-oiul in connection with the wreck <W the Imlrabarah. Captdin liainev, fi-sistant mrmc superintendent tor the Tvser Lino m New Zealand, loit W('llingt.)M for the scene of the wc'.; « noon on Snhmhy aiul reached theVacli opposite the branded steami-i; ,t 4 i i,i vi->tfrdav. the ear having had a breakdown on the wav. On .Sunday afternoon Mr. Daniels silviure expert for the Union Company, leit Wellington for t],{. io „l' the wreck, also by motor-ear, nml iva« due at his destination lato last nj„lil. Captain tiiiiney and Mr. Daniels ivill confer on -bore as to ways and means of "cttinu r the lnilrnbarah olf and Iho ir-oli ol lh:ir deliberations will bo sisnailed U> Captain IWliiip.-ivoi'lh. on the 1 inli.ib;ir,ih, and also to 111'. Burkett, of the liuiou Comsaar'a staff, who is ou tlio

Terawhiti. By this means a perfect understanding will no doubt bo arrived at, and provided the weather does not becomc too bad the chances of refloating the bis liner appear to bo good. An Official Report. Mr. 11. (}. Nathan, manager of Messrs. Bnnnntyne and Cn.'s shipping department, local agents for tho Tyser Line, has liao an anxious time. When seen by t Dominion reporter last evening Mr. Nathan stated that he had been in communication with Captain Rniney, who stated that (he Indrabarah was lying a quarter of a mile off the shore in an exposed position. At 10.30 a.m. yesterday it was not raining at the scene of the mishap, but there was a big sea running. Captain Kainey told Mr. Nathan that the Indrabaruh's head was pointing towards tlio bcach, Sho was quite upright and her engines and boilers were not damaged. Tho vessel was reported not'toilx making any water. Chances of Refloating. If tho amount of water under, neath the Tndrabarah's stern and bows is of tho depth stated, there is a good chanco of refloating her at high tide to-day. As far as could bo ascertained last night it is high tide iu tho Rangitikci Bight at about 2.31 p.m. today and 3.G a.m. to-morrow. On Tuesday afternoon it is high tido nt about o'clock. Provided the Terawhiti can lay the anchors she has on board, and provided also tho weather is favourable, with (ho tug's assistance ths Indrabarah should be "moved. It must bo borno in mind, however, that the big vessel is oil shifting sand, and she was reported to be bumping last night. If the sea increases tho bumping will increase, and consequently tho Indrabarah will sink deeper into the sand. If this happens, the task of getting her off will naturally be much more difficult. Heavy Sea on Coast. Lato last night a telephono message was received from Pnlmerston stating that word had reached there to (ho effect that it was raining heavily on tho coast, and also that there was a heavy westerly sea beating up tho beach. It was reported that at times tho waves were breaking over the stem- of the Indrabarah. CAPTAIN HOLLINGSWOHTH'S CAREER. WELL KNOWN IN NEW ZEALAND. For over 15 years Captain Holling*. worth lias been with the Tyser Line an officer and captain. Ho has been in command of vessels for aliout 12 years, and is particularly well known round Hi? New Zealand coast. For some time previous to coming to New Zealand Cap-' tain Ilollingsworth was in ' the China trade for the same company that owns the Indrabarah. . Amongst other wellknown vessels of the Tyser , fleet which have visited these shores. Captain llollingsworth has had command of tho Indraghiri, ludradevi, and now tile Indrabarah. Ilo'is said to bo-a careful navigator, and knows tho New Zealand coast well. SHIPMASTER'S VIEWS INDRABARAH PASSED NEAR ICAPITI, Several roasters of coastal steamers regularly employed, in tho WeltingtonWangunui trade, ,wero seen by a Dominion reporter on Saturday afternoon, and ono and all slated that tho wholo tiling was a mystery to them. Captain Jlanley, of the steamer .4wahou, said that lie passed tho Indrabarah heading north between Kapiti.-uncl Man a Islands at 4 p.m. on Friday. At that timo tho weather was fine, and the wind was coining away from the westward in a fair breeze. Away to the southward there was signs of a southerly, and the Awahou met it when in tho vicinity of Terawhiti. When- asked if ho noticed any abnormal set in tlio current through Cook Strait, or on the coast on the night iu question, Captain Mauley replied in tho negative. He stated that the weather was fairly clear at the timo ho passed tho doomed ocean liner. • Captain Jackson, of the Hawerar also stated that there was littlo or no sea when he came down the ccast on Friday afternoon. ' Did the "Set" Do It? It was thought that notwithstanding tlit above reports thero must have been a westerly strong set of the current into the lia'ngitikoi Bight. It was also .stated in the meagre details to hand that the night was stormy, with heavy rain ami . a big sea running. Many things might have happened to cause tho mishap, but all is mero conjecture at the time of writing. It was thought probable, that when full news came through it would bo found that tho Indrabarah was some distance off her course, having been taken to the spot where sho now lies by tho set of the current, helped by the westerly winds. THE INDRABARAH. A FINE VESSEL. It was freely admitted by those who inspected tho new Tysej - liner Indrabarah on Saturday, Octobcr 'J, I'JlO—her lirst appearaneo at Wellington from London— that sho was ono of the finest vessels of her typo that had over visited this port. Her carrying capacity, was equal to 15,008 tons measurement, and 7305 tons gross, insulated space being reserved for 115,1100 carcasses of mutton. The vessel was built by Swan, Hunter, and Wighain Richardson, at Wdlsend-on-Tyne, and . was launched iu August, 11)10. Her leading dimensions were 170 feet between perpendiculars with a. bei'm ol .08 feel, end a moulded depth (lo shelter deck) of 43 feet. Tlio twin-screw engines had cylinders of 22, 37, and B2 inches in diameter by 45inch stroke. Ou tho measured mile, carried out near tho mouth of tho river Tyne, a mean speed of 14.1 knots per hour was maintained, while on the run from Tyne 'to Gravcsend tho average speed was 1-1.3S knots. On her maiden voyage out to Australasia, the Indrabarah averaged a speed of 12} knots |>er hour, the engines working without a hitch. Tho vessel was replete with devices to insure her being a eomfoi'tablo ship for otlicers and crew, and tho small number of first-class passengers which she was designed to catty. Tho saloon-was tastefully decorated in- polished oak, with crimson plusli cushions, whilst the appointments of the .smoking-room were in mahogany with crimson leather cushions. It was claimed, for tho Indrabarah that there was no superior cargo boat of her particular tvpe attoat. She was equipped with all the latest appliances for tho rapid ami safe handling of cargo. One ot the snecial features in connection with tho vessel was a powerful gas plant, intended for lighting up the ship 'when cargo was being worked tit night; Us illuminating capacity was said 'to be equal lo 30,000 candle-power, ami this injured a very line light. At the conclusion of discharge of tho Wellington portion of her London cargo, the Indrabarah left for Port Chalmers, where, sho was docked for cleaning and painting- This was done so as to enable the vessel lo make as smart a run home as possible. Sho left Wellington l'or London at the end of November, 1010, to catch tho January wool sales, and ou that occasion made an excellent passage. Since that time the Indrabarah has been a regular trader from London lo Now Zea : land ports, and arrived at Wellington oii lier lust journey from London on April' 28. The vessel completed discharge at this port and. left for Napier to commence Homeward loading on t.ho afternoon of April 31). She proceeded lter.ee to Gisborne, where further Homo cargo was loaded. The Indrabarah p.issed Wellington Heads at; 1 p.m. on May !>, Ikuikl for Wanganui. It was intended that sho would then go to Lyttellon and airive at Wellington on May 21 io complete loading for London, and -he was lo have sailed hi.'iice on May 23. Cap-tain Ilollingsworth was m charge of tli? Indrabarah, and his oltioors were:— Chief, Mr, Stafford; second, Mr. Adcock; third, Mr. Hill) chief engineer, Mr. Morris; sccond. Mr. Jackson; chief freezer, Mr. Young.