BRAVE SEAMEN

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 152, 16 March 1918, Page 7

BRAVE SEAMEN

VALUE OF RUSSIAN. SAILING SHIP GIVEN TO SALVORS. Mr. Justice Hill, in the Admiralty Court recently, awarded the value of a salved ship to the.commander, officers, and crew of H.M. Special Service cruiser Safeguard, who had. saved from attacking submarines the Russian sailing ship Roma in the neighbourhood of tho West Skellig on May 28 last. Those on tho cruiser, said that they wore on the. south-west, coast of Ireland when the lighthouse warned them of a ship in distress, and they found the Roma abandoned and drifting, with sails set, and numerous shot holes through both . sails and hull. Her wheel had been shot away, and the vessel was nearly awash. Tho perisebpo of an enemy submarine was seen, and several rounds were fired. Nevertheless, tho cruiser lowered a boat and took the Roma in tow. Tho lack of steering- gear and tho set sails offered considerable opposition to towago in a high sea- and squally weather, and in view of the proximity of an enemy submarine, whichxdntinued to hang about, the tow was slipped. At daybreak the cruiser attempted to get hold of the Roma-again, and again a hostile submarine, was sighted, and firing began. Tho cruiser then devoted all her attention to the submarine, and bombarded her till she made off. At great hazard, and, by putting part of the crew aboard, the cruiser., saved the Ronm from certain destruction by submarines, or else by drifting to total wreckage on tho land. An odd feature of the caso was that while the Eonia was worth only £800, her cargo of pitch pine and freight brought up the total salved value to between £5000 and £6000; his lordship thus gave the salvors the value of the vessel.