FIRE IN TANKER

Dominion, Volume 37, Issue 202, 24 May 1944, Page 8

FIRE IN TANKER

Long Salvage Battle (By Telegraph. —Press Association.) AUCKLAND, May 21.

A feat of seamonship was completed when there berthed at Auckland recently two ships which for three weeks tiad been battling against almost every peril of the sea for the purpose of saving one of them from the crippling results of a fire which swept its engineroom. Into the last few chapters of the story entered three tugs, one the ocean-going Toia. from Wellington, and the two others the harbour tugs William C. Daldy and Te Awhina, from Auckland; but the main' credit for the success which crowned the efforts of many officers and men both at sea and on shore belonged to the captain and officers and crew of the ship chiefly responsible for thes alyage. Because of the war it is not possible to name the two ships mainly concerned. It can only be said that one of the two ships, a tanker deep in the water with a cargo of crude oil and a deck load of aeroplanes, was' steadily approaching the end of a pacific voyage to New Zealand when fire broke out: iu the engine-room. Evidence of it could be seen below and even above decks in blistered paint and damaged engines. The officers and crew of the ship put out'the flames. For hours they fought not only to put out the fire, but also to keep the danger away from the more forward parts of the ship and the higlnyinflaminable cargo there. The flames were extinguished, but the fire left the ship without engine-power and even without steering. She was 1100 miles from Auckland when the other vessel, a Liberty ship under British ownership, arrived on the scene. The rescue ship took the- tanker iu tow and began its slow progres steward New Zealand and safety. Because it had no steering, the tanker came along behind the other ship crabwise, and she kept on broaching to. llode Out Storm. When they were close enough to Auckland to be thinking of the end of the tow thew met a fierce storm. Already much earlier in the tow they had had to fight one storm and had seen the towline part. This gale was worse; there were mountainous seas. The rescue ship used every artifice known to seamen to save the tow-line) and the two ships managed to ride out the storm. Meanwhile help had been, sent from Wellington. The Toia had gone out in an effort to help the Liberty ship. The tug picked the two ships up -about 2()0 miles east of Cape Brett, but had to come into Auckland to replenish her bunkers. She went out again later, but had to return to Wellington from a voyage of about 3000 miles without once having been able to put a tow-line aboard the tanker. The William C. Daldy, which had left Auckland with the Toia after the latter had been rebunkered, and waited instructions at Opua. early in the morning five days later was sent out to help the Liberty ship, and picked up the two ships some distance off Cape Brett. The Daldy put a line aboard and began to assist the Liberty ship in the tow down the coast. That, afternoon the Te Awhina left Auckland, and later the two tugs /took over from the Liberty ship, which came on to Auckland. The disabled craft and its two escorts arrived later.