Other Feats of the Wolf.

Evening Post, Volume CXII, Issue 57, 4 September 1926, Page 28

Other Feats of the Wolf.

After sinking the Matunga the Wolf again entered the Indian Ocean, where she captured the Aitachi Maru. Being loaded with a cargo consisting largely of foodstuffs, this Japanese steamer was a grand prize for the raider. The Wolf's next _ capture, the coal-laden Igotz Mendi, was manned by a German crew, her cargo being of too great a value to the raider to be sent down with the ship. The Igotz Mendi trailed. the Wolf :down the Indian Ocean mid into the South Atlantic, and when the greater part of her coal had been consumed took on' board the raider 'a war prisonrirs afldset a course for a German port. She finally went ashore on the Danish coast, becoming a total wreck. Various other vessels were captured and sunk by the Wolf. On 2nd March, 1918, the raider arrived back ai Kiel. She' had' been at sea for more than fifteen months and was badly in need o-f cleaning. On board the vessel were 600 prisoners. The ex-radier must not be confused with the British steamer Antinous (3600 tons), which is expected to arrive a-t Auckland from Cuba this month.

Oceanic line Steamers. Keeently the Oceanic. Steamship Company, which for 25 years conducted a service between Sydney and San Francisco, with the steamers Ventura, Sierra, and' Sonoma, was purchased by the Matson Navigation Company, Inc., saya an exchange. Mr. Hugh Gallagher, manager for the Matson Company at San Francisco, who is on a tour of inspection of the various branches and agencies of the company, arrived in Sydney by the Ventura this week. No definite plans, he said, had beeii made regarding the service between San Franciso-and Sydney, and the schedule respecting the sailings of tho Ventura, Sierra, and Sonoma would remain unchanged. The interior of the vessels, including the de luxe rooms, social halls, dining saloons, and lobbies, would be renovated and re-decorated. On the Ventura a shelter deck had been erected for the second-class promenade. The Malolo, a vessel of about 17,000 tons, added Mr,. Gallagher, was recently launched, and would be placed in commission in the service between San Francisco and Honolulu about the middle of next year. The vessel would 'have accommodation for 650 passengers. "would not be included in the Sydney service, but if there was an in- j 'crease in the number of passengers and 9eargo, new steamers would be added I e to the line. The turbine-driven passenger and ■freighter Malolo, the largest of her »type every built in an American shipyard, was launched on 26th June at the plant of the William Cramp and Sons Ship and Engine Building Co., Philadelphia. The launching was one of the most notable events in the history of American shipbuilding. The new steamer was christened by Lurline and Borenice Roth, six-year-old twin daughters of Vice-president Both and granddaughters of the late Captain William Matson, who founded the Matson Navigation Company in the early 'eighties with, a 600-ton schooner. The name of the vessel is a Hawaiian word meaning "flying fish." The keel of the Malolo was laid in the yard of the William Cramp and Sons Ship and Engine Building Co., Philadelphia, Pa., on 4th May, 1925. She was built under contract with the American-Hawaiian j Steamship Company for the Matson ! Navigation Company of San Francisco, and cost about 6,500,000 dollars. She ,is 582 feet in length, with a beam of 83ft. Her draught, loaded, is 28 feet 6 inches. Her total cargo capacity is 227,000 cubic feet, including the refrigerated cargo space. Her displacement, loaded, is 22,000 tons. She will be driven by twin-geared turbines generating 25,000 horse power, and her speed is over 22 knots. There are accommodations for first-class passengers only, and she will take care of 693 of these. There are .274 staterooms, containing 481 beds, and in addition to these, 172 j Pullman berths. There are four suites de luxe, consisting of two double rooms each, and with two baths in each suite. Two of these suites de luxe have, in addition, a private verandah. It is interesting to note that the Malolo will have more private batha than have ever before been built into any ship. Among the general features for passengers' comfort there are seven promenade and game decks, some open and some closed. Elevators will carry the passengers to and from the various levels. AH cooking aboard the liner will be done with electricity. The vessel is equipped with i oil burners and will carry 7000 tons of fuel. The Malolo is said to be the first vessel built in the United States to incorporate in its design full compliance with tho specifications of tho International Convention of Safety of Lives at Sea. A reef could rip open, the outer shell of tho double bottom from stem to stern yet she wouia remain afloat. Although the Malolo has been designed to meet tho exacting requirements of the first-class passenger traffic she has been so laid out that she can easily be converted into a troop transport, airplane carrier, or armed cruiser in a national emergency. She has been built with gun foundations as part of her structure. It will be practicable to install a battery of twelve 6in guns and four 3 and 4in anti-aircraft pieces. Her high speed and twelve 6in guns will make her a veritable cruiser. A Fast Passage. On her return trip from England to New Zealand the Commonwealth and Dominion Line's motor-ship, Port Dunedin, which arrived at Auckland from Liverpool last Saturday afternoon, occupied only thirty-three days two hours thirty-seven minutes, exclusive of the time spent in the Panama Canal zone. This time is a record for tho voyage' says the Auckland "Star." Leaving Liverpool at 7 p.m. on 17th July, the Port Dunedin made excellent progress in the Atlantic, and arrived at Colon at 8.30 p.m. on 30th July, her average speed for the run being 14.22 knota per hour. The delay in the Panama Canal zono totalled one day five hours. Coming across the Pacific the vessel experienced fine weather until Wednesday of last week, when a hard westerly gale, accompanied by high head seas, reduced the ship's speed. When the storm area was passed the motorship completed her voyage under normal conditions. The time during which the speed was reduced totalled twenty-two hours forty-six minutes. Auckland was reached on Saturday afternoon, the vessel dropping anchor at 2.30 p.m. The distance between the two ports was covered at an average speed of 13.96 knots. On her maiden voyage from London to Dunedin the Port Dunedin occupied thirty-four days one hour fiftyone miuutes, despito the fact that she was delayed off the coast for several hours owing to a thick fog. That time was within a narrow margin of the record, her average speed being 13.7 knots. The motor-ship Port Hobart, a sister ship to the Port Dunedin, recently made a rotford Homeward passage from New Zealand of thirty-four days. The Port Dunedin's record applies only to vessels regularly engaged in the New Zealand trade.