MORE REASSURING

Evening Star, Issue 19798, 23 February 1928, Page 9

MORE REASSURING

PUMP EMPTYING C. A. LARSEN’S HOLDS SALVAGE GEAR ARRIVES ON DUNEDIN ATTEMPT TO REFLOAT TO-DAY. [From Our Own Reporter.] HALFMOON BAY, February 2D. At high tide this afternoon an attempt will be made to refloat the C. A. Larsen, whose position is more reassuring. Her bow is still touching the botton, but the tug Theresa Ward pumped 3,750 tons of water out overnight from the i'oreward store hold, reducing the water levei by 20ft. The list to starboard has been almost rectified, and as tho tug Dunedin was expected to commence pumping about noon tho vessel should be ready to float off for towing to a safer beach this afternoon.

Pumping progressed without cessation on the Theresa Ward from 6 p.m. yesterday to 9 a.m. to-day, the pipes being down 26ft in the forward hold. Another 6ft of Sin hoso was then added. Tho Theresa Ward pumped 250 tons hourly steadily through the night. Hugo quantities of whale oil are coming through the pipes.

Under tho command of Captain Page, the tug Dunedin came alongside the stranded whaler at 10.15 this morning. The Dunedin left Port Chalmers at 6.30 p.m. yesterday, clearing the Heads an hour later. The tug encountered excellent weather, although a head swell delayed her arrival in Paterson’s Inlet by one and a-lialt hours. On board was Mr D. Arthur, the well-known Port Chalmers diver, who, after a short inspection of the C. A. Larsen, made preparations for diving on the starboard side. Ho was expected to make a diving inspection before midday.

Tho tug Dunedin carries two loin centrifugal pumps, each capable of delivering 3,500 gallons of water per minute, or sevenfold the capacity of the Theresa Ward’s pumps. One pump was taken aboard the Larsen, but will bo worked .from the tug’s engines, while a second pump, titled on the Dunedin, will be brought into action if necessary.

• Communication with the vessel today was impossible, the Customs Department having issued a warning to launches to keep well clear. No official statement has been issued owing to the actual position being indclmite. When the Larsen is refloated for towing to another beach this afternoon it will bo easier to gauge the position. The Larson’s undamaged cargo will be pumped into tho chartered oil tanker if the Larsen is refloated. The holes will be covered with mats by divers, and the ship towed to a northern port.

It will be Hie biggest salvage job undertaken in New Zealand. The last big maritime mishap on the southern coast was in 1909, when the Knight of the Garter came to grief in Ululf Harbor, being ultimately towed to Port Chalmers for repairs.

No attempt was made during the night to reiloat the Larsen. '.I be opinion that tho ship is ripped from her bow to her luel tanks on the starboard side remains uncontradictcd, but tho diver will provide an illuminating report. The amount of oil lost is still impossible to estimate l . Still, it is firmly believed that at least half the cargo is lost.