Ship Bady Buffeted off New South Wales

Grey River Argus, 20 April 1948, Page 7

Ship Bady Buffeted off New South Wales

SYDNEY, April 18. A freighter which had to run before a storm of almost hurricane force, reached Sydney, after being driven 170 miles in the wrong direction. The ship, the Show Savil freighter, Tropic, left Sydney for Melbourne on Tuesday night and had sailed 100 miles south before she was forced back beyond Newcastle. The crew were exhausted after struggling for three days and three sleepless nights with shifting cargo, while their shin “spun like a cork” in the mountainous seas. On Wednesday at the height of the storm the cargo of wool, tallow, barrels and canned food shifted and rolled about in the hold. The crew members, who tried to make fast the cargo, had to dodge barrels and heavy cases crashing about the hold. Casks were stove in and the floor of one hold was awash. On deck the crew clung to the lifelines as waves broke over the vessel. The Tropic is a former Liberty ship and was light loaded. The captain said that at the height of the storm steerage way was completely lost, and the only thing to do for the safety of the ship and the cargo was to run before the storm.