CABLE FAULTS

New Zealand Times, Volume LIII, Issue 12605, 16 November 1926, Page 6

CABLE FAULTS

SHIP EJECTING REPAIRS COST APPROXIMATELY £2OOO. An interruption in the Cook Strait cable is reported from the office of the Postmaster-General (Hon. Mr Noswortliy). who lias announced that the Pacific Cable Board’s cable ship Iris has been chartered by the Government to effect repairs to two Cook Strait cables, Which are unworkable owing to faults. There are six telegraph cables between Wellington . and Blenheim, two from Lyall Bay to White’s Bay. three from Oterangi Bay to White’s Bay, and one from Titahi Bay to Picton. In addition to these, there is the recently-laid telephone cable between Lyall Bay and Seddon. One of tlie Oterangi Bay cables developed a fault in July, 1924. Owing to the introduction of the machine-print-ing system by the department, the carrying capacity of circuits was very greatly increased, and it was unnecessary, at that time, to incur the expense of chartering a special cable repairing steamer to repair one cable. A few days ago, however, a second Oterangi Bay-White’s Bay cable became faulty. With tlie approacli of the busy Christmas season, and the necessity to have all circuits in first-class order, immediate action was taken to charter the Pacifio Cable Board’s steamer Iris for the purpose of repairing both cables. The fault in the cable that became interrupted in 1924 has been located, by test, to be about 300 yards from the Oterangi Bay beach, while the fault in the recently-interrupted cable has been found to be about .9 qauts from White’s Bay. The Minister has received information that the board has given instructions _ for the Iris to proceed to Wellington in a few days, and undertake the! worli of re-' ir, “It may be interesting to note,” states the Minister, “that on the occasion of the previous interruption to the Cook Strait cables in 1923, the Iris occupied eleven days in effecting repairs. The time taken, of course, depends very largelv on the state of the weather. The cost of the repairs effected in 1923 amounted to approximately £2000.”