WANGANELLA STILL FAST ON REEF

Rotorua Morning Post, Issue 5308, 22 January 1947, Page 5

WANGANELLA STILL FAST ON REEF

f Prfss Assn.—

UNAVAILING ATTEMPTS: hope that vessel malf be saved

-By TelegravIv—xJopy right.}

WELLINGTON, Last Night. • A rising swell and the need 1'or more equipment caused t le postponement this afteri 0011 of the proposed big attempt to refioat the Wanganella from Barrett's Heef.t Possibly it will be made tomorrow. The vital qnestion asked by those connected with ihe salvage is: "Will No? .2 luikhead hold?" The next. £nd almost equally important i eed is a continuance of iine * weather. A heavy southerly \7ould almost certalrily speli . ciisaster. A remote contingency is that the vessel, with a suitable sea, may. loojben herself and float off without niudh help frmn the tugs. This, howevejtf depends entirely on the report of the divers, who with acetyllne torches, are burning away the plates and steel that grip the rocks. It is known that there is a cansiderable swell of water inside the two now practically flooded forward holds and that the work of the divers is very diffieult. A reporter who made a close in-. spection of the Wanganella when the hig effort to dislodge her was thought ■ to be imminent, found that she had settled somewhat further by the bow^ indicating' that the bottom had sufi'erecjl additional damage. Moreover, the slight list had been increased tP about five degrees to- starboard. There had been no longtitudinal movement and rocking was developing. Additional Gear Employed. At high tide, the stern was higher than the bow. Additional preparations by which it is hoped to shift the Wanganella to-morrow inelude the pl anting in the morning of two additional mushroom anchors, to accoinnany those put down and connecfced hy cable with the • Wanganellia's machinery to-day. , The three power1'ul pumps which could not be unloaded owing to the swell to-day were taken t'o The scene of operations a.?.ain to-night. >. ' It is considered that the three tygs available are all that could. he. profitably employed on thi* salvage cperation. With the three tugs hauling on the cahles, the Wanganella hauling on the four mushloom anchors, so placed as to lift her nose.^ while hauling hackwards, the obstructing plates removeci, plus the high tide and a fair swiil from the south, hopes are entertained that the ship may still be saved. t Mails Undamaged Mr. Eadie, Superintendent Enginecr for the Huddart Parker Company, arrived fronT Australia via Auckland, to-night. Mr. Eadie will take fdll' charge of the salvage operations. . / The Wanganella's mail was taken. oi", undamaged, this afternoon. The tugs Toia and Terawhiti made an earlier attempt to tow the Wanganolla from the reef this morning. ' Smart work by the New Zealand National Film Unit enabled arrangements to be made for the screening in Wellington and Auckland to-night of newsreel pictures of the Wanganella. Copies ef the film were flown to Australia to-day, and should be on sereens there to-morrow. Cameramen were on the scene of the wreck from first ligh#*yesterday. Use of 'Explosives To Free Ship 'Discussed WELLINGTON, Last Night. The Government is greatly cbncerned about the accident to the Wanganella and is following closely the attempts to shift her from her perilous position. The Minister ' of Marine, Mr. O'Brien, is keenly interested i« the possibility of using explosives to dislodge the rock holding the ship. To-night he discussed this method with an expert. 4 He intends to obtain the views of another expert to-morrow. Explosives have been suggested in various other quarters, firstly as a means of blasting away the rock holding the ship and seeondly, if she cannot be shifted, for blowing off her bows. Although modern methods are reputed to enable a skilled demolitionist to blast off a specific portion of a ship without materially damaging the rest of it, a marine surveyor said to-day the first requisite was staff capable of handling modern explosives to produce such a result.

Rush for Air Booldngs By Prospective T ravellers SYDNEY, January 21, Prospective Sydney passengers fof the Wanganella on her next trip back to New Zealand have now made a rush on air hookings. The New Zealand Government Office in Sydney has stated; that all official priorities on flying boats have heen filled until midFebruary. An Australian correspondent declares that Qantas Airwaysallot only six priorities on each flight for people on official business.