THE LARGEST WHALER

Shannon News, 30 November 1926, Page 3

THE LARGEST WHALER

C. A. LARSEN AT PORT CHALMERS. Tho Norwegian whaling steamer. CA. Larsen arrived, on Tuesday at Port Chalmers to take in a supply of fresh water before proceeding to the wha - ing base at Stewart Island and thence to Ross Sea. On September 8 she left Sandefjord, Norway. At Bedford sha took in a supply of coal for the use of her chasers. After passing through the Panama Canal she called at San Pedro for oil fuel for her own use. Moderate weather was experienced throughout tho passage from Norway to Port Chalmers. ®Tho C. A. Larsen was built at New-castle-on-Tyno in 1913 to carry bulk oil for the Eagle Oil Transport Company, and was acquired last year by her present owners for whaling purposes. She is said to be the largest mother ship engaged in whaling. Her dimensions are as follow: Length 527.2 ft., beam 66ft., depth 33ft., tonnage 12,093 (gross) and 9075 (net). Her speed is a little over 11 knots an hour. The propelling machinery is placed near the stern; Oil fuel is used.

In the course of transforming her from an oil tanker to a whaler the vessel’s appearance has been considerable altered. She has no masts excepting two poles to stretch the wireless aerial. The. deck fittings have been changed to comply with tho requirements of whaling. Below decks one is struck with the profusion of machinery. There are pipes, tanks, machines everywhere, and even tho big grindstones to koep the flenching knives keen are power-driven. Most noticeable of all is a big round porthole about 20ft. in diameter on the water line at her bow. Through this tube tho N dead whales are to be hauled on deck. The big steel shute reaches to the upper deck, and the carcases are hauled 'up tho incline plane, tail first, by a very powerful steam winch. The winch rope in this case is a heavy steel hawser. When tho carcaso reaches tho upper deck the blubber is removed and dropped down through apertures in the deck to the underneath. There tho oil is extracted, purified, and transferred to the storago tanks, which altogether have a holding capacity of over 65,000 barrels. • After has been removed the balance of the carcaso. is handed farther aft along the deck and mado ready for boiling down. Nothing' of value, is lost, and modern appliances reduce tli© cost of treatment to a very low minimum. Tho means adopted to close the big porthole in 1 the bow when it is not required is very interesting. The steel cover for it is shaped somewfiat like an immense spoon, and is swung on pivots about 1 half-way lup the handle. The mouth of tho spoon covers the hole in tho bow. For tho opening of the aperaturo a wire tacklo has been attachedo to tho top end of the handle of the spoon, the tacklo fall leading to the Avindlass. When tho tackle is hauled taut tho handle of tho spoon is pulled inboard, thus tilting up the mouth of the spoon outwards and leaving the orifice clear. It .automatically closes when the tackle is slackened. This is said to be tho first ship ever equipped in this way at tho bow. Others have been similarly fitted at the stern, but their main engines wero probably amidships. {

Captain O. Neilsen, who took charge of the Sir James Clark Ross when ■Captain Larsen died last year, is now master of the C. A. Larsen, which is named after tho organiser, of Ross Sea whaling.

Tho C. A. Larsen which has a crew of 175, exclusivo of 15 being shipped hero, leaves Port Chalmers / to-morrow for tho whaling base at Stewart Island, where she will pick up her five chasers. Next Monday they will sail for Ross Sea.

A . reporter asked Captain Neilson whether the Norwegian whalers operating from Tasmania wore likely to be competitors for whales in Ross Sea Captain Neilson replied that he did not know anything about thoso whalers. i