Stranded at Stewart Island

Sun (Auckland), Volume I, Issue 285, 22 February 1928, Page 1

Stranded at Stewart Island

NORWEGIAN MOTHER-SHIP BEACHED

Hull Damaged, and Oil-Tanks Burst

THE Norwegian whaling ship C. A. Larsen is ashore at Stewart Island * She is hard on the ground in Paterson’s Inlet, and the loss of her vain able oil cargo is heavy. (Special to THE SUN.)

HALPMOON BAY, To-day. Half a million pounds worth of whale oil floated out to sea on the ebb tide this morning, when the Norwegian factory ship, C. A. Larsen, of 17,000 tons, went ashore at the entrance to Paterson’s Inlet, badly damaging her bottom and bursting her oil tanks. She was assisted up the inlet by a fleet of chasers, the C. A. Larsen going stern first, and was beached off the western end of Ulva Island at high water at 1 a.m. to-day. Returning deep-laden with a world’s record catch of 78,000 barrels of oil for the John Rasmussen Company of Norway, the C. A. Larsen was to join the other factory ship—the Sir James Clark Ross —which with half the fleet of chasers arrived at the base at Price’s Bay, Paterson’s Inlet, yesterday. SWUNG BY THE TIDE The C. A. Larsen was off Pharaoh Island, a small rock close to Bench Island, at 5 p.m. yesterday, and then came through the passage between Pharaoh and The Neck. The tide swung her off her course, and as she was loaded so deeply forward, and the steering gear was defective (having given trouble for some days) the ship was difficult to handle, and struck a ledge of rock.

well sheltered, except from northeasterly weather. WATER STILL GAINING She is well down by the bow, but is resting on the bottom over most of her length, excapt toward the stern. The water is gaining, but it is hoped that with the rise of the tide toward noon, it may be possible to shift the ship further inshore. The tide rises only from six to eight feet, so that at high water the forecastle will still be well above the water-level. Divers are to be sent down this morning to find out exactly what damage has been done, and what are the prospects of salvage, but it is considered that there will be little chance of getting the vessel off at noon. With the rising tide, the C. A. Larsen lay deeper in the water, having only five feet of freeboard forward, and having taken a greater list to starboard. She was hard aground forward, but was still floating aft. and preparations were being made for an attempt to move her further inshore at high water. A kedge anchor with a long steel hawser was out astern, and wires were made fast to the five chasers alongside. The attempt will not be made for several hours yet. The ship is under the command of Captain Nilsen. An accident disabled one of the whale

The vessel was going dead siow at the time, and there was only a slight shock. One of the attendant chasers was sent up to Price’s Bay for assistance, and returned with the Sir James Clark Ross and five chasers at full speed. Lines were made fast to the C. A. Larsen, and she was got clear and assisted up to Inlet. She stopped off Rabbit Island to be swung round, as she was difficult to handle bow first. With four chasers alongside, and others standing by the C. A. Larsen was slowly moved up stern first, toward Ulva Island, where she was carefully beached at 1 o’clock this morning, on high tide. LEAKING BADLY It was not possible to ascertain the full extent of the damage, but the ship was leaking badly forward, and it was certain that the bottom was badly damaged. All the whale-oil tanks are forward and amidships, and the in- i rush of water from below caused all the tanks on the starboard side, and some of those on the port side, to burst, the oil flooding the forepeak, and rising as the water beneath it rose with the incoming tide. There was a hectic scene below decks this morning. The bilge pumps were working at full pressure, but were not able to cope with the inrush of water. The main pump-room was flooded above the machinery, and steam hissed and sizzled from the pipes. The heat and the stench of whale oil were indescribable, and the steel decks were slippery with grease. MORE TANKS MAY BURST The tops of the tanks that had not then burst were bulging ominously upward with the rise of water, and it seemed probable that the increase of pressure as the tide rose would burst them also, resulting in a loss of the whole of the vessel’s cargo, which is said to be worth £750.000. The amount already lost through the bursting of the tanks is estimated at 65,000 barrels. At present there is a very light easterly breeze, and the sea is almost dead calm. The ship lies on an even keel, with her bow pointing seaward, between Native Island and Ulva Island, the entrance to the Inlet being north-east of her. - She is thus fairly

chasers and it had to be towed up to the base for repairs. The tugs Southland! and Theresa Ward proceeded to the inlet this morning with salvage pumps.

The steamer C. A.YLarseii,. formerly the San Gregorio, was built in'±9l3 by Swan, Hunter and Wig-ham Richardson, Ltd., at Newcastle. She flies the Norwegian flag. She has a length of 527.2 feet, a breadth of 45.2 feet, and a draught of 29.3 feet. She carries wireless and is fitted for carrying whale oil in bulk. Under an agreement with the Imperial Government before the Ross Sea area came under the jurisdiction of New Zealand, Messrs. Konow and Larsen, of Christiania, are licensed to catch whales in the waters of the dependency for a period of 21 years. The New Zealand Government rceives an annual payment of £2OO in respect of each factory* ship, and a royalty of 2s 6d a barrel of oil taken over and above 20,000 barrels. In the 1924-25 season the Larsen expedition secured 32,165 barrels of oil.