A COLLISION AT SEA.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 3151, 31 March 1909, Page 4

A COLLISION AT SEA.

The interesting problem presented by the sinking of the White Star liner "Republic," in the Atlantic some months back, thirty-six hours after she had been rammed by an Italian steamship, is exercising the minds of American marine experts, shipbuilders and Jnauticarmen generally as to the efficiency of the bulkhead or watertight compartment system. One view is that the bulkheads had 'answered the purpose for which they were designed, in that the vessel had remained long enough intact to enable every soul on board who so desired to leave her, but pessimistic opinion has it that the test was far from satisfactory. Suppose runs this contention, the vessel had been rammed in mid-ocean, that the condition of the colliding vessel did not warrant transfer of passengers to her; suppose that the nearest steamship had been out of reach of her wireless telegraph waves, or that a heavy sea had been running instead of the calm sea, and weather that for-' tunately prevailed at that time—in any of these three eventualities, it is reasonable to assume the necessity of taking to the boats and the subsequent floating about in the ocean until they were either picked up or swamped. There have been instances recorded, however, of these watertight compartments answering so admirably as to permit of the rammed vessel reaching port safely after the accident; but never when the steamship had been punctured in the compartment that contains the motive power as was the case with the Republic. The question must be faced, therefore, if perfect safety is to be ensured, as to whether it will not be necessary to have auxiliary pump 3, boilers placed in another compartment, and the advisability of installing double bulkheads. With such additional safeguards passenjrvrs could lay them down in their ounks with perfect tranquility, without the slightest speculation' on what the wee hours might have in store. Marvellous as has been the advance in shipbuilding science of late years, it is nevertheless still in its infancy state; and no doubt in a few years' time such a lamentable casualty as the late Penguin disaster will be almost an impossibility.