FIRE ON LINER

Wairarapa Times-Age, 3 May 1939, Page 5

FIRE ON LINER

ZEALANDIC RATHER BADLY DAMAGED. By Telegraph—Press Association -Copyright. MELBOURNE, May 2. Fire occurred in the Shaw, Savill, and Albion Company’s liner Zealandic at Victoria Dock today. The crew and several fire brigades had a hard fight of 80 minutes before they got the fire under control, fierce heat and ■suffocating smoke hampering the task. The outbreak appeared to start near the boiler by the ignition of waste crude oil. Considerable damage was done to the engine-room and to the adjoining hatch. The Zealandic arrived fom London yesterday. The Zealandic is one of the bestknown of the Shaw, Savill and Albion Company’s cargo liners. Built in 1928, she was the first of the quartet of mo-tor-ships built for the company. The Zealandic is a twin-screw motor-ship of 8443 tons gross register, the sister-ships being the Coptic, Taranaki and Karamea. Commanded, by Captain M. Andrews, the Zealandic left London on March 22 and Cape Town on April 8 for Australian ports. DAMAGE SERIOUS. SHIP MAY HAVE TO BE DOCKED. MELBOURNE, May 2. So extensive was the damage caused by the fire which broke out in the liner Zealandic at Victoria Dock today that it is uncertain when the ship will sail. Till a more' thorough inspection is made tomorrow it will not be known whether the Zealandic will have to enter dry dock for repairs. If this is necessary, temporary repairs will be made here and the ship will be taken to the Sydney dry dock. Arrangements will then have to be made for the transhipment of cargo. Surveyors, marine engineers and representatives of the owners’ agents spent most of today inspecting the damage.