Cruising Yachts

Pacific Shipping And Cruising Yachts

Fiji Govt Officers Criticised Over Orders To Skippers

The Fiji Marine Board in July criticised senior Government officers who brought pressure to bear on ships’ masters to nove their ships in darkness from safe anchorages to iangerous waters.

IE board “absolutely condemned” the practice of passengers in il vessels, and particularly senior :ers travelling in Government >els, directly or indirectly at pting to influence ships’ masters the conduct and navigation of r vessels.

Unfortunately, this practices is of [uent occurrence,” the board said, is most hazardous and must be >rously discouraged.”

Tie board made its remarks after inquiry into the stranding of the yernment motor ship Cagimaira Monkey Face Passage, off Vanua u, on March 6.

'he master, Poasa Talevarua, said evidence that he had left safe ers in darkness to try to reach >asa in time to allow the Coconut •sidy Officer, Mr. J. S. Matheson, :atch an aircraft for Suva.

Tie board found that the pmaira stranded because of the uest to reach Labasa by a certain e.

It decided that a formal inquiry was neither expedient nor necessary.

In another inquiry, the board censured Edwin William Sandys, master of the Burns Philp (SS) Co.

Ltd. trader, Zephyr 11, for allowing the vessel to run aground in the Navula Passage, off Momi, near Nadi, at 1.35 a.m. on June 5.

Sandys said he was on watch and must have dozed off to sleep—an explanation given by several Fiji skippers for similar accidents ovei the past few years.

Sandys said he had only had about one hour’s sleep on June 4. He was standing at the wheel when he went to sleep and when he awoke, in response to a call, he found himself partly over the chart table.

The board said that Sandys should make better use of his time off duty and take sufficient rest before going to sea. A responsible officer had to take active steps to ensure that he remained awake while on watch.

Therefore the board had to censure him for his irresponsibility.

Inter-Island Ship

Lost In Fiji

The Fiji inter-island auxiliary cutter, Fijian Princess, foundered in heavy seas in Nasoata Passage, off Nasilai Point, early on August 14.

The 13 passengers and crew of 14 went ashore in lifeboats.

The ship sprang a leak after being battered by heavy seas about five hours after leaving Suva for Labasa.

The master, Sunia Vosaki, 54, in an effort to save his ship, took it through the passage into calmer waters. However, the inrush of water was more than the pumps could cope with, and the cutter sank a few minutes after she was abandoned.

Later people living on the coast near the scene of the sinking picked up wreckage and cargo.

The Customs Department im mediately advised that cargo or wreckage was to be handed over to the Comptroller of Customs in his capacity of Receiver of Wrecks.

The Fijian Princess was owned by the Princess Shipping Co.

For Survey: The

Tonga Government ship "Niuvakai" left Nukualofa in July for Japan for her annual survey in dock. She carried a load of 1,510 tons of copra. She was expected back in Tonga early this month with a cargo of cement and other building materials for the new hotel at Nuku alofa.

N To Aid

Motu Fishermen

ie schooner Paraita, which has storage facilities, will be used arry fish from Rangiroa Atoll, ie Tuamotus, to Tahiti, under a development plan. ie Department of Stock and sries has built a deep-freeze refrigerating plant on Rangiroa, h can hold up to 10 tons of fish, ader the plan, Tuamotu fisher will be able to sell their catches ie Papeete market.

D-Up On Harbour

Ject At Asau, Samoa

survey team on the harbour ;ct at Asau, Savaii, Western □a, ran into trouble early in ist when a small group of people t Utuloa pulled up survey :ers. The people then announced they expected compensation for markers being put in on their ie survey group, from Merritt m-Fletcher, the contractors for harbour project, went back to with their work unfinished, ie matter eventually reached sterial level and a conference, 'hich it was hoped to iron out rences, was called, eanwhile, work is proceeding lily on Western Samoa’s other our project, at Apia. At the mtu site, the wall for the town imation area is being pushed well into the harbour.

Laval Vessel

Rtered As Trader

r. Athol Rusden, of Vila, whose ton New Hebrides trading vessel na del Mar was gutted by fire July 14 after leaving Santo for , via Norsup ( PIM, Aug., p. 5), ntly chartered the former French al vessel Tiare for trading in the up. r. Rusden also runs the motor ;ls Darnley and Nikau. i a note to PIM on the loss of Sorana del Mar, Mr. Rusden the vessel was insured for 000, but the owner’s cargo of and general goods valued at 00 was not. e added: “The loss of this vessel sad blow to local planters and ers as she was in continual ice between Tanna, Vila, ekula and Santo”.

Iga Orders Fishing

Sel In Uk

he Tonga Government has ;red a Fairisle long line fishing el from Fairmile Construction

Co. Ltd. of Great Britain, Delivery is expected in about 15 months.

The ship will have an overall length of 73 ft 9 in. and a dead weight of 80 tons.

It will have a hold capacity of 50 tons of refrigerated space. Advance hopes are that the ship will supply Tonga with an abundance of fresh fish, and that enough will be left over to sell to the Pago Pago

cannery, and possibly the new Levuka cannery.

It may also be used to carry bananas from Niuafo’ou and Niuatoputapu to Vavau to connect with USS Co. ships for transport to New Zealand.

Customs Post Re-Established

At Levuka

With increased activity in overseas shipping at Levuka, chiefly through the establishment of a base for a Japanese fishing fleet, Fiji’s old capital has retrieved some of its importance as a port of entry.

The increased activity in the port has resulted in the re-establishment of the Customs post, with a Senior Collector of Customs, plus staff.

Previously, the Customs Depart ment sent staff to Levuka only as required to clear the odd ship which called at the port for copra.

New Cook Islands

Trader In Service

A new trading ship for the Cook Islands, the Tagua, arrived at Raro tonga on July 23 on her delivery voyage from Hong Kong, under the command of Captain G. W. Duns ford, of Auckland. She was wel comed by a big crowd. The Tagua, a motor vessel, cost about £28,000.

She belongs to Messrs. Boyd and Silk, who operate a trading business at Rarotonga. Built to Lloyds’ 100 A 1 specifications, she is 85 ft long, 100-ton, single-crew, and is powered by a 250 hp Gardner engine.

The Tagua is broad in the beam, and has comfortable accommodation

14 passengers, and a single cargo d for 100 tons. She has a diesel ich. Her speed is almost nine its. )ne of the ship’s predecessors in Cooks, the auxiliary schooner \ua, was one of the best known lers in the Pacific, rhe new Tagua is the third of le ships licensed to trade in the 3ks. The others are the Akatere 1 the Bodmer.

"he new ship started her first trad voyage on July 27 when she ed for Mangaia, Mauke, Mitiaro I return.

Jder Called For

Tdang Wharf

group tender for the con iction of a road between Madang I Mowan, and for the building of overseas wharf at Madang was ed in July.

According to the works manager P-NG’s Department of the ministrator, Mr, E. Flower, the up tender will be about £BOO,OOO, 1 will be one of the biggest en eering contracts ever let in P-NG. fhe road will open up a rich ber area in the Gogol Valley, and I give timber contractors easy ess to shipping at Madang. fhe new Madang wharf will be a site known as Hospital Point, :t to the present wharf. The itract provides for a wharf, 450 long by 40 ft wide, of concrete ks built on tubular steel plates, led roads in the wharf area, a inkier system, water supply, urity fences and a Customs shed, ) ft by 80 ft. vlr. Flower said that work would rt on both the wharf and the road soon as contracts had been let.

I's World War Ii

Ipping Casualties

Three merchant ships were sunk 1 six were damaged, some exten ely, through enemy action in New linea waters in World War 11, istralia’s Minister for the Navy, •. F. C. Chaney, said recently.

Mr. Chaney, who was replying to questioner in Federal Parliament,' d the casualties were: Her stein (Norwegian), bombed and ik, Rabaul, February-March, 1942, e life lost; Macdhui (Australian), mbed and burnt out, Port Dresby, June 17-18, 1942, 10 lives t; Mamutu (British), sunk, off rt Moresby, August 8, 1942, seven es lost; Van Heemskerk (Dutch), mbed and damaged, Merauke, cember 27, 1942, three lives lost; n Heutz (Dutch), bombed and ensively damaged, Oro Bay,

nary 1, 1945, two lives lost; yhen Crane (United States), ibed and damaged, Langemak , January 31, 1944, one life ; Gorgon, torpedoed and sunk, ne Bay, April 14, 1943; Theofano 7 nos (Greek), bombed and laged, Buna, September 9, 1943; nge S Stirling (United States), ibed and damaged, at Megum, igemak, January 29, 1944.

Ing Job At Honiara

:aptain Stan Brown, a team of ;rs, and a boilermaker, all from a, made the normal periodical lection of the Shell Company’s marine pipeline and mooring ys at Point Cruz, Honiara in »ust.

Tie pipeline is laid at a depth of feet at the seaward end. The ;rs went down in two cages like one used by Captain Terry Hardy blast Pelope Shoal about two rs ago. The two big buoys were Light in for scraping and painting, replaced.

'aptain Brown will be in the 3mons again next year with his iliary vessel Maroro, which has n chartered by a Royal Society ntific expedition from July 1. he leader of the expedition is E. J. H. Corner, a Cambridge versity botanist, who will also 1 a land party of botanists and logists to study inland areas. A ■ine party, led by Professor J. E. rton, will study shallow water shoreline biology.