Cruisng Yachts

Pacific Shipping And Cruisng Yachts

Wrecked New Hebrides ship was "14 miles off course"

'he 530-ton motor vessel Wallisien, which New Hebrides ship wner Captain Athol Rusden had bought only a few weeks arlier, became a total loss when she ran aground on Nukutolo .eef, about 30 miles south-east of Taveuni, Fiji, on May 8.

IDENCE was given at a Fiji Marine Board of Inquiry in a few days later that the isien’s helmsman had never been )a before, and that the ship was niles off course when she went und.

The ship’s skipper was Captain Ernse Wilhelm Lamberty, of Santo, New Hebrides. He took command of the ship in Suva after Captain Rusden bought her from the Holm Shipping Company, of Wellington, for trading between Noumea, Fiji and Wallis-Futuna ( PIM, May, p. 105).

The Wallisien sent out a Mayday message eight minutes after midnight on May 7 that she was aground on a reef, with 17 people on board, and in danger of breaking up. Those aboard included a woman and a young baby, the family of Melbourne artist Alan Thornton, who had signed on as cook.

After the message was picked up in Suva, Fiji’s Marine Department began an immediate search for ships in Fiji waters which could be diverted to the stricken ship’s aid.

The New Zealand minesweeper HMNZS Kiama, on her way to Fiji on a training cruise, and the Fiji Government vessel Degei, on a

tour of northern islands, were both diverted.

Meanwhile, the Medical Depart ment vessel Vuniwai and a 27 ft launch owned by Mr. Spencer Tarte, of Taveuni, also sped to the rescue after radio messages were picked up.

With the nearest vessel still four hours away, and with a heavy sea battering her continually, the Wallisien reported that she was filling with water. Later, shortly after mid day, she radioed: “Vessel is write off.

All ashore on Nukutolo Reef. No more transmissions. We await rescue”.

The spot where the Wallisien’s crew and passengers awaited rescue was one of three small sand cays on the reef, on which a few coconut palms and shrubs were growing.

Mr. Tarte’s launch, followed by the Vuniwai, were the first to reach the scene, and by 2 p.m. the survivors had been picked up. An hour later they were transferred to the Degei, which subsequently handed them over to the Kiama which took them to Suva.

At the Marine Board inquiry, evidence was given that: © The ship’s engine was “in a shocking condition”. (Over)

The ill-fated "Wallisien". For other pictures, see p. 117.

Captain Lamberty.

The New Zealand chief engineer ailed under protest.

The captain had sailed without te.

Only one of the Fijian crew oned by the board had been i before.

The helmsman had learned to on his first-ever trip, from land to Suva. stain Lamberty said it was the ce in New Hebrides ships to vithout a mate. know I am going to be blamed aving no mate aboard,” he said, atain Lamberty said he was ;d when he took the ship over iva after her delivery voyage New Zealand that she had tional westerly deviation. But id he could not see how devia

tion would put the Wallisien so far off course, adding “only bad steermg”.

He said he had been given an inexperienced crew whose capabilities were unknown to him. When he had transferred to the Wallisien from the Konanda, he had wanted to transfer his crew with him.

Eroni Serukalou, of Fiji, the helmsman when the ship grounded, said he was recruited in Auckland after working in New Zealand on a three-month permit.

He said he had never been to sea before and learned to steer on the way from Auckland to Suva.

The inquiry was told that the crew were mainly Fijians recruited in New Zealand for the delivery voyage by Captain Rusden.

The chief engineer Thomas Archibald Kay, of New Zealand, said the ship’s engine was “in a shocking condition”, and he had sailed under protest.

New Jetty For Honiara

jq CQSJ $25 000 * ' Work is expected to be completed later this year on a new 120-ft finger jetty at Honiara. The jetty is being

at a cost of $25,000 by the Ports Authority in steel and ite. It is situated between the ig Wate and Shell jetties. ; new jetty will be used mainly cal trading ships and Govern vessels. reased activity at the port and se of the deep-water wharf by :as vessels have made the new necessary.

Riever" Leaves

Able Patrol

; 4,218-gross ton cable-laying Retriever left Sydney on May • Suva after minor repairs were in Sydney. ed in Suva, but never stopping Y place for long, the Retriever big job ahead—patrolling the mile Seacom cable on the ocean i from Singapore to Cairns, sselton (Malaysia), Hong Kong, and Madang. The cable was d on March 30 {PIM, April, p. ;he cable is broken—anywhere, f depth—the Retriever must get the break and repair the link. : master of the ship, Captain Smith, of Sussex, has a crew ; British officers (including a rishman) and 70 seamen from -Indians make up the stewards the native Fijians are the rs, firemen and deck hands. ; Retriever helped to lay the m cable last year by dropping over the spots where the cable o go. Another cable ship, the rch, followed the Retriever

from Guam dropping the cable under the buoys.

“The job was very difficult be cause the seabed all through the US Trust Territory and again in New Guinea waters is broken up into deep trenches and mountains,” Captain Smith told PIM in Sydney.

“I can’t remember one smooth stretch. South of New Britain in the Solomon Sea we struck the epicentre of an underwater earth quake on December 23 last year.

“Explosions broke the cable and we had to retrace our trail several miles to re-connect it.”

Polynesia Line Ends

First Year Of Service

The Polynesia Line Ltd., of Nassau, Bahamas, recently completed its first year of service in the Pacific with its 3,000-ton freighter Graziella Zeta which makes a 45-day turn about from North American ports to American Samoa, via Tahiti.

The normal schedule is Los Angeles-San Francisco-Coos Bay (British Columbia) - Papeete - Pago Pago-Los Angeles.

Southbound, the Graziella Zeta, which can carry six passengers, lifts

from British Columbia to and general supplies for :an Samoa. On the return trip rries up to seven million cans a from the Star-Kist and Van canneries at Pago Pago to Los s. service began in May, 1966.

Er Sinks In

Uesas

French Polynesian coastal Kariga collided with a cliff ank off Hiva-oa, Marquesas , early in May. ther sh:p, the Vaitere, which ;arby rescued all members of ;w. ship was owned by Siou Foung g, usually known as Ah Fong, •eete.

To Begin Soon

La Wharf

k is expected to begin on the ed wharf at Vila, New es, by the end of the year.

Condominium Government is tly looking for likely tenderers,

and hopes to call for tenders by early September. Preliminary construction should start about two months later.

Mr. J. R. Taylor, a consultant engineer of the Sydney firm of Wilton, Bell, Dobbie and Partners, visited Vila in April to discuss the project and was to leave for Vila again on June 2 for further talks.

Search Fails To

Locate Nauruans

An extensive search by air and sea early in April failed to locate two Nauruans who drifted away from their island in a small boat early on March 31. The boat was fitted with

an outboard motor, which is assumed to have broken down.

All vessels in a large area surround ing the island were alerted by the Nauru radio station; but no ship was available locally to make a search until the phosphate ship Triaster, which had been delayed by bad weather, arrived on the evening of April 1. She was directed to a point 35 miles west of the cantilever and to search to a point 60 miles west, travelling some 15 to 20 miles north and south while working her way west.

The Triaster, using radar, searched the same area in daylight next day,

then moved further west to con i the search. eanwhile, the Administration ht an aircraft from the Am in authorities to join in the :h. le only plane immediately avail was a TAA DC4 Cargomaster. h arrived on April 4. Two BPC >our Master volunteers and 18 ives of the missing men and local rmen were chosen to act as ;ers from the plane, which made ide search for the missing men \pril 5 in co-operation with the ster. The search was abandoned nine hours.

I Zealand-Manned Ships

Wed Back On Sugar Run

ew Zealand’s Minister of Marine.

Scott, promised the Auckland ien’s Union early in May that vould look into union proposals >ut New Zealand-manned ships on the sugar run between New and. Australia and Fiji, according 1Z Press reports. r. Scott received a deputation i the New Zealand Seamen’s >n on May 5. elegates of the Seamen’s Union held meetings in Auckland, anga and Lyttelton to discuss nployment of seamen caused by withdrawal of New Zealand ned ships from the sugar run.

The secretary of the Auckland Seamen’s Union, Mr. T. Curphey, has claimed that there are about 100 unemployed seamen in Auckland alone and yet chartered foreign ships, with foreign crews, were carrying on a New Zealand trade.

New Zealand-manned vessels were last on the sugar run about seven years ago.

P-Ng Harbours Board

Takes Over Ports

The Papua-New Guinea Harbours Board took over full control of terri tory ports on May 1, with port managers in charge of the ports of

Port Moresby, Lae, Madang and Rabaul.

The Collector of Customs will act as a port manager in the ports of Kavieng and Samarai for the time being.

The new arrangement is the first stage in a plan for the Harbours Board to take over and operate all ports in the territory.

Barge Will Make

Unloading Easier

The Lord Howe Island Board will take delivery soon of a new 15-ton barge to help islanders unload cargo from the Jacques del Mar, which

every three weeks with an ige of 80 tons of cargo from ey. ic board had the barge built in ey at a cost of 53,300 and :ts it to arrive in late June irly July. hen the Jacques del Mar arrives Jed’s Beach, on the east side of island, islanders will tow the 5 out to the ship with two ;rs, which will be used in con ion with the barge.

Ship For

Fralia-Papua Service

2,439 gross ton freighter, re id Papuan Chief, will go on the ■alia-Papua shipping run for the a Navigation Company in July, e will replace the company’s two i-ton freighters Soochow and si, which have been sold, e new ship leaves Sydney on her /oyage on July 1, and will make at Brisbane, Port Moresby and rai before returning to Sydney ily 16. e Papuan Chief will have two lules every 34 days. The first, g 16 days, will be Sydney ane - Port Moresby - Samarai - ;y. The second, taking 15 will omit Samarai. e first voyage will begin from jy on July 1. ina Navigation has had the ship :d to handle unit and container ng. It claims it is the first fully anised ship on the run. uuan Chief was built in Norway s 337 ft long. Space is available efrigerated and cooler cargo, e ship was formerly the Bahia, ran in the fruit trade between and Europe under the owner □f Ludvig Lorentzen.

Imer" Adrift For

Nd Time This Year

e 278-ton Cook Island vessel ler was adrift off Niue with e trouble for 2J days in early She was on a voyage from tonga to Suva and was to call ue to pick up 900 empty petrol diesel drums. She broke down iles from Niue at 12.40 p.m. on 20. Later that afternoon the ler started to drift towards the ern end of the island. When dis appeared imminent, the Bod captain sought help from the Administration’s launches, which ised for towing cargo lighters, launches are 27 feet long with 3 diesels. der the command of Mr. J. ban. Superintendent of Works, aunches left Alofi and sighted

the Bodmer, which was firing flares, in gathering darkness at 6 p.m. By this time, however, the launches were in difficulties themselves with rough seas breaking over them, and they had to abandon their attempt to reach the Bodmer.

Meanwhile, the Bodmer had hoisted a makeshift sail (rigged from a hatch cover), and this was helping to keep her off the island.

That night the Bodmer drifted around to the west side of the island, and next day she continued to drift away to the north-west under the in fluence of the trades.

Next morning, after other plans had been considered, the American research ship Wando River, which had been in Tasmania doing oil ex ploration work, and was heading back to Long Beach, California,

called up and offered to tow the Bodmer to safety. This offer was accepted, and the Wando River, then 300 miles away between Suva and Pago Pago, headed at full speed for Niue.

She came up with the Bodmer in the darkness of the following night, and it was decided to tow her to Pago Pago for repairs, rather than against the wind to Niue where the possibility of repairs was doubtful, anyway.

This is the second time this year that the Bodmer has broken down at sea and has had to be towed a long distance for repairs.

The first occasion was in January when she broke down 50 miles south of Manihiki (Cook Islands) and was towed to Tahiti by the Fleetbank ( PIM . Feb., p. 107).

An artist's impression of the China Navigation Company's ship "Papuan Chief" which is to run between Sydney, Brisbane, Port Moresby and Samarai.