Voracious toredo almost put paid to her

The voracious appetite of the toredo worms in her Oregon planking caused the near-sinking of the Formosan fishing boat Shui Yih, in waters off Rotuma in February.

When the waterlogged 90-ton ship went up on Suva slips, alter she made port following a distress signal, it was found the worms had bored thumb-sized tunnels through her stern Mr. James Wong, yard foreman at Whippy s boatyard, said the ship leaks made her stern sink almost to deck-level. The crew had to bail out with buckets and basins to help the pumps.

He thought the worms, which must have been there tor about a year, had entered the hull where fishing lines had scraped off anti fouling paint as they were dragged in. 4 4 , In Suva the holes were plugged to let the Shui Yih get to her home port, where rotting sections will be removed. The job would have taken too long in Suva, where slipway time is booked up for the next two months.