New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1904-03-13

efforts Free Tracks of Oceangong T Of These Dangers Mari
CATION " arhips Employed in York.

Uncle sam has long been Zoe OF the sullcn
ASSASSIN of the sea-the derelict He IS propar-
Ing TO do more TO rid the ocean Of the hated
presence of this menace 10 navigation. This
uirter two bills were introduced in the Senate
t,okin, to the construction und operation Of q
vessel especially equipped to discover and de
stroy them For 4 number OF years naval yes
s,ls have been assigned to the task OF locat-
ing and Kidding the ocean of their presence Oc-
casionaIy, one Of the nrrer revenue cutters
has been ordered to proceed sea to do the
same work The new vessel is intended 10 per
form for navigation a service similar 10 that
performed on land by the fire engine and In
the harbor By the nreboat Whenever report
is received from an incoming vessel that a dere-
lict has been seen IN certain latitude and
longitude. II will be the duty OF this boat TO
20 out find II and then either tow ii into port or
d.s-roy it in some manner.
There are good reasons for this care To- re-
3o.c dcrelicts from the surface OF tho ocean.
There have been many mysterious disappear
.,..s OF vessels which probably "il never Doe
explained FOR which thes. yar.loIIs Of the
IS responsible. The records Of seven years show
that forty-nyc vessels were in collision with
g...Ilcts IN the Atlantic Ocean. OF these. nine.
o. ouc-lfth. were sunk as q result, and seven
t..u. OF more than one-third. were considerably
G.raged. Guu5oats, steamboats,. barks and
...anuers have been victims Of these wandering
,.-.nsrates. In those seven years .G2S derelicts
..'- reported by incoming vessels. an average
e. 80 each year and nineteen each month. 1t
N.s impossible TO identify 1.1I6 OF these All
iu. tao OF three were wooden Nearly third
a. chem were bottom up.
Most Of the derclicts are sighted in the Gulf
steam, north Of 80 degrees north latitude and
v.-t OF &c degrees west longitude. In other
T,rIs, the majority found Off the coast
Of the United States. from IIatteras north The
number gradually decreased to the eastward
along the transatlantic steamer routes The
average length Of time a derelict remains afloat
g. thirty days. but some have been known to
cr..t more than two years. at last comnl, back
&C. point near the place Of abandonment The
tracks Of the wanderings OF a large number
covering a period OF years were once plottcd
cn single chart by the United States Hydro
az uhie Office. The chart in appearance. sue-
p,-.,d the skaters tracks on an ice covered
pond the tangled track OF n seismograph
il sho"ed that those which remain afloat the
LONGEST time usually make a circuit around the
Cr.lrums Of the Sargasso Sea, the track being
altered from oval by some shift in the
NiaI or current Each month the Hydro
graphic Office publishes a chart on which
besides other Information. is plotted the track
a. each Of the derelic;s known and supposed to
l. a9oat, its location each time it was reported
being indicated. In this way the mariner about
10 depart from this any other port ia this
country is warned in measure as to the hiding
places Of the malevolent derelicts
Perhaps Il is only Just that the United States
should DO so much to rid the ocean Of derclicts
a third Of those which can be identified fly the
American flag. more than those flying any other
This is due. in part. to the fact that the pro
portion Of sailing vessels crossing the Atlantic