The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1914-07-05
SUGGESTS FENDER FOR
EVERY OCEAN LINER

| A SERIES Of accidents to ocean In.
~ ers. following close on the heels d.,
the Empress of ireland disaster IA
| the st. Lawrence. gives added iupar.
tance at present to investigations and
experiments having for their purpose the
minimizing Of the perils of the sea.
The principle of tho inner and outer
skin. or in other words. the continuation
OF the double bottom as high as Tia
water line, was more fully recognized
and adopted. Legislation was enacted
providing for sufficient llfeboats and
RATS to accommodate every passenger
and member of the crew.
The recent loss of the Empress OF ire.
land. the ramming of the Kaiser WI
| helm H., the strandlng OF the Buulo,y
| and the Gothland were due to fog, AMI
the study OF means to prevent similar
| tragedies OF the sea follow an entirely
different line of Investigation.
Since the Empress OF Ireland was sent
| to the bottom by the collier Storstad
wireless safety device intended to indi-
cate the exact position OF ships has had
a successful test. The application Of tho
wireless telephone To the same use has
been theoretically demonstrated. Bu,
perhaps the simplest suggestion az %
| how the loss of the Empress of Ireland
might have been averted comes from Jo-
seph Conrad, the English novelist, whose
tales OF the sea carry the tang OF the
salt brine.
Mr. Conrad followed tho sea for
twenty years and has been involved IN
collision himself. He Is positive that
IL at the moment the Stortsads bow
was about to pierce the side OF the EN-
press quartermaster or sailor had had
the presence of mind to drop over the
side of the liner one of the big cork
tenders at tie point OF contact OF the
two ships the utmost damage done
would have been the crushing of n fow
OF the plates of the Empress above the
waterline.
These cork tenders are always kept
on the deck of ships. though as a rule
are only used when the vessel IS dock
! ing. AS her bow or side approache,
| the edge OF the pier the tenders are
lowered by ropes, and by their elastic
composition they absorb the force ~
the contact between moving ship and
| immovable pier. MIR. Conrad points ou'
| that the Empress and the Storstad
were not moving at any great speed
when they struck and that could n.
cutting quality of the bow of the collier
have been Transmitted by the cork fen
der into simple pushing force the sie
of the liner would have been stove in,
but not cut open. And the damag.
would have been almost entirely abov>
the watcrline.
Mr.. Conrad also declared that Il
would not have been difficult for "A
competent sailor TO drop the fcndar
over the side OF the liner at the poin.
OF contact. In docking 1t is frequent
necessary to place a fender at a par
ticular spot and without any more
warning than was afforded by the ar.
preach OF the Storstad. At the time NJ
the collision neither ship was moving
faster than few knots an hour.
AS to remedy for similar accidents
in the future Mr.. Conrad enthusiast
cally approves n suggestion which hs
says was made by a retired captain IN
the royal navy. The very simplicity
of the device, II II ia az effective NJ
its sponsors claim. calls forth the as
tonished exclamation, why didn't
some one think OF It before" As Mr.
Conrad says. the solution of the prob
lem is as wonderful In It's simplicity
as the celebrated trick of Columhus's
egg. and infinitely more useful to man
kind"
The device is one that is in use on
every tugboat IN the river and bay
about New York. And tho suGEcs-
ton Is that the great liners, Just as
the humble tugboats, DE equipped
with a pudding" over their bows.
Every one who has watched the fussv,
pulling little tugboats push and strain
to turn the big liners into their docks
has noticed that the bow OF tho tug
boat does not come in contact with
the side Of the big ship Over the bow
OF each tug is a heavy coil OF rope
wound round an inside core Of cork
or hemp. This coil, which IL some
times two feet thick. Is elastic. can he
depended on to spread out absorb
shock and minimize any cutting ac-
ton when steel bow meets steel side.
And tho British naval captains idea ls
that big liners and little liners nam
moth cargo boats and rusty tr1np'
be required 10 carry these "pud1ings
or "sausages" over their bows.
Imagine the Aquitania or the Water
land coming into port with what looked
like an enormous French "Crossan''
or bread crescent. hanging from her
bows. But think again Of tho feeling
of security that the universal use ~
such an ugly device would inspire IN
passengers listening 10 the walling 81
the fog horn of a ship approaching tn'
one on which they were travelling ny
Conrad predicts emphatically that y a"
ships were equipped with such pernIa-
, nent bow tenders, rough and unslsA'Y
| though they may be. the device Wouo
J save more lives at sea than any nuinpe'
OF signalling inventions.
The wireless safety device referred 20
has Just been tested on the CANADIAN
Northern liner Royal George i IS
called tho ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS wireless
system and 1t is claimed that It ".'' 'H
the thickest weather enable tho cap
I tain to find his position without com
> pass or sextant II no Is within MY
miles OF n wireless station or ono hN'ar"
a ship whose position Is known. WIZ
this instrument the direction IN ".-."
an approaching ship is coming can q,
detected and a probable collision aV'''"
, provided the second ship has q wir''r',
t installation. Tho captain of tho l''"
/ George was able TO ascertain tho com.
pass position OF Cape Race, Cape KAY
Father Point and the steamships co. .'
bia, Calgarian and Sicilian on MS N''
, age over and up the -, l""''"
- La e }