The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1917-05-25
GERMAN SHIPSHERE
II WORST DAMAGED
Shipping Board Reports vandaI-
ism In Honolulu Harbor Was
Most Complete pi4i u

sels IN Hawali were much more
Thorough in destroying the usefulness
Of their crafts than were the crews Of
the ninety-odd other vessels in the
United States port Is statement con.
tanned in the report of the survey
board of the federal shipping commits.
sion, which devotes considerable space
to the vessels in Honolulu hatbor. The
report is reprinted in the Army and
Navy Journal.
This report makes Il seem possible
that no portion of the history of the
United States preparing herself for
war will show greater efficiency than
this matter of getting the late German
ships into American commission. The
speed with which. the federal shipping
board is working speaks well for its
efficiency and ability. The Army and
Navy Journal says:
Big Ships Worst Damaged
The shipping board 3 survey Of ships
interncd in the ports of the United
States has. disclosed that the three
great steamships of the Hamburg Am
erican Line, the President Lincoln, the
President Grant and the Pennsylvania,
are the most extensively damaged Of
the German vessels. The repairs on
each OF these ships will approximate
/ $250,000. This estimate was made on
May. 5 by John A. Donald, the mem.
Der Of the board under whose direct
supervision the survey board appoint.
ed on April Is operating.
sabotage in Hawaii
While small in comparison with the
ships mentioned above, the nine vessels
interned in Hawaiian ports are more
seriously damaged. The cylinders of
the three large vessels have been smash
ed beyond repair, according to Mr..
Donald, necessitating the installation of
new casting, piston valves and stop
valves. The furnaces of the boilers Of
I the ships in the Hawaiian ports have
been burned out by firing the shells Of
the boilers when they were without
water, thus destroying the fiber of the
iron. Nevertheless, as result Of the
lprovisions already made for repairing
the German ships, Mr.. Donald said that
the most seriously damaged of the
ships will be ready for commission
within 100 days. In addition to the
Portonia and the Clara Mennig, which
have been commissioned, repair work
has been completed on the Maia, a
vessel Of 1856 gross tonnage, and with.
in ten days the Armenia Of 5,464 gross
tons, the Arcadia, 5454 tons, and the
Nassovia, 1902 tons, win be prepared
for commission.
Hurrying Repairs fstitsf siioe
In discussing the repair program, Mr..
Donald said: .'To provide for the ships
in New York harbor we have distrib-
uted the repair work to all the yards in
that vicinity. This was done to assure
expedition. Three of the vessels in that
harbor are being repaired at the New
York Navy Yard, Notwithstanding the
fact that the yard has much navy work.
We propose to. tear out the passenger
accommodations and provisions to make
room for cargo. If they are to be util-
lied to assist the Allies, they must be
made to carry as much dead weight ton.
mage as possible. There are two ships
being repaired at the Cramp yards at
Philadelphia. We have six at Boston,
of which number five will be repaired !;
three in private yards and possibly two
in the navy yard. In addition there are
four at Baltimore, two at Norfolk, two
at Wilmington, North Carolina, one at
Savannah, one at Charleston, one at
Jacksonville, four ut Pensacola, and
three at New Orleans. All the ships
down the coast from Wilmington will
be repaired at, the navy yards at
Charleston and New Orleans. The Aus.
trian ships have all been surveyed, and
have all been found to be. damaged in
similar manner to the German ships.
| We have not undertaken the repair Of
the Austrian ships because this country
| is not formally at war with Austria.
Purchased Touring Ship .ErI..
"To rush the ships in Hawaii into
the service the shippingS board has
purchased a steamship with towing
gear which will bring an 8,000-ton yes
sci to San Francisco. 1t has arranged
with other steamship companies to tow
the other vessels either to San Fran
cisco or Seattle. OF the twenty,three
ships in the Philippines, at least two
will leave this month for ports of the
United States. Next month, after re.
pairs, four more will follow, to be fol.
lowed, in turn, by from ten to fifteen
steamers. The Panama Canal Zone
win furnish four ships, and the Survey
Board at New York is arranging to
repair four that are at Porto Rico. The
shipping board has had charge of pre-
pairing for sea the vessels on the coast
here, but all of the government depart
| ments have co.ordinated and cooper
ated to secure prompt action. The
bureau Of insular affairs, the Panama
Canal commission and the war and
navy departments have materially as.
sisted. y 81
Two of the largest seized German
steamships interned at Hoboken were
towed away to drydoeks on May Z.
The larger was the Hamburg American
President Lincoln, taken to Erie Basin,
Brooklyn. She is of 1853 gross ton
mage with cargo capacity Of $4,000
tons She is 900 feet long, of So feet
beam, and was built in 1907 for the
Hamburg American 5 express service
The other was the North German Lloyd
Friedrich der Crosse, which went to the
New York Navy Yard. She is l0,695
tonnage, with cargo capacity of l2,.
600 tons, 523 feet long, and of 6O.foot
beam. She was built in Stettin, Ger,
many in 1896. ...-..'......
II %