1 0 0 0 OA 火災損傷船靖川丸の修理に就いて
Twin screw motor ship "Silver Cypress" of 6,710 G.T. and 7,000 B.H.P. was built in 1930 by Harland & Wolff at Belfast, Ireland, as an up-to-date cargo boat and was placed in the fleet of the Silver Line Ltd. While lying at anchor outside the harbour of Manila, in January, 1937 a fire broke out in her engine room and spread to the cargo stowed in the hold immediately forward of the engine room. Moreover, the fire swept into the aft holds engine room, and continued for seven days, destroying the entire cargo. After the fire was put out, it was found that all of the decks, deck houses, shell plates and equipments on aft half of the ship were completely burned beyond repair. In the engine room, the main motors were hopelessly damaged from bed to cylinder head ; every part of babbit metal at rubbing surface was found to have melted ; and further more all the auxiliary machineries, the dynamos and armoured cables. Because of the extensiveness and the serious nature of the damage as explained above, the underwriters had no alternative but to condemn the ship and she was sold to a scrap dealer who towed the bulk to Japan Later, it was purchased by the Kawasaki Kisen Kaisba who made a most thorough investigation of the matter and decided to have the hulk repaired. As new steel and iron were not so readily available in Japan then as in ordinary time, every effort possible was made to recover the damaged material for use in the reconstruction work. Also the damaged main motors and auxiliary machineries were repaired without exception. It took 20 months to complete the repairs but now the ship is in excellent condition, both her hull and machinery, and is employed in the service between Japan and America.