Clinging desperately to their overturned junk, four Chinese boatmen were Saved yesterday afternoon at 2 o'clock after drifting for hours in the region of Knoll buoys No. 3 and 4 by the South Channel of the Yangtsze River. Their saviours were the crew of the Danish cargo vessel Grete Maersk which happened to be sailing out from Shanghai on her way to the east coast of the United States via Japan ports, Los Angeles, and the Panama Canal. The ship steamed into sight when she was most needed, for the boatmen, whose old junk had capsized a long time before in the face of difficult weather conditions, were almost drowned in the choppy river.
Hauled on board the' Danish ship, handled locally by Melchers & Ca., the four men. were given some food and drink while a message was sent to Shanghai. As soon as the message was received here at 2 p.m. yesterday, a Customs cruiser was sent to the scene and the boatmen were transferred from the Grete Maersk and brought to Shanghai.
The Grete Maersk left Shanghai at 11.15 p.m. yesterday, and now, with her good deed well done, she is on her way to Japan ports. The survivors here are recuperating from their unhappy adventure and worrying chiefly about their material losses. There were no fatalities. ference, the foreign challenge will at. last be met.
I understand that the contract for one of the projected liners may go to the Fairfield Shipbuilding. Ca., of Govan.
The new ships will replace the 13,415-ton, 17-knot Niagara, now in her 23rd year, and the 17,491-ton, 18- knot motorship Aorangi, built in 1924. Both these ships are outclassed by the large, fast and up-to-date Matson liners, Mariposa end Monterey, which are subsidised by the United States Government to the extent of £250,000 a year..
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.