Veteran Liner to Be Scrapped Here After 26 Years of Active Service Early on Sunday morning the s. Mantua, of the Peninsular & Oriental Line, picked up her last pilot and steamed into her last harbour, Shang hal, Her last list of passengers, who had already formed an affection for the ship, regretfully packed their luggage and disembarked leaving the vessel empty, gloomy, and already being denuded of her former beauty.
For the $5. Maniua is to be seraped here. "Recently she was sold to the China Ship Breakers, Ld, for £32,750, about $425,000 Jocal "cur rency. And the once luxurious liner that for nine years made the run to Australia, for thirteen the run to herself, will cease to be the ship of beauty' that she once was, and will bbe sold for serap iron.
There are many who mourn the passing of the veteran. She was one the most popular ships to call at this port, and numerous. Shanghallanders have made the voyage in her to and from England. And then there are those seamen who sailed in her year after year, and these are the ones who are hit the hardest, Twelve Years in Mantua There is her captain, J, M. Legs, who has been with the ship for more than twelve years, and who became her master in 1933, "He sai "When you have been with " ship for a number of years, and you have taken her through sunny weather, fogs, gales, and severe typhoons, and yet she always comes up in the' port smiling, well, then' you naturally to the ports out here. Shanghailanders became well acquainted with her.
About 1929, there was talk of ~crapping the Mantua. The P. & 9, had a building programme under "con sideration, and it was planned to sell the Mantua and several other vessels of her class. But due to the depres sion, the plan was discontinued, and the" Mantua continued - to plough through heavy seas and fair, delivering her mail with regularity for another six years.
But finally it was admitted that her day had come. Although still a sturdy old vessel, she was slowing down on her speed, and she was get ting out of date, as new ships were built that had all the improvements of marine engineering that each year are being invented.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.