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254 The first steel: hull steam boat in South America was erected by T. M. Rees, of the present Rees Co., in 1878. S'nce then the company has Raising Standard ARGE No. 91 of the Standard Oil Co.'s Pacific' coast fleet was raised and put back into commission after being ser- iously wrecked just inside the Co- THe Marine REVIEW built a number of smaller craft, and now has about 25 boats of, its con- struction running upon the Magda- lena and Cauga rivers. Oil Barge No. 91 starboard side were particularly useful in righting her. The tripods were fab- ricated by the Willamette Iron & Steel Works under the direction of Capt. Bunting and Mr. Hague. The methods Fic, 1--Barce No. 91 AsHore Just: Insme THE CorumsBra River Bar, May 14, 1909. lumbia river bar early last May. The successful. wrecking of the barge was the result of the energy and _ resource- fulness of the Standard Oil Co.'s offi- cials and their perseverance in the face of difficulties, Credit for the work is due to J. C. Rohlfs, manager of the marine depart- ment of the Standard Oil..Co., San Francisco, and to Capt. George Bunting and Robert L. Hague, the latter gentle- men having immediate charge of the work. - After wrecking operations had been commenced, the barge, being subject to strong currents and tides, turned on her beam ends and later sank out of sight. Steel tripods erected on the Augus pursued were well suited to the occa- sion and a knowledge of the details of the work would be of great value to anyone facing a _ similar problem elsewhere. Early in May the Standard Oil Cos tank steamer Maverick, loaded with refined oil, sailed from San Francisco to Portland, Ore. The Maverick haq in tow steel oil barge No. 91 loaded with 22,000 barrels of fuel oil. The barge was built in 1900. It is 257 ft, in length, 42 ft. beam and 25 ft. in depth; its registered tonnage is 2,019 gross and 1,851 net. _ The Maverick is a steel steamer 240 ft. in length, 36 ft. beam, 24 ft. deep, 1,561 gross tons and 1,118 net tons. When crossing the Columbia river bar the barge struck heavily a number of times, breaking the forward sea- cock and fracturing a number of plates and rivets. The several severe shocks broke the main oil pipe line on the bulkhead between No. 1 tank and the pump room, flooding the pump room with oil. The steam pipes to the cargo pumps were also broken, rendering the barge's two big cargo pumps _ use- less. The barge settled rapidly by the head' ard about five miles west of As- toria sunk to the bottom in the channel in about 40 ft. of water. The Columbia Fic. 3--Barce No. 91 Capsizep py Ficop Tipz AFTER WRECKING OPERA- TIONS Hap BeEGUN. ne Fic, 2--Srarzsoarp Sipe Barce No, 91 IMMEDIATELY AFTE R FOUNDERING. river freshets were on and the barge's bow settled into the shifting sand about tte Wrecking operations were immediate- ly begun, but no suitable appliances being available at Astoria or Portland considerable valuable time was lost be- fore proper pumps and equipment could be brought from San Francisco. The Puget Sound Salvage Co., of Seattle, ordered its wrecking steamer, Santa Cruz, to the scene of operations, but she proved of little value as her cen- trifugal pumps could not lift the heavy fuel oif The Standard Oil Co. then decided to take charge of the operations themselves, and J. C, Rohlfs, manager