In a letter published in this newspaper an anonymous Dutch navy officer described the miserable condition of the Dutch warships serving at that moment in the Dutch East Indies. He was quite cynical in his comment dealing with the condition of the ships ending with the phrase Happy Indies! Happy Navy! Poor Netherlands!
The stern of the Dutch screw steamship 3rd class Bali was such harassed by termites that a blunt tool would easily penetrate the hull to a depth of 13 centimetre. As a result was the framework of the stern and rudder bended. While under steam was the rudder hardly to be manoeuvred, condensers were in worse condition and also harassed by termites. Her main task was to prevent piracy in the Moluccas.(1)
Note
1.Screw steamship 3rdt class, laid down at the shipyard of F. Smit, Kinderdijk, Netherlands September 1855, launched 8 October 1856, docked at the navy yard at Hellevoetsluis, Netherlands 8-13 May 1857, 28 April 1863-6 September 1864 and 5-9 August 1865, condemned and sold to be broken up 1877, displacement 620 tons, dimensions 38,00 (over all) x 8,74 x 3,90 metres, horsepower 100 nhp supplied by engines manufactured by Fijenoord, an armament of 10 guns (2 light 12pd guns, 8-30pd carronades) and a crew numbering 85 men.
