THE KOWHAI INQUIRY

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 267, 7 August 1919, Page 6

THE KOWHAI INQUIRY

CERTIFICATE OF THE CHIEF OFFICER SAVED FROM SUSPENSION BY TECHNICAL POINT . •'•' A nautical Court of Inquiry, presided ever by Mr. W. G. Biddell, S.M., yesterday further investigated iho causes of tho stranding of tho s.s. Kowhai on Farewell Spit on June 9 last. The as- • 6essors were Captains W, Manning and F. Black. Mr, J. Prendeville appeared for the Marine Department, Mr. P. Levi ,„; for the Union Steam' Ship Gompairy, Mr. S. Kirkcaldie for the inaster of tho Ko'.'.',whai. (Captain Dinsmoro), and Mr. A. W. „". Blair,..for the first.and sjoond officers R-. Clarko and C. J. Anderson). Evidence had bscn heard on Monday, aud ''.'. the' case; had been adjourned- till yesterday. ' Christian 'John Anderson, second officers continued his evidence. He said that the '. land was liigh at Cape Farewell and then consisted of a long low sandspit. On a dark night one would see tho high hjlls behind the sandspit, but would not notice the ; spit. The hills, were far away. Where the vessel stranded, yitness found ' it difficult (shortly after iho stranding) . .to see the break on the 6ea and tho place ' 'where the sand started. The diffioulty was due to tho colour of the eand, -which was practically tho same as that of the Eea.

Mr. Riddoll (to witness)-: How far did yon think you wore from die land when you loft the bridge ot- four o'clock?— "Six or eight miles." Sis or eight miles?—"l should say four or five, I suppose." Tou say you thought you could olear Capo Farewell on the course tho vessel was following?—"I thought so. I didn't lay it off." Alfred Edward Carter, seaman on the Kowhai, said that he went on duty at }i a.m. on Juno 9. He went to the wheel. ;The course set when he took over was S.W. by S. He oheoked that course, ■ and continued it till ho was fcoid six or 'seven minutes later to altar it to S.W. There was no further alteration, and witness kept tho course till the vessel bumped. Witness could see the chief ■ officer on the bridge wlien tho officer was 'near the compass. Witness did not seo the officer go off the bridge, but witness ■paw him come up with a niece of toast ;and' ai enp of tea. That would be a [little more than ten minutes before the f-bn'mpinjf. ] To Mx. Eirkcaldie: Witness's age was !'I7J. The duty of a man was to • keep his eyo on the compass and not . look elsewhere. ■:-, To -Mr., Biddell: He had !aien his turn i at. steering since he joined the Kowhai some three months before He bad .'steered the Amokura two months aftef /''he had gone to sea. ! "Mr. Blair: The ohief pffioer tells mo - the witness-was a good helmsman. The second off)car (sotto voce from the body of the Court): Best helmsman on the ship. . , , . To Mx. Riddell: He left the Amokura about a year ago. Ho had steered two other vessels than the Amokura before

he joined tie Kowhai. Gordon Campbell Holden, able seaman on the KWhai, said he was 19J years, of age, and had been at sea five years. He joined the Kowhai on April 9. He was look-out on the morning of June B. . The jnan whom he relieved said thero was land on tho port bow. It was blowing l , and the night was dark, When the vessel struck witness .could seo no land ahead. ' It was black ahead. The land witness could see was well out on the bow, and seemed to be a good way. off. To Mr. Blair: Witness felt a bit of a bump before tie vessel struck. He took no notico of it, thinking that it was the Eea coming over. -Two or three minutes afterwards, the captain came on tho bridge and telegraphed "astern." Witness could seo nothing of shore-breatere. A black haze ahead prevented one from Bcoing anything. To Mx. Riddell: Tho ohief officer was away from the bridge for' two or three minutes. '

Captain- Dinsmore (master) was recalled. Ho was asked by Mr. I'rtvndevills to mart cm. the chart lis course -■■ from Cap© Egmont. to Cape Farewell. He """ 'stated that he allowed tor the southwesterly weather by ordering the officers to see that the vessel did not make to leeward of the course. Witness had been sine years with the Union Com- ' pany.. Having the Farewell light abaft .', the beam and land open on the port bow, ..,, witness did not consider when he left ■the bridge on the morning of Jane 9, that any further observations were neces- . sary to the safety of the ship. When , witness came up at the time of the ■• stranding, the conditions of .visibility aid ■>■• not seem to havo changed. To Mr. Eiddell iThere would have been so-objection whatever to tho spare man • ' bringing the tea for the first officer up :■■ to'lheTiridge. ~ '.•: Martin A. Scott, chief engineer on the , "-Kowbai, >produoed the engine-room log, -•' which -showed' that the order "full-speed" .asterir" was given at 4.20 a»m. • The en- • ■•mne-room dock was keeping practically ■'■• th» same time as the chart room clock. '•','■" Harry Baokstraw, able e&ainan, with eighteen years' continuous service on the New Zealand coast, said that he could jiot count the times he ha<l been round ,<sape Farewell. He was on duty as look,'out from 3 a-m. to 4 a.m. on the raorn- ;. itng of tho stranding. He could «e the land distinctly about a point and a-half ■to two points on the port bow. There i j'was no land ahead or to starboard. Wit.'aess' was positive that the land he saw | was Farewell. When he left the bridgo " ,'the night was clear. The weather had ; |been pretty boisterous, but It was moderating. • There was moonlight for about ten minutes just before he went oft. To Captain Manning! It was impossible •for any man on the vessel to mistake the 'iigh part of the sandbank for Oape afaiowelL To Mr. Biddell: Just before & o.m. Farewell light appeared to be well abaft MrVfilair addressed the Court on be■half of the first officer. He said that the only suggestion that could possibly "be made against his client was that he " bailed' to observe the shore.' Apparently the captain was on the bridge six or seven minutes before tho stranding. The conversation between the captain and tho chief officer showed that loth were of opinion that there was' absolutely no danger. The look-out man said that one could not distinguish tho oreak. and tho Court had before it the fact that there were "white toppers" with white 6and and low-lying country. There was cothing in the fact that tho chief officer went for a cup of tea, for he was on the bridge again some tim» before the bump. According to everybody's belief, the laud was miles away. . Tho Court found that the course set by the master at 1.5 a.m. was a reasonably safe one. The Court did not oonsider that the master contributed to the casualty, and it could not see what could have caused the vessel to run ashore at the point at which it did, if the course set had been followed. The chief officer, in the opinion of the Court, did contribute to tho casualty. He went to tho chart-room to get a cup of tea. A very short time after his return the vessel was in a dangerous position. Tlio Court thought that if he had remained on. tho bridge and kept a good look-out he might have ten able to see the danger in time to avoid it. The master was able to reach the bridge and order tho vessel astern before tho chief officer took any action. The Court ordered the chief officer's certificate to bo suspended for three months, and further ordered the chief officer to pay one-half the costs of the inquiry. The second officer, it found, did not contribute to tho casualty, and his certificate would be returned. Mr. Blair submitted that the Court had not power to suspend (ho firet officer's certificate, and that for two reasons. First, the Court had not found any "wron"hil act or default" on the part of the first officer. Such a finding was necessary before the certificate could bo suspended. Secondly, sub-section 5 of section 238 of the Shipping and Seamen i.\ct provided' that "a certificate should not be cancelled or suspended . . . unless n copy of the report or statement of, the ( .|i*e on which tho investigation or inquiry had been ordered had been furnish;<<l |wfr?ro. the commencement of tne lnvesti»ation'or inuuirv to tho holder of lie - certificate." The chief officer had bsen F »rved with the "ronort or statement" of the case only at 10.30 a.m. yesterday, and ■ .Hip iiivefliiiaMoii had been began on Jlondav morning. ' Replying to Mr. Blair's nrst contention, Mr. Riddell said that the Court had

found that the ohief officer was guilty of Negligence. Mr. Blair: But it has to find that he wag guilty of a wrongful act or default, and the Court has'not found that he was guilty of any wrongful act.; Mr. Riddell said that, of course, it was a technioal objection that had teen raised, but it was good and must ho upheld. The part of the order relating to the suspension of the certificate would be deleted, and tho certificate would be returned on payment by _ the chief ofiicer of half the costs of the inquiry. Mr. Blair questioned whether the Court had the power to impound the certificate pending payment of costs. He submitted that his client was entitled to have his certificate back. Mi-. Biddell agreed that it was doubtful whether the Court could hold Hie certificate. It would merely order the payment of half of thoi costs.