BOARDING VESSELS

Dominion, Volume 28, Issue 103, 25 January 1935, Page 6

BOARDING VESSELS

Conditional Authority For Permits Granted \ POLICE AND THE PRESS - J)y Telegraph—Press Association. Russell, January 21. The recent arrangement for the acceptance by Hie port health authorities of a declaration by ships’ doctors on vessels arriving from overseas and intercolonial ports as to the health of passengers and crew, while having its advantages in reducing to a minimum the possibilities of delay in the berthing of the vessels’ arriving at New Zealand ports, lias caused considerable inconvenience in that it prevented the boarding of incoming ships by representatives of Police. Touris'. and Immigration Departments, and Hie Press, who are not permitted to hoard the ships until they are berthed Representations have been made to the Minister of Health, Sir Alexander Young, that permission should be given to those desiring to board vessels for official purposes to do so in the stream, as is done by Customs officers. The Minister approved the request that the representatives in question be permitted to board ships while proceeding to their berths, on condition ‘hat the vessels to be berthed shall have been declared to be clean, and further that the official representatives concerned shall not be permitted to leave any such vessel until the port health officer has boarded her at the berlh and granted pratique. This means that should it be found that there is infectious disease on a ship, those officers would be'liable to quarantine along with the passengers and crew. On these conditions, the Minister has instructed th? DirectorGeneral of Health to notify the port health officer to act accordingly.