SAFETY AT SEA

Hokitika Guardian, 23 July 1929, Page 8

SAFETY AT SEA

(Lyttelton Times)

Twenty nations sent representatives to London a short tune ago to tiiAe part in the International Conference on {safety of Life at Sea, and a I've r Weeks of quiet and unobtrus.vo deliberation, important decisions were reached which are likely to constitute a new charter of the sea. The success of the conference is an illustration ol what can be achieved by international . o-operation when diplomatic manoeuvring and political intriguing arc absent, and the welfare of humanitj is placed first in importance. Questions must necessarily have arisen where national interests conflicted, but so soiid was the basis of mutual concession that the agreement was signed oy the representatives of all the contracting States without a single reservation. All that now remains is lot the nations concerned to ratify the Convention and make its provisions what they are designed to be, of international, and therefore world-wide application. Ttic main problems dealing with safety at sea were delegated to special committees, as was done at the Conference *n 1914 called soon after the Titanic disaster, but although the subjects were practically the same, it was found the conditions had altered, materially during the last fifteen, years, necessitating new views of the position.

Naturally, the questions dealing with life-saving appliances,'radio communication, and steering orders are of the greatest interest to the general public. .111 the Convention of 1914 the principle ox boats for a.l in ocean-going passenger steamers was adopted, and that principle has been reaffirmed by the 19-.9 conference, but witn more stringent provisions governing the position of the boats on board and their being manned by expert crews. Experience during recent years lias shown the necessity of hawing boats ready foi launching, and that can be done with dispatch and with the highest degree or safety only if they are actually carried under davits. Shipping casualizes within the last few years have proved that boats carried in-board, and especially when the damaged ship lias ■isted heavily, nave seriously impeded the work of getting the passengers into such boats as could he readily launched. ' lln view of these circumstances the Conference decided that lifeboats and buoyant apparatus- must be capable of being got into the water safely and rapidly, even under unfavourable conuitions of lis„ and trim; that the arrangement of boats and rails must lie such tht operations in connection with any one shall not interfere with the wor ing of an other; and that it must be poss.ble to embark the passengers, in the boats rapidly and in good order. These conditions, if left merely as an expression of general principles, would probably be honouned more in the ireach than in the observance, hut the measures to attain these ends have been worked out in detail in the regulations embodied in the Convention. i Further, it was agreed that on each ocean-going passenger steamer there must be a sufficient number of the crew holding certificates guaranteeing that they have been trained in the operations connected with launching and handling boats, and that one or more of the ship’s boats should he motor-driven and fitted with wireless installation and searchlight. The great importance of radio-telegraphy as a means of saving life at sea has been demonstrated over and over again, xnd recognition of its value may oe measured by the fact that out of the tptal of 11,000 merchant steamers and inotorsilips of over 1600 tons, owned by the maritime countries of the world, no fewer than 10,000 arc equipped with w i reless install ati ons. But, to make that equipment fully effective for life-saving purposes, each sliip should bo able not only to send out calls for assistance, but should also he able to receive messages of distress, so that it could render aid when occasion arose. The Conference therefore brought under the Convention the provision that all ships engaged in international voyages, except cargo ships less than 1690 tons gross, are to carry an efficient installation and a qualified operator. Of great interest to British sailors, seeing that it is just the opposite of what is now their custom, is the decision that after midnight on .Tune 30. 1931, helm or steering orders on all ships covered by the Convention must he given according to sense or meaning, that is to say, if “starboard” or “right” or their equivalents are used, then the steering-wheel, rudder and head of the ship shall move to the right. Seeing that to-day ships have to employ pilots of all nationalities, the Conference considered it essential that the system of helm orders sliou'd he international, and from next year British officers in the mercantile marine will need to make complete revision of many of their orders to the man at the wheel. Apart from the direct results achieved hv the Safety of Life at Sea Conference iust concluded, an outstemlinc feature was the splendid spirit of conciliation and goodwill displayed by. the representatives, and their determination to find a solution, on broad international lines, of the many difficult problems connected with safeguarding life at sea.