HELM ORDERS

Hokitika Guardian, 20 July 1932, Page 2

HELM ORDERS

CHANGE TO THE DIRECT SYSTEM

ipNDON July 10.

A meeting attended by representatives of all the shipping interests and associations was held at the Board of Trade to discuss what st ps could be agreed upon as likely to facilitate the change over from the system of iiw direct helm orders to the system of direct helm orders.

It was .agreed to he desirable that the words “port” and “starboard,” used in the direct sense) should be employed as the permanent form of helm or steering orders under the new system. -It was also' agreed that it would be useful, in''order to call the attention of officers and men to the fact that orders were "being given under the new system, that from the date on which the direct system becomes compulsory, there should he ,a short transitional period during which some particular warning word should he use(j in addition to the weird of the order, and after some discussion it was agre'ed that the warning word should be “wheel.” Tile orders during the transitional period would then he “when! to starboard,” “wheel to port,” or “starboard the wheelj” “port the wheel."

Some discussion ersued as to the date of tile change, and it was pointed out that this date could not be later than the date. on which the Convention comes into force. It was ex-y plained that proposals, were under consideration for bringing the convention into operation on January Ist., 1933, but . that this date might not prove practicable; v and it was agreed that if the: Convention were not in force earlier, the change could most suitably be made outside the winter months. It was considered that it would be helpful in bringing the new system into operat’on if ships were provided with helm indicators or tell-tales, and it was agreed that arrangements should be made in all cases for existing indicators or te'l-talcs to be altered so that on and after the date fixed for the change they will give a direct indication of the direction in which the wheel is moved. / >