EXCESSIVE SPEED?

Auckland Star, Volume LXIII, Issue 287, 3 December 1932, Page 7

EXCESSIVE SPEED?

LINERS IN HARBOUR.

SHOULD THERE BE A LIMIT? FERRY CAPTAINS' ANXIETY. An overseas steamer recently entered Auckland Harbour at a speed sufficient to cause a wave to break over the breastwork near the ferry clock at Devonport. The incident again raises the question whether the speed of large vessels entering or leaving the port should be limited by regulation. Up to the present time Auckland has been singularly fortunate in the matter of harbour mishaps, -but a single serious accident would put a stain on the reputation of the port that would remain for ever.

Skippers of ferry steamers, both passenger and vehicular, are firmly of the opinion that the speed of large vessels after rounding North Head should be subject to regulation. Apart from the danger of collision—and the greater the speed surely the greater the risk of accident —there is always the danger of damage to life and property when the ferries are at or near their berths, particularly at Devonport.

The steamer that recently caused a wave to break over the breastwork at Devonport was a subject of concern to two ferry masters. At the time the ship went past Victoria wharf a vehicular- ferry was just entering her berth, but had not actually tied up. As soon as he saw the wash wave from the liner coming towards the tee, the ferry captain ordered hits engines astern, and the ferry escaped with nothing more serious than a severe rocking. If, however, the ferry had been tied up and motor cars had been either going off or on, an accident might easily have occurred. Some time ago the wash from an overseas steamer caused the lines holding a vehicular ferry in her berth at Devonport to snap, although on that occasion the result was not serious. It is pointed out by the ferry masters that the "lip" which is lowered on to the deck of vehicular ferries rests solely on the ferries. If berthing lines snap and a ferry is washed a few feet astern, the "lip" of the landing* stage drops, and anything on it goes into the harbour. Such a mishap, if it did not result in the loss of life, would probably mean considerable damage to the landingstage apparatus. Ferry Passengers' Comment. The second ferry that was concerned in the recent incident was a passenger boat, which was approaching the Victoria wharf. The master saw the liner's wash coming and stopped his vessel until it had passed. The rolling caused to the ferry was commented upon by some of the passengers, one of whoiii later innocently asked the master what had disturbed the water in such an amazing manner. The ferry master estimated the speed of the liner when she passed Devonport at fifteen knots. "She came in faster than I have ever seen any ship come in before," he said this morning. The speed of overseas vessels entering and leaving port has previously been the subject of complaint, and earlier in the present year the New Zealand Yacht Squadron approached the Auckland Harbour Board in the matter. The chief groundg of complaint voiced by the yachting people were that 'craft hauled out on gridirons and on the beaches were endangered. About the same time, it was stated, two small children bathing at Devonport, had been endangered by the wash of a big motor liner entering port at a high speed. In reporting to the board concerning the complaint voiced by the Yacht Squadron, the harbourmaster, Captain 11. H. Sergeant, said that overseas vessels entered the port in charge of one or other of the board's pilots, and that after rounding North Head speed was reduced. When abreast of the Sandspit Beacon at Devonport, vessels were travelling at only half-speed or slower. Vessels leaving port were seldom the cause of complaint, as they did not attain tlieir normal speed until well down the harbour.

Captain Sergeant pointed out that the wash caused by a ship depended a lot on the lines of her hull. Some vessels made a greater wash at halfspeed than larger vessels at full speed. Weather conditions also affected the distance a wave or wash would travel. On a calm day it would travel a long

distance, but a chop in the sea, such as that caused by a breeze, would break up a wash in fairly quick time. Yachts and launches, said the harbourmaster, would not be affected if well afloat or well aground, so that the period when a wash would constitute a danger was decidedly limited. Harbour Board Powerless. Concluding his report, Captain Sergeant said that he did not think it would be practicable to restrict the speed of vessels navigating in the harbour, and he was of the opinion that such a restriction would be unreasonable. "The board has 110 power to institute such a regulation. This can be done only by the Governor-General in Council making a general harbours regulation under section 24 of the Harbours Act, 1923," the harbourmaster's report concluded; In discussing the subject this morning, Captain Sergeant said that the board's pilots had definite instructions not to bring a vessel into port at an excessive speed. It was only fair, he said, that it should be made known that the vessel which was the cause of the most recent complaint was an intercolonial trader, and therefore came into port without a piiot. "Yachtsmen are all in favour of a restriction being placed on the speed of overseas vessels entering or leaving the port," said Mr. W. A. Wilkinson, commodore of the Tamaki Yacht Club. "Unfortunately the speed of vessels is increasing," he added. Mr. Wilkinson said that there had been occasions where yachts and other craft had been seriously damaged through being caught by the wash, while there was always the inconvenience caused by being upset and

losing gear. In the absence of a speed limit the master of a large vessel -cannot be prosecuted for allowing his craft to travel too fast in the same way as he can be for allowing oil to escape into the harbour, but the question is whether a regulation governing speed in harbours should be brought into effect. The tragedy of the Greycliffe at Sydney is still a stark memory. A catastrophe one-tenth as bad at Auckland would put a stain on the port for ever.