OVERSEAS SHIPS.

Auckland Star, Volume LXV, Issue 126, 30 May 1934, Page 8

OVERSEAS SHIPS.

HEALTH INSPECTION.

CHANGE IN' REGULATIONS.

FACILITATING LANDING,

Under the amended regulations outlined by the Minister of Health, the Hon. J. A. Young, in a letter received at the meeting of the Auckland Harbour Board yesterday afternoon, the certificate of the ships' surgeons aboard intercolonial steamers will be accepted by the port health officer, instead of the latter himself examining the passengers and crew individually.

This will probably not enable the passengers to get ashore much "sooner than they do at present, as the examination by Customs officers will be carried out as hitherto. The Customs officers will, however, be able to commence their examination about a

quarter of an hour sooner than when the port health officer had to examine everyone aboard, and this time will be saved.

Except for any special cases selected for examination, the port health officer will endeavour to facilitate the landing of passengers without further examination. Should a case occur of a. person being a prohibited or restricted immigrant under the Immigration Act escaping the notice of the ship's surgeon, the shipping company will be liable.

This proposal applies only to "healthy" ships, or ships with only minor infections aboard. When ships arrive with suspected or actual cases of quarantinable diseases 011 board, the usual examination will be carried out by the port health officer.

Shipping companies have been advised that the modified system of inspection can be brought into operation as soon as the companies are able to make arrangements to carry out their part of the agreement, and the Minister has also stated, in a further letter, that if the system proves, after trial, to be satisfactory, he hopes to extend it to all overseas vessels carrying surgeons.

The next passenger ship due at Auckland from Sydney is the Oceanic Line steamer Mariposa, which calls here on Saturday en route to San Francisco, but she will not take advantage of the new regulations. Like the intercolonial vessels and those in the SydneyVancouver service, the Mariposa berths at the wharf for medical inspection when she arrives from Sydney, instead of anchoring in the stream until pratique is granted, as do ships from other overseas ports, but the Minister of Health has not stated in his circular whether trans-Pacific ships arriving from Sydney on their way north will be extended the same privilege as is extended under the amended regulations to intercolonial ships. The local agents for the Matson Company, Henderson and Macfarlane, Limited, have written to the Minister to obtain his ruling, but by the time an answer is received it will be too late to arrange with the Mariposa's surgeon to carry out the necessary examination, and this will therefore bo done by the port health officer on the arrival of the vessel at Auckland on Saturday mornincr.