OLD SHIPS.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVI, Issue 186, 8 August 1935, Page 7

OLD SHIPS.

INSURANCE AND RISK TO LIFE. LONDON, August 1. The owners of the cargo steamer Millpool, which was lost in the North Atlantic last winter, were entitled to insurance about twice the actual value of the vessel and fourfold the value at which it was assessed in the company's books. That fact, said Lord Merrivale, Wreck Commissioner, in delivering judgment at the inquiry into the loss of the Millpool, which was 28 years old, could not fail to attract attention. The Court held that the Millpool was lost owing to an abnormal gale and possibly a tidal wave, and that the owners were blameless. Lord Merrivale added that maybe the standards of insurance should receive attention, and it should be considered also whether, under modern conditions, not only ships' cargoes but the lives of seamen should be taken into account when deciding risks. In view of the evidence of rusted I areas, although doubtless they had been | repaired, and plates thinned by age, attention might be given to whether the present procedure provided a sufficient standard of surveys, and whether the ago of ships should be particularly considered.