TUG INQUIRY.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIX, Issue 225, 23 September 1938, Page 11

TUG INQUIRY.

BOARD'S ATTITUDE.

HARBOURMASTER'S VIEW.

MATE CROSS-EXAMINED.

"Is tho Harbour Board trying to omifv its own master?" queried Mr A. .!. Moodv, representing Captain D K J l l <>1h •r t, master of the tug To Awhina' nt one stage .luring the continuation of the 1111111i rv yesterday afternoon into the M.ikmg ot the tug, after being holed bv tin) i■ rcij.<■ 11 (• ra of the Essex on August Mr. Moinly cross-examined Captain IT. 11. •'-» rgea nt, harbourmaster at Auckl'|"*'. .'■""••••'•"ing the board* attitude to ( '' 1 "•"'•"t, and asked Captain Sarge;.i.tu rn had given "the instruction t.h;»t i i\ j»t ;< in I rnbert was not to <;o bad* on 'I <» Awliinn. Captain Sargeant declined to answer th.it i] nest ion. but commented in answer to a question: "My opinion i« that the a ll •"I''" t. win due to an error of iud" ill.'lll on the part of the master of fe 11 1 nn 'r' ~hieing the tug so far aft on llio hssex. . Mr , V ,llß ° closely croos question,.,l tho mute and other members of tin' crew <>t the tug concerning' their ..■•'M.ncs at the time of the accident, mi.l portion* ot their evidence. Mr W. R. M.-Kean, S.M.. presided, nmi l the nauUeal assessors were Captain ~ n, ' v °nport. and t'ap--1(1111 Hamilton, of the Bluff The engineer assessor was .Mr. W. 11. Parker, ot A tick hi ml. ' Did Not Repeat Warning. ( Vint inning his story under examination iv l)r I-odin. f or tllo superinten,lent ~f Marine, the mate of the tug told how us the vessel made for shallow .- 11 "i'"l he called to the Ferro to lake ;| tow. He jumped aboard with the line l.ater the Presto came, also. He took the line then on board the Presto went hack on to the Ferro, and stood Injur emergency. , i"."°d l'y »r. Foden regarding his at tit ii. le in iroinjj into the launch, wit"r>s . 1 see that there was nn.v >,iihc in staying on board the ship \\ lien it \i .is sinking, and we wanted ? the >hip to shallow water. Witness .said he acted purely on his own initiative. He had not heard Captain I rol.ert give any orders about anything. He acted as he thought best. Thcie was no sign of pftn j c . He hftd taken the second line from Captain Prober, a rid assumed that what he did was with the approval of the captain. Witness, to Mr. Barrowcloi>gh. said that when the ship was made fast to the Fssex he called out to Captain liobeit that it was made fast too far aft. (aptain Probert did not answer Witness did n»t repeat the warning •( thought he was satisfied," said witness.

"I* the Harbour Board trying to cruelty Its own master?" asked Mr. Moody when Mr. Barrpwclough asked witness about an incident in relation to the Mariposa. He had protested thnt the vessel was tied up too far- aft and had been told that if he could do any better he could come and do it himself. J nnt was the reason whv lie had not Es , se* ted h ' S Warnin S in 'signal to the Dealing with his action in getting into the Ferro, witness said that there was no one on board the Ferro except the master. There was no one to take a line. "What are your duties as chief officer ?' asked Mr. Moody. Just do as I'm told, most of the time, said witness. Mr Moody: And the rest of the time you do as you like. Witness Questioned Closely. Closely questioned by Mr. Moody, witness admitted that he had not reported that he had warned Captain Probert that the line was too far aft until ho told Captain Sargeant, the harbourmaster, a week ago. He had told his solicitor. He denied that it was "just a fabrication. He had never been asked, he said. He felt that he had responsibility to a certain extent." Witness hnd put in his resignation to the Harbour Board on August 1. He had not discussed the question with other mem-1 bers of the crew. He had asked the deckhand if he heard him call out to the captain. Witness said he had been on the Te Awhina for 28 years. said he did not see the second officer of the Essex. It happened sometimes that the second officer was on the other side of the »hip that was being berthed. The tide was fairly strong, he said. He could not say whether the Essex had any way on or not. Mr. Moody: You, a responsible officer, went away from the ship, leaving the ■kipper and a deckhand? Witness: I took the line aboard to tow the tug aw ay so it would not sink in deep water.

Dr. Foden: This la not rerj satisfactory to have so many stories told that differ. Why did you not tell the full details to Captain Willcox, the Superintendent of Marine?

Witness; I (iidn't know I would be asked.

Tri further questions witness said he had been influenced by a desire not to tell tales." ' "Water Was Cold." Jaines Dark, deckhand on the Te Awhina, said that he had heard the mate call out to Captain Probert that he thought the tug was moored too far aft. The captain might not have heard. The Emex was under way all the time. The tug swung in under the counter. He « ir< * r*' le ca P* a ' n the order to cast off. The order could have been given earlier, it all happened quickly. Dr. Foden: Would it be fair to the captain to say that the danger situation developed so quickly that the captain could not deal with it? —I can't say that. Curler further questioning on the saine line, witness said: "No, he couldn't." Witness *nid that he had not left with (lie rest of the crew because he was milking fa*t the lines forward. He felt like leaving because "the water was pretty cold." There was no rea«on why the others should remain. There wan nothing they could do. He had stayed by the tow-lines until the vessel sank.

YVitnos* denied that he had discussed -any of his evidence with the mate prior to I lie healing. To Dr. Foden, witness aaid that he and tlie engineer both put their weight on the ratchet in the wrong direction in trying to close the watertight door. "We can't lay any blame on any individual because of the failure to put the pump into operation," #aid Dr. Fnden, "because it appears that, in the circumstance*. the pump would not have been effective." Master of Tug Blamed. Captain If. If. Sergeant, harbourmaster at Auckland, said that when a tug was required the In consultation with witness, decided how many tugs were required. On thift occasion the pilot asked for the two tugs a» a ■strong ebb ti£e vai expected. The maa-

ter of the tug was the responsible man as to the situation he took up alongside the vessel. When the Jlarbour Hoard had only one tug Te Awhina invariably worked the forward end but on occasion when she wa . required at tlie after end she wa* moved att at the order of the pilot. Witness denied that the Daldy liad ever got into trouble with an American vessel. It was the first time he had heard the suggestion. I e Awhina was placed aft because she would there have the assistance of the engines of the ship being berthed. The Daldy had the heavier end.

our reaction nn harbourmaster is that ( aptain Probert is entirely to blame?" asked Dr. Foden.

Witness: My opinion is that the accident was due to an error of judgment on the part pf the master of Te Awhina in placing {lie tug so far aft on the Essex.

Mr. Moody's Questions. Mr. Moody: Who gave the instructions that Captain Probert was not to go back on Te Awhina? A\ itnp«s: I am not prepared to express an opinion. Mr. Barrowclough objected to the question a« not being relative. In answer to another question, Captain Sergeant admitted that the board had postponed its inquiry into the accident until after the Court of Inquiry had finished its investigation. Mr. Moody: This is tile first time you have known a case where the owners blame their own captain? Captain Sergeant: I am not going into that question. Our only concern is to get the truth. Shortly after this the Court adjourned until thi« morning.