ERROR MADE.

Auckland Star, Volume LXX, Issue 302, 22 December 1939, Page 3

ERROR MADE.

COURT'S FINDING.

WAIKOUAITI INQUIRY.

CERTIFICATE NOT ENDORSED.

RETURNED TO THE CAPTAIN.

(By Telegraph.—Press Association.)

WELLINGTON, this day.

Although the Court of Inquiry found that Captain John Bruce, of the Union Steam Ship Company's intercolonial steamer Waikouaiti, which was wrecked off Dog Island, three miles from Bluff, on the night of November 28, had committed an error of judgment, it returned his certificate without endorsement and did not order him to meet tlie costs of the inquiry. The actual finding of the Court was as follows: — 1. The cause of the casualty was that after 8 p.m. on November 28 the master of-the ship procyeded upon hi* course 3t his normal speed of 9i knots to 10 knots when fog and the weather condition* rendered the Dog Island light and all neighbouring landmarks invisible, and when the vessel should not have proceeded. 2. In so proceeding upon his course the master committed an error of judgment.

Steaming Against Ebb Tide. Giving the reasons for the Court's decision the magistrate said that from two o'clock on the afternoon of November 28 until 8 p.m. the Waikouaibi hai steered a course which brought her to a point two and a half miles off Bluff Hiil and five and a half miles west of Do" Island light. This light, in normal weather, was visible for a distance of 18 inile*. The course from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. was charted by bearings from time to time, the latest being at 7.50 p.m., when the position of the vessel was fixed as stated. Between 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. the course showed no deviation, but the log raiding* between 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. showed that the vessel was making against an ebb tide. Tide tables would suggest that after eight o'clock the ebb was s.till running, and the master expected that if there were any set it would tend to take the ship south of the course he had set. At 8 p.m. Dog Island light and Bluff Hill were invisible, owing to fog. Even the rock.l along the shore were invisible, but the sea was calm. The master was in charge of the vessel. He remained on the ssame course between T.Sti p.m. and 8.1;3 p.m., v hen he ordered a change in course of one and a half points southward. There was no alteration in speed. Dog Island Light was not seen until after the stranding, the point of which was later fixed at somewhat less than half a mile from the light and almost due west of it.

Warning in Almanac. In finding there was an error of judgment in proceeding on the course after 8 p.m. the Court drew attention to the warning in the Nautical Almanac concerning the tides around Bluff Harbour. There was no evidence from which the Court could properly infer that the ship was set off her course by any unusual tide set, but there may have been and if there were it occurred after the position was fixed at 7.56 p.m., and in the distance of five and a half miles from there to the place of stranding. The warning in the Nautical Almanac seemed to be an additional reason why extra precautions were necessary and rendered it still more necessary not to proceed. The master was no stranger to the locality and should have been aware of the warning. All Proper Steps. ' In proceeding as he did the master steered a course to take him south of Di>g Island. The Court thought he took a liisk which was not warranted, but did not think that he was guilty of any wrongful act in the management of the ship. After the disaster he took all proper wteps in the circumstances. The Court returned a clean certificate to the master, whose long, unblemished record extended for nearly 20 years, and it did not mulct him in costs. The magistrate added that at 7.56 the fix was the result of a bearing taken in failing light, and one of the points was some 20 miles away. The Court accepted the evidence of the ship's position then, but drew attention to the possibility of error in such circumstances, though error had not been established. The Waikouaiti, e vessel of 3926 tons, was on a voyage from Sydney to L-yt-telton when she ran aground in a fog. She was abandoned to the underwritsrs a few days later. Mr. A. M. Colliding, S.M., presided, and the nautical assessors were Captain* L. C. H. Worrall and J. Maweon. Mr. J. P. Prendeville appeared for the Marine Department, Mr. E. K. Kirkcaldie for the master of the ship, and Mr. A. E. White for the Union Company. Captain F. A. Macindoe watched proceedings on behalf of the Merchant Service Guild.