CREW WALKS OFF SAMNETHY

Press, Volume LXXXII, Issue 24985, 20 September 1946, Page 6

CREW WALKS OFF SAMNETHY

COMPLAINT ABOUT FOOD (P.A.) AUCKLAND, Sept. 19. The crew oi the British steamer Samnethy walked off the ship at Auckland at sailing time this afternoon, taking all their belongings. Dis. content over the food and other grievances, brought to a head when an officer confiscated -a number of bottles of beer being brought aboard by a group of apprentices, were stated by the crew to have brought about their decision. The ship’s master, Captain J. Hewitt, warned them before they left of the possibility of prosecution, and the men will return to the shin in the morning to place th«ir demands before him. Officers remained with the Samnethy, the engineer officer, undertaking the duty of keeping steam up. For more than a month, while the Samnethy has been on charter to the New Zealand Government trading on the coast, the crew have been on New Zealand articles. When the steamer completed discharging her southern produce ca.go this afternoon her charter ended, and the crew reverted to English Board of Trade articles: The Samnethy was to have left this afternoon for Lyttelton to load coal und S r ch ,arter to the British Phospnate Commlsrion. , 1