SHIP WITH SEAT BELTS
VVISE motorists fasten their ’’ safety belts before they drive. Wise seamen on the United States Navy’s icebreaker Burton Island fasten theirs before they go to sleep. The ice-breaker has car safety belts fitted to the bunks. The belts were made and fitted in New Zealand. The commander of the Burton Island (Captain B. B.
Leland) said that the combination of the vessel’s construction, Antarctic seas and firm bunks made sleeping in the three-tier bunk units a hazardous business. “Ice-breakers crash down on to the ice, and they have no keels,” he said. “The bottom of our hull is virtually a semicircle, and in heavy seas the ship takes on a deep and rapid roll. It is hard enough
to remain in a bunk, let alone sleep, when the ship is swinging in a 70-degree arc.” The belts were fitted as an experiment, and have proved very succeyful, Captain Leland said. Crew members have readily accepted the belts, which eliminate the danger of being dashed eight feet on to a steel deck.
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Bibliographic details
Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31669, 3 May 1968, Page 9
Word Count
175SHIP WITH SEAT BELTS Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31669, 3 May 1968, Page 9
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