Masters “will help at sea”

Press, Volume CXIII, Issue 33120, 10 January 1973, Page 12

Masters “will help at sea”

Masters of Union Steam Ship Company vessels will give all assistance possible in safety when they can save life or property at sea. the manager of the company (Mr P. E. Maxwell) said this week.

He was commenting on a letter to “The Press” from a correspondent, “Floundered,” who wrote: —

“So the Union Steam Ship Company has lost ‘thousands of dollars’ in answering a recent distress signal, according to the manager, Mr D. Graham. Surely the events of April, 1968, have not been forgotten already when the boot was on the other foot.” “NOT CONDITIONED” Mr Maxwell said there was a loss to the company of thousands of dollars because of the Rangatira’s having to assist the yacht Aderyn Mor, and the six persons on board, when it had sent a distress ■ signal off Kaikoura last month.

i “Ample evidence has been provided to show that those jon board the yacht were not I conditioned for such a journey, bearing in mind the weather conditions and the hazards to which small boats are susceptible on the New Zealand coasts,” he said. I “All in the company are very mindful of the assistance given in the disaster which | befell the Wahine in April, 11968. and the comments made ■lby Mr D. Graham, the Wellington manager, just before Christmas, drew attention to the cost of assistance and the inconvenience to many people • I caused through lack of ap- . predation of the perils in,‘volved.

“In no way was it sug-i gested that the assistance which the Rangatira gave in respect of the Aderyn Mor should have been withheld. There is a company direction to all masters that, when they are in a position to assist in the saving of life or property at sea, they should provide all the assistance they can safely give. “Facts which cannot be overlooked are the six-hour delay and deviation from voyage for the Rangatira which inconvienced not only the passengers on board at the time, but those on subsequent sailings, and which totalled some 3000 persons. Many of these people had their onward travel arrangements upset and incurred additional expense because of the delay,” Mr Maxwell said.