SEA TRAVEL IN WAR TIME

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 3120, 26 June 1917, Page 5

SEA TRAVEL IN WAR TIME

By Telegraph—Press Association. Auckland, June 24. , Sir Joseph Ward, interviewed to-dav, stated that war conditions', had made travelling to and from England by any route both difficult and dangerous. Both, going and coming across, the vessels lie had travelled on crossed the ocean absolutely without lights, not even navigation lights being shown. lie described this as somewhat uncanny, as apart from submarine and floating mine dangers there was the,added danger of collision. A vessel left her English port of departure after nightfall, and ordinary passengers did not know until they were on board the name of tho vessel on which they were to make the journey. In the majority of cases the passengers are told to travel by some special train from a cenbral railway station, and they do not oven know tho port of embarkation. Once on board they often remain in port or out in the stream for several days—perhaps a week—aud no communication is allowed with the 6hore, this being done, of course, to prevent information drifting to the enemy. Wo passed light through the danger zone, he continued, and some idea of Ihe real danger may be gleaned from the fact that a big vessel which we passed \tho fust day out at about noon, going in tho same direction as our ship, was torpedoed shortly, after wo passed her. Another phase is that of lifebelts. Every passenger is compelled to wear a lifebelt throughout the wholo trip across, and it i 6 rather an interesting sight to see passengers filing into the saloon for meals with lifebelts in their hands. The belts are carried about just in tho same way as a hat, and the passengers are never without their belts, and so danger is being constantly impressed upon passengers. Boats are all swuntr out and -ready to be immediately lowered. It will be undsrstood, therefore, what precautions are being everywhere taken in Tegard to a possible accident