MARINE DEPARTMENT

Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 58, 3 December 1918, Page 7

MARINE DEPARTMENT

ANNUAL REPORT. The annual report of the Marine Department for the year ended March 31, 1!)18, was presented to Parliament yvstorday. The report slated that the work of'lhe various mercantile ■ marine (ffiices had been carried out very satisfactorily. In addition to the ordinary duties, services had been performed for tho Defeuce Department, principally in connection writh the crews of transports , and hospital ships. The officers had willingly carried out those duties without any additional remuneration.- A good many case? had occurred in -which seamen who had shipped in the Dominion on steamers trading to the, west coast of the United States had deserted on arrival at American ports.' ... On December 31 Inst there were registered in the Dominion 18(■ sailing vessels, of 22,-lOt registered tonnage, and 370 steamers, of (15,092 tonnage. M th(S end of the previous year the munbet , .'- wore ISO sailing.: vessels,-, of 21,853 registered tonnage, and 390.sten.mer5, of 70.U2 tonnage. Tlie number of seamen and boy's employed on board was 3502. ; s compared with 3520 at the end of 1910.

Certificates were issued to 'IK steamers, 40-i oil engine vessels, and fG sailing vessels, as .compared with "271 ftoamen-, 465 oil-engine vessels, ..unci 75 sailing vessels in the previous year. During the period under ireview 71 wrecks, and casualties occurred on tlie coasts of the Dominion, the tonnage involved ibeins 39,804, whereas in the previous year, there were 50, the tonnage amounting to 20,481. The. number of lives .lost was one,-as compared with fourteen in the previous yean , . The- training of boys for Hie sea was continual on tho Anioknra. No difficulty was found in getting l»ys—in fact, a. number had to wait a good yhile for vacancies, on board. Employment for the Ix)ys who completed their training was found on other vessels.

A report: appended by the Chief Inspector of Fisheries (Mir. L. F. Ayson) stated 'that generally fish had been plentiful on the fishinj; grounds, and tliat the shortage of fish, at times was principally, duo to unfavourable weather conditions preventing fishermen from working.