PROBLEM FOR NATIONS

Evening Post, Volume CXX, Issue 117, 13 November 1935, Page 9

PROBLEM FOR NATIONS

STOWAWAY NUISANCE

HOW OWNERS SUFFER

Owing to economic conditions in various parts of the world there has been a decided increase in the number of stowaways in vessels during the past two years, and shipowners have decided to tackle the problem seriously, says the "Cape Times." At a conference of shipmasters and officers of the northern countries, held in Oslo recently, the question of stowaways came under discussion, and a resolution was passed asking the Governments of Scandinavian countries to make joint representations to the League of Nations with a view to the matter being discussed and a convention on the subject being prepared. In some parts of the world the stowaway nuisance has assumed grave proportions, causing trouble and expense to the shipowner and heavy responsibility on ships' officers. The stowaway cannot be landed wherever the ship may call, because the strict immigration laws now in force prevent this, and it sometimes happens that the difficulty in proving the nationality of the stowaway, whatever his claim may be, is such that the shipowner incurs the risk of having to take charge of him for an indefinite period. There have been instances in. ships passing Cape Town where a stowaway has been taken half-way round the world at the expense of the shipowner before being allowed to land. It has happened that a stowaway from Australasia has been taken to Britain and back to the port where he came on board and there refused admission to the country on account of his circumstances and the fact that he was unable to satisfy the authorities in either country. FIRST PORT OF CALL. Captain Tonnesen, at the conference at Oslo, suggested a convention enabling ships to get rid of stowaway.-; at the first port of call, where they could be handed over to the polici;. Such a convention would, he believed, be almost enough to stop the trouble! There is on record a case where a ship sailed from the River Plate, and had not got far out when thirty stowaways were hunted out from different parts of the vessel. When mustered before the capta-n it was found that the stowaways outnumbered the crew, which placed the captain and officers in an awkward predicament, for there was the possibility that the stowaways might try and take charge of the vessel. But all ended well, and the unwelcome visitors were sent back to port. It has become the routine in a large number of ports for a vessel to lay ofE for an hour Or more after leaving a wharf while the vessel is thoroughly searched for possible stowaways, but even so, there are numerous hiding places in a large vessel, and with the help of a member of the crew—this has been known to happen—it is possible to elude the searchers. Girl stowaways are, of course, extremely rare, but only a few weeks ago there was a girl stowaway in the sailing ship C. B. Pedersen, which arrived at Cape Town from Australia. How she remained on board three days without being discovered remains a mystery. In ninety-nine cases out of a hundred she would have been voted a nuisance, but it so happened that the captain was at a loss for someone to look after his four women passengers, and the stowaway, instead of being severely reprimanded, was appointed stewardess.