HARBOUR GUIDES
NEED OF FOG SIGNALS
THE COURT'S FINDING
:The:. necessity for some form of fog signals in 'Wellington HarlJour- is stressed by^the Court of Inquiry which inquired into the accident to . the Wahine^ at; Wellington; . The report of the Court, which consisted ot Mr. E. D. Moslay, S.M.; and Captains J.. G. Watson and J. Mawson, was released by the Minister of Marine i (the Hon. P. Fraser) today.
The report reads:—
"Arising- out of the inquiry into the mishap to the Wahine, we have given serious consideration to the evidence placed- before the Court <on behalf of the Wellington Harbour Board, and while we appreciate to the utmost the point of viewand the due, weight that must: be given r to the views of men whose duties make them familiar/with: the conditions at the wharves we are of the opinion .that adequate fog signals at both Point Jerningham and the outermost wharf would be' of valuable ■assistance! These two points would'rriark, as it were, the outer line or points defining the inner basin within which the utmost caution should be observed in navigation when visibility is'not normal.
•■"The question' of establishing a similar' signal on. Clyde Quay Wharf 'should, we suggest, be'considered. If these signals.were in operation for the guidance of shipmasters ..such1 fact would not, of course, relieve them of responsibility should they consider" it advisable to proceed to the wharf, but would act as' a 'warning when danger existed on or near the course. We are aware that warning bells are in operation at other ports, arid they have been found very/useful aids to navigation v ■:■;-:.;-:•.:,.■ ::v. -.;:/.- ;■ "It is our unanimous opinion'-that had there been a warning-bell or other fewe.fit adequate vp^ower, on-.'Eipifei Wharf on thVm'prning'of 'the casualty it would no,t.hay.e,.t,_happe.ned. We were given1 to understand at. the hearnighthat^ |econSmendß,tibhs' for the' in-! stallation of fog signals within the h'ar-" bour had been made by at least two nautical, -courts of' inquiry." ; The'.'dpih'ion' of the 'Courtis to be forwarded to the Harbour Board by the Minister of Marine. •
HARBOUR GUIDES
Evening Post, Volume CXXII, Issue 32, 6 August 1936, Page 11
Stuff Ltd is the copyright owner for the Evening Post. You can reproduce in-copyright material from this newspaper for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 3.0 New Zealand licence. This newspaper is not available for commercial use without the consent of Stuff Ltd. For advice on reproduction of out-of-copyright material from this newspaper, please refer to the Copyright guide.
Log in