WRECKED SHIP

Greymouth Evening Star, 20 January 1938, Page 7

WRECKED SHIP

COURT CENSURES CAPTAIN

[by CABLE PRESS ASSN. COPYRIGHT.]

MELBOURNE, January 19.

The Court of Marine Inquiry today censured Captain John Aitken, master of the wrecked steamer Saros, which went ashore on December 27. for failure in his duty to take all reasonable precautions, and for making insufficient allowance in setting his course to counteract the effect of a current setting strongly landwards. The Court, however, commended Captain Aitken for the manner in which he performed his duty after the ship was stranded, by his seamanship in saving all of the crew without mishap. The Court also directed attention to the lack of wireless direction-finding stations on the Australian coast. STEERING GEAR DAMAGED. BRISBANE, January 19. Encountering cyclonic weather off the Queensland coast, the steamer. Montoro, damaged her steering gear. She sent an SOS. However, a later report stated that the damage had been repaired, and that the Montoro was proceeding northward. UNDERWRITERS’ LOSSES LONDON, January 19. London marine underwriters are paying out £1,000,000 for the loss of the American liner President Hoover and £150,000 over the loss of the Stuart Star, making the last two months the mo-r. expensive for many years.