SEAMEN’S DISCONTENT

Greymouth Evening Star, 20 September 1946, Page 3

SEAMEN’S DISCONTENT

CREW WALKS OFF OVERSEAS ' VESSEL CONFISCATION OF BEER (P.A.) AUCKLAND, Sept. 19. The crew of the British steamer Samnethy walked off the ship at Auckland at sailing time this afternoon, taking all their belongings. Discontent over the food and other grievances, brought to a head when an officer confiscated a number of bottles of beer being brought aboard by a group of apprentices, were stated by the crew to have brought about their decision. The ship’s master, Captain J. Hewitt, warned them before they left of the possibility of prosecution, and the men will return to the ship m the morning to place their demands before him. . Officers remained with the Samnethy, the engineer officers undertaking the duty of keeping steam up. For more than a month, while the Samnethy has been on charter to the New Zealand Government trading on the J coast, the crew have been on New Zealand articles. When the steamer completed dischaiging her southern produce cargo this afternoon her charter ended, and the crew reverted to English , Board ot Trade Ti'ticlcs* The Samnethy was to have left this afterno’on for Lyttelton to load coal for Makatea under charter to the British Phosphate Commission.