NAVIGATION DANGERS

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22289, 26 March 1947, Page 2

NAVIGATION DANGERS

AUCKLAND HARBOUR { r " FERRY RESTRICTIONS VXP.A.) AUCKLAND. March 26. All harbour services of the Devonport Steam Ferry Company are now subject to cancellation without warning between the hours of 6.30 p m. and 5.30 p.m. and 10.30 p.m. and midnight every night if adverse weather increases navigation dangers caused by the power restrictions on the North Shore. This was announced by the of the company, Captain J. Forbes. .“We must do this in the interests of public safety,” stated Captain Forbes. "The ferry skippers are co-operating very well under extremely difficult conditions, but there have been a number of minor accidents caused already by boats approaching wharves in the dark. In future when conditions are adverse, the public must expect to find ferries at a standstill between the hours of the North Shore wharf blackouts.” Emergency equipment to maintain a continuous series of lights during the power restrictions from the beacon on the Beam Rocks lighthouse, an important navigation aid at the head of Rangitoto Channel, will be tested to-night. Since March 17 the light has been subject to power cuts, and for several hours nightly it has not been illuminated. If the tests are successful the emergency light will be put into service immediately. Supplied from electric storage batteries the light will be switched on automatically when the power fails. It will exhibit the same red, white and green sectors as the normal light, and will have the same flashing characteristics. Its brilliancy, however, will not be as great as the main beacon.