LOSS OF “SAMKEY”: NEGLECTED LESSON

Grey River Argus, 11 September 1948, Page 4

LOSS OF “SAMKEY”: NEGLECTED LESSON

LONDON, September 9.

The chairman of the Court of Inquiry into the loss of the freighter Samkey, Mi- Kenneth Carpmael, K.C., delivering the court’s findings, said the Commissioners were of opinion that the loss of the Sameveron under similar circumstances four years previously, should have served as a warning to the owner of the danger i,of uncontrolled shingle ballast sliding in the hold and causing the vessel to capsize. The court recalled that the Sameveron capsized with very little warning during a heavy Atlantic gale, and that the crew had a very narrow escape. The court considered . that the ballast carried by the Samkey probably moved in the same Way, causing the ship to capsize before any distress signals could be given. “Had the experience df the Sameveron been brought to the attention of ship owners and ship masters, the court is' of opinion that the ballast in the Samkey would not have been stowed without shifting boards, and that in consequence she would not have been lost,” said Mr Carpmael. “The court considers that the failure of the Ministry of Transport to give the case of the Sameveron due publicity, was a grave error of judgment.” As a result of the loss of the Samkey, and other ships in ballast, the Navigators’ and Engineer Officers’ Union is to press for international action to enforce the use of a line which will indicate how high out of the water an unlauen ship may safely ride. The proposal thar such a line should be adopted was first made 45 years ago, but was dropped as impracticable. The Navigators’ Union however, considers that it is to-day a practical precaution which should operate in the same way as the Plimsoll line, though at the other end of the scale. The International Transport Workers’ Federation, to which the majority of British seafaring unions are affiliated, is backing the proposal