Manawatu Evening Standard. THURSDAY, SEPT. 18, 1930. EPIC OF THE SEA.

Manawatu Standard, Volume L, Issue 251, 18 September 1930, Page 6

Manawatu Evening Standard. THURSDAY, SEPT. 18, 1930. EPIC OF THE SEA.

The finding of the Court of Inquiry into the loss of the liner Tahiti was riot unexpected. The ship, it says, was staunch and well found, and the loss was due to a peril of the sea which “no reasonable human care or foresight could have avoided.” The technical details of the accident which caused a peril of the sea, while of absorbing interest to marine engineers and ax-chitects, will convey little to the people who from time to time must journey by sea. They know that the tail shaft of the Tahiti was broken, causing a sudden inrush of water which human skill and the indomitable courage of a band of British officers, engineers, stokers and seamen could not overcome to save the vessel. What they are chiefly pleased to know is that the glorious traditions of the British mercantile marine service were upheld in that trying period in the Pacific when the liner was slowly being engulfed. In placing on record the devotion to duty of officers and crew the Court of Inquiry have issued a document which has a vital force. “The master displayed resource and cool, accurate judgment worthy of the highest praise, and all ranks responded to the example he set. His tenacity, in staving off, despite the crises which arose, the giving of the final order to abandon ship ensured the safety of those on board. Under a command less sure a different story might have had to be recorded.” To such a wonderful tribute so well deserved, Captain Toten and his officers and men will reply: “We did our duty”—simple words, no doubt, but they epitomise the struggle to avert a disaster which expert seamanship and the, bravery of all accomplished. Of the engine-room staff, the tribute is no less spontaneous. “It was their courage and endurance that made it possible for the master to delay until a propitious moment the giving of the final order to abandon ship.” Science has lent her aid in shipbuilding to make vessels more seaworthy than in. former years, but it is proved, as in the case of the Tahiti, that the human factor when accidents occur is still paramount. It is the bravery shown by the master, engineers and crew of the Tahiti that has made the British mercantile marine service so famous.