Captain Committed Error of Judgment, Certificate Returned

Northern Advocate, 22 December 1939, Page 2

Captain Committed Error of Judgment, Certificate Returned

WAIKOUAITI FINDING

I Per Press Association. — Copyright l WELLINGTON, This Day.

Although tho Court of Inquiry found that Captain John Bruce, of tho Union Steamship Company’s intercolonial steamer Waikouaiti, which was wrecked off Dog Island, three , miles from Bluff on the night of November 28, had committed an error of judgment, it returned his certificate without endorsement, and did not order him to meet, the costs of the inquiry.

The actual finding of the Court was as follows: 0) The cause of the casualty was that, after 8 p.m. on November 28. the mailer of the ship proceeded along his course at his normal speed of f)i knots to 10 knots when fog and the weather conditions rendered the Dog Island light and all neighbouringlandmarks invisible, and when the vessel should not have proceeded. (2) In so proceeding upon his course, the master committed an error of judgment.

Reasons for Decision.

Giving the reasons for the Court’s decision, Mr A. M. Goulding, S.M., said that from 2 p.m. on.the afternoon of November 28 until 8 p.m., the Waikouaiti had steered a course which brought her to a point 21 miles off Bluff Hill, and 51 miles west of Dog Island Light. This light, in normal weather, was visible for a distance of 18 miles. The course from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. was changed by bearings from time to time, the latest being at 7.56 p.m., when me position of the vessel was fixed ns stated.

Between 4 p.m. and 3 p.m. the course showed no deviation, but the log readings between 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. showed that the vessel was making against an ebb tide. Tide tables would suggest that after 8 o’clock the ebb was still running, and the master expected that if there were any set it would tend to take the ship south of the course he bad set. * At 8 p.m. Dog Island Light and Bluff Hill were invisible, but the sea was calm. Change in Course. The master was in charge of the vessel. He remained on the same course between 7.56 p.m. and 8.15 p.m., when, he ordered a change in course of 11 points southward. There was no alteration in speed. Dog Island light was not seen until after the stranding. In finding there was an error of judgment in proceeding on the course aider 8 p.m., the court drew attention to the warning in the Nautical Almanac concerning the tides around Bluff Harbour.

There was no evidence from which the court could properly infer that the ship was set off her course by any unusual tide set. but there may have been, and if there were, it occurred after the position was fixed at 7.56 p.m., and in the distance of 51 miles JJrom there to the place of stranding. Why Precautions Necessary. The warning in the Nautical Almanac seemed to be an additional reason why extra precautions were necessary. The master was no stranger to the locality, and should have been aware of the warning. In proceeding, as ho did, 1h omastor followed a course to take in south, of the island. The court thought he took a risk, which was not warranted, but did not think he was guilty of any wrongful act in the management of the ship. Clear Certificate. After the disaster, he took all proper steps in the circumstances. The court returned a clean certificate to the master, whose long, unblemished record extended for nearly 20 years, and did not charge him costs. The Magistrate added that at 7.56 the fix ( was the result of a bearing taken in failing light, and one of the points was some 20 miles away. The court accepted the position of the ship then, but drew attention to the possibility of error in such circumstances, though error had not been, established. Question for Court.

The question the court had to answer, - submitted by Mr. Kirkcaldie (for the master of the ship, Captain Bruce) was if the accident could be attributed to any wrongful act or fault, and whether the captain honestly exercised his discretion.

He submitted that the captain had done so, and the question. of wrongful act did not arise at all. This was not a case of wilful or deliberate dereliction of duty. Every officer had been on deck carrying out his duty to the best of his ability. The question of whether good seamanship had been displayed on the ship was already established by the chart placed before the court covering the period from 2 o’clock until 8 o’clock and a distance of about 60 miles. In that time no fewer than 10 crossbearings were taken. Until 4 o’clock the vessel appeared to have carried the flood tide with her. From 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. she appeared to have a one and a-half knots current against her, and from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. a one and three-quarter knots current. Felt Ebb Tide Strongly. Tidal predictions in the Nautical Almanac, Bluff Harbour Board predictions and the course of the vessel, all established that §he was feeling the ebb tide more strongly as she approached Bluff.

The course marked on the chart should have carried the ship U miles south of Dog Island.

Mr. Kirkcaldic submitted that the Waikouaiti had been deflected from her course either by a sudden change of tide or other such influence, or else the fact that she was carrying a steel cargo off a coast of highly-magnetised country might have deflected hor or a fleeted her instruments. Ten Fixes. Mr A. M. Goulding, S.M.: Any such deviation must have occurred in the five miles since the fix at: fl o'clock. There can be no question on the evidence of the accuracy of that tlx.

I Mr. Kirkcaldie: Whether there was any such influence I have not estabj lished. All I have to establish is that i the master showed no misconduct or i negligence, and the best evidence ol j that is the 10 fixes made between 2 j o'clock and 8 o’clock. | Master for 20 Years. Continuing his evidence yesterday. Captain Bruce said that when the final men left the ship at 6 p.m. on November 29, the watertight, bulkhead between the bunker and stokehold had commenced to fracture, water j was increasing in the stokehold, and it | seemed unsafe to keep the men there any longer, Bruce said. The ship carried 5411 tons of general cargo. Ho said he took no soundings before ’ striking as ho was confident of his position. The light on Dog Island was not clear all that night. To Mr. Prendevillo. he said lie did not; reduce the speed because of tides in FcVeaux Strait, The Waiknuaiti struck west of the lighthouse on Dog Island.

To Mr. Kirkcaldie. Bruce said he had been a master for 20 years and had never previously appeared before a court of inquiry. Between 2.2 and 7.56 p.m. they took ten cross-bearings. Stewart Island was very clear up to 4 p.m. Up to almost 8 p.m. they definitely knew where the vessel was. At 8 p.m. Bruce estimated that he was about five miles from Dog Island. Strong Southerly Current, During ebb tide, continued Bruce, there was a strong current in a southerly direction from Bluff hai’bour, and he expected to be carried south at the time he was passing. : Twilight and mist at 8.15 o’clock would militate against his seeing Dog Island light. Ho considered it perfectly safe to , ury on. There must have been an unexpected set from the south.

To the magistrate, he said he was satisfied that the position marked on the chart at 7.56 p.m. was correct. He could explain the striking of the rocks only by some unforseen influence taking effect after-.the fix at 7.5 G p.m., and the ship had been following a steady course all afternoon. The fog signal on Dog Island would have made all the difference.

There was no such signal in that locality. To Mr. Kirkcaldie, Bruce said that he did not think visibility was so bad that he could pass Dog Island and the light without seeing them.