LIFE-SAVING APPLIANCES.

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume XLVII, Issue XLVII, 20 April 1912, Page 5

LIFE-SAVING APPLIANCES.

POSITION ON NEW ZEALAND LINERS.

AUCKLAND. April 18,

The Titanic disaster has caused interest as to the custom and practice in regard to the provision of boats on oceangoing steamers, and with a view to ascertaining what the New Zealand regulations are, the Superintendent of Marine (Captain Fleming) was seen. He made a definite statement that no vessels coming under the jurisdiction of the New Zealand Government are allowed to leave any port in the Dominion with less than the full provision of life-saving appliances the law allows.

Incoming Captain Fleming stated, are not inspected here., but would Jiave to be equipped in accordance with fhe regulations at Bonis befora they : wonW be allowed to leave pott. I The Superintendent of Marine add( : a I that in the cast} ** vessels having bulkheads like the Titanic, *rtom exemptions are allowed by the Board of- .trade from the regulations governing the Timber of boats to bo carried. From the representatives <..'. largo ]o-i-al shipping companies, reassuring information was gained tluit no risks are takeil as r<?gai'ds safeguarding the Jives of those who travel 4" and from- JNow Zealand in their vessels. , ; Few steamers are adequately pi'ovwied with boa'ti;, in the opinion of Mr R. t. Bell, travelling tfss«rtate of Mr Havelock Wilson secretary of the British Seamen's Federation, who was sec'fr on the subject. He said that no doubt «)>ips nowadays are well built, but he declared that when it ca.me to the question of the accommodation in boats in case of possible mishaps, the answer" fften is that such safeguards are unnecessary. . For the largest vessels to carry a sufficient number of boats to take the full complement of passengers and crew would only entail the reserving of more deck space, said Mr Bell. The tendency was. however, to crowd in pawieiiger accommodation on modern vessels to such an extent that there was little space for anything else. So far as the Board of Trade was concerned, he looked upon it as practically useless. * As at present constituted, it consists of permanent officials, and he was of opinion that the survey of .'hips sometimes went less far than it should go. He thought the question of life-saving appliances should be dealt with by the Advisory Committee of the Board of Trade, and not by the permanent officials on the board.