RECENT COASTAL WRECKS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLIII, Issue 13263, 23 August 1906, Page 7

RECENT COASTAL WRECKS.

INSPECTION OF VESSELS

DECK CARGO PERMITS,

THE QUESTION 1 OF OVERLOADING

The Court, of Naiiiioal Inquiry into the wrecks of the ketch Sir Henry, of 94- tons, wrecked between U»st Island and tho mainland at East Cape lan July 17; the auxiliary schooner Aotea, 80 tons, wrecked at Waipiro Bay on or .about July 17; and the schooner Haerem*»i, 86 tons, last seen on tho East Coast ou May 19, and which is aupposed to bo wrecked, was to have given its report yesterday, but further evidence was taken. Mr. C. O. Kettle, S.M., presided, and had with him as assessors Captain Campbell (late <5iT the s.s. Kotare) and Captain Ross (of th*. s.s. Ysabel). The Collector of Customs (Mr. Alexander Rose) appeared on behalf of tho Marine Departments conduct the inquiny. Mr. Rose, wiih the permission of the Court, gave further evidence. For the 12 months ended August* 21, 1906, there were 70 special deck cargo licenses issued at Auckland, 20 annual special licenses, and 26 annual general ordinary licenses. The Shipping and Seamem Act of 1903 provided that the term " deckT meant the ordinary upper part of a ship. Deck licenses were not issued to scows which did not have holds for cargo, and deck 3icenses were issued at any port at which tß»ere was a Customhouse.

Mr. KerAle: Did you make any inquiries from other ports?

Mr. Roue: I will explain that to you. Vessels plying; within restricted limits are exempt •yudcr the regulations. For Auckland the limits are a straight line from Cape Colvillo to Bream Head.

Mr. Kettle: All these vessels were going outsido •that':'

Witness: Yes, on that particular occasion

DECK CARGO.

Mr. [Kettle; They, had no right to carry deck cargo? Witnipss: No.

. Mr. Settle: The question is, Did the vessels carry deck cargo without permits, and, if thej,» did, are there sufficient officers here to seoj.that the Act is carried out?

Mr. Rose: I find there is a difficulty. The officers have other duties to attend to which they «are told off for, so that there is no timet for them to attend to theeo outside matters. What is wanted, to my mind, is a niiutical man to bo told off and to be always attending to that work. It is impossible for Captain Flemming to do it. In thei case of one vessel I said, "That vessel is toverloaded," but shortly afterwards, the same day , 1 think it was, she wont into thf> stream and capsized with a load of dr«in pipes. In ordinary business it would bo impossible to enforce the regulations without impeding traffic. Very much of the traffic here is owing to the want of roads internal communicationand all goods must SP by water. It is a terrible detriment to tiie settlers for the vessels to be hampered ♦so much.

. Mr. Kettle: In your opinion are there sufficient competent and reliable officers in Auckland whose duty it is to see that the provisions of the law arc carried out?

Mr. Rose: I have no complaint to make about our people, here; but I say the Customs staff is not sufficient to do that. There should l>e another man.

Mr. Kettle: He must be a man who is prepared to do his duty at, all hazards? Mr. Rose: Certainly, There was a vessel lain submerged over the waterline, and all sorts of influence was tried upon me to getmo to let her proceed. After wasting the best part of a day in trying to argue witli me the next morning they took some of the the cargo out, and then they were allowed to proceed. I had to do that in another vessel, too. Now, with regard to load-lines. Captain Parker is.very careful about loadlines. There are all sorts of persons who will readily give me information about that. THE LOAD-LINK. , Mr. Kettle: The position of the load-lino on the ship? Mr. Rose: That is done by competent men, tho superintendent of mercantile marine and his assistants. The position marked is measured and certified to by the superintendent of mercantile marine and the officers who assist him, whether i l is the: Customs, or whoever it may be. That is carefully looked after. The certificate has to be produced in all parts of the colony and in Australia. I stopped the Zealniulia once, although she was registered in Melbourne. She had no load-line certificate, and it was not actually marked on the vessel. She had just come out of dock. , A SUGGESTION. Mr. Kettle: 1 understand the suggestion you make is that a thoroughly competent, independent man should .be appointed to see to all these matters of overloading and deck cargo? Mr. Rose: Yes. It is impossible for the superintendent of mercantile marine to be in all places at the same time. Mr. Kettle: The suggestions will be considered. Mr. Rose: This is a large port. Mr. Kettle: These regulations are only coming to light when -groat, casualties occur, and then it is found something should be done. The question is, Should not these things have been seen to long ago? These three vessels left port with deck cargo. Mr. Rose: It seems so to me. We have, evidence that the Aotea discharged some cargo at Waipiro Bay. Mr. Kettle: Neither of these vessels- had deck cargo permits from this port? Mr. Rose: No.

Mr. Kettle: Was it. not the duty of some officer to see that the deck cargo permits were produced before they left port? Mr. Rose: No.

Mr. Kettle: Then this may happen: Vessels (scows and other small craft) can go out: of the port systematically— Mr. Rose: Barely that. Mr. Kettle: And take deck cargo without a permit and nobody say anything about it. Mr. Rose: It is quite possible, It depends on the time of day she went out. Mr. Kettle: We have three vessels here. Mr. Rose: Yes; they went out very early in the morning. Mr. Kettle: They should give some notice when the loading is complete, so that officers can go down and see them. Mr. Rose: It is impossible for the officers to be there all the time.

Mr. Kettle: I quite understand the difficulty. The question is how it is going to he stopped. Mr. Rose: It is not done in a wholesale manner. Very often deck cargo is a very good thing to the vessel. Mr. Kettle: That may be, bin the law says there must be a permit. The Court intimated that it would endeavour to give its report this afternoon.