H.—ls.

The circumstances attendant on three of the casualties warranted the holding of a Magisterial inquiry. Such inquiry was held into the loss of the s.s. " Kaponga," which grounded on the Greymouth Bar and became a total wreck ; the stranding of the o.e.v. " Echo " near Pencarrow Head, and a collision at Napier Inner Harbour entrance between the o.e.v. " Tu Atu " and the labour launch " Doris " which resulted in the loss of ten lives. The New Zealand Nautical Almanac and Tide-tables. This publication for 1933 (31st edition) was published, as usual, on Ist November. In co-operation with the different Harbour Boards, every effort is made to keep the port information up to date, so that masters may have the latest available. It is published early so as to be available to Masters likely to be away from the Dominion at the beginning of the year. The 1931 International Code of Signals. It is intended that this new code should be brought into international use on Ist January, 1934. A British edition of it was published in 1932, and was brought into voluntary use on Ist January, 1933, so as to enable masters and officers to become familiar with the code and its procedure, and to afford them an opportunity of exercising signals with it. Ihe new code, while mainly for use with ships, also contains a considerable number of signals suitable for the use of aircraft. It is now published in two volumes, Volume I for visual and sound signals and Volume II for radio signalling. Alterations have been made to the pilot and quarantine signals, but they will not come into operation until special notice has been given of their adoption. Notices to Mariners. Information relative to changes in navigational aids and to the discovery of obstructions, wreckage, or other dangers to navigation, and general information necessary for the use of mariners was published in the form of Notices to Mariners, of which sixty-seven have been issued during the year. Radio Beacons and Direction-finders. The provision of these beacons, as an added safeguard to life and property, is still increasing in different parts of the world, and they are now found in many parts where navigation, when it is impeded or endangered, can be assisted by them. The services rendered by the beacons, together with other important reasons, have been recognized and valued to such an extent by owners and masters, that nearly all vessels trading to the Dominion from places where such services are available have been fitted with direction-finders to take advantage of them. The value of these beacons in assisting navigation on our coast was recognized by the Department soon after their inception, and one was erected at Cape Maria Van Diemen in 1926. It was then proposed to provide two more beacons, but action in their erection was delayed for several good reasons. The proposal was again being examined, when the urgent need for the curtailment of expenditure appeared and put the question beyond consideration for the time being. It is hoped, however, as soon as things improve to proceed with the erection of two beacons as part of a service considered by the Department as necessary to help towards the safe navigation of ships fitted with direction-finding installation. Survey of Ships. The following table shows the number of certificates issued to ships during the year, the figures for the previous year being shown in parentheses :— Sea-going steam and motor ships .. .. .. .. 155 (153) Sea-going sailing-ships .. .. .. .. .. .. 5 (5) Restricted-limits steam and motor ships and motor-launches .. 401 (401) 561 (559) The number of surveys for certificates dropped from a total of 816 in the year 1927 to 559 in 1932. The returns of this year show a slight increase of two compared with the previous year. During the year ending the 31st March, 1933, seventeen vessels were surveyed for the first time. Of these, five were sea-going and twelve were restricted-limit vessels. The motor-ship " Atua," a new cargovessel, was built at Auckland. She is constructed of wood, and has a gross and register tonnage of 208 tons and 104 tons respectively. The propelling machinery consists of two sets of 100 b.h.p. imported Diesel engines driving twin screws, and on her trial trip in September, 1932, the vessel attained a speed of nine knots. On completion of construction and survey, a foreign-going certificate was issued, and one tiip was made to Norfolk Island. Owing to the present slackness in coastal trade, the vessel has been laid up in Auckland for some months. Another vessel which has been surveyed for the first time is the motor-ship " Port Whangarei " (508 tons gross and 286 tons register), formerly the steamship " Marion Sleigh." She was converted to a motor-ship in Sydney, where two sets of Diesel engines each of 250 b.h.p. were installed, and entered the New Zealand coastal trade in November, 1932. The s.s. " Gabriella " was first surveyed in the Dominion in November, 1932. She has been engaged in the intercolonial trade for some years, and up to the date of the survey carried out by the Department had run under surveys conducted by the Australian Commonwealth authorities. The South Sea,' a steam trawler of 322 tons gross and 127 tons register, was formerly the s.s. '• Ferriby," of Hull, England. She arrived in New Zealand during the year, and was surveyed by the Department in January, 1933.

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