Sailors' Lives Two cargo boats which sank in the Atlantic
with their crews, the Millpool October last, the Blairgowrie ' in February, have recently been the subject of Inquiry. In the latter case the Court has now declared its findings. It is disquieting to note the discrepancy between the favourable evidence given by surveyors and other experts who had the duty of reporting on her, and the unfavourable evidence of officers and men who had served in her at sea. In heavy seas she shipped water, her shell in various areas cracked, rivets worked loose, and water accumulated. It was shown that she had serious defects as a sea-going ship, that entries about soundings were falsified, and that though " technically " She had a sufficient complement of deck-hands, as a practical matter she had not. No " wrongful act " could be proved against the owners, and yet it appears that Much was wrong, and that those who served in her knew it. There should be a drastic revision of the regulations with the least possible delay. When so many good ships are laid up it is peculiarly shocking that men should be sent to sea in unseaworthy vessels.
* * * *
Previous page
