The Oregon daily journal., June 21, 1914, Page 57, Image 57

Steamship Companies in Last Two Years Have Put in
Force Important Precautions Not Hitherto Thought
Necessary Stringent Rules Likely to be Made for
Navigation in Fog as Result of Empress Wreck.
THE sinking of the White Star
liner Titanic on April 16, 1912,
, in mid-ocean, through colliding;
with an iceberg, with the ap
palling loss of life, resulted in an In
ternational Conference on Baf ety of
Life at Sea, meeting in London in De
cember, 191. V
After drawing up a number of arti
cles for improving the standard regu
lation for safety of life, at sea, the
conference terminated on January 20.
1914, after th protocol , had been
signed by the representatives of four
teen of the great maritime nations and
scheduled to become law in July, 1915.
- These recommendations are now
pending before the United States sen
ate in Washington, owing to the fight
made by the steamship companies, both
that some of the new rules contained
is the protocol signed by the mem
bers of the conference would be in
jurious to the service and in some
cases Impossible to carry out
Following the loss of the Titanic
there havejbeen two other great mari
time disasters In which there has been
serious loss of life the burning-of
the Uranium Line steamer Volturno
on Oct. 10, 1913, and the sinking of
the Empress of Ireland on Friday,
'Afav 29. in the St. Lawrenco river.
through a collision in a fog with the
Danish collier Storstad, in which near
ly 1000 lives were lost.
Without waiting for the new regula
tions to come Into force, the Atlantic
steamship companies have taken every
precaution in their power to insure
the safety of the lives of those who
iravet vis tneir slwuiqi( anu i a..,
they have been supported by the
hearty cooperation of the governments
of the United States and Great Britain.
The most important innovation- so
far has been theice patrol established
along the route's taken by the bergs
when they float down from the north
toward the steamship lanes. Timely
.warnings are given to captains of
liners lyhen they are approaching a
dangerous sone.
Two Ships on Patrol.
The two vessels employed on this ice
patrol, the ; Seneca and the Miami,
from March 1 to the end of July, are
equipped with wireless apparatus, and
send reports daily to the hydrographic
bureau In New York of ice conditions.
These reports are sent to the steam
ship companies to hand to their com-
manders. In addition,, individual no
tices are sent to the different ships
t. at sea. -. . . , s .
The establishment of the patrol has
also encouraged captains and officers
to take notes of any Icebergs they
may pass and report their exact loca
tion to the nearest patrol steamer.
Another step toward protecting life
at sea has been made by building new
ships with double bottoms divided
into compartments by transverse and.
longitudinal bulkheads which carry
right through to the main deck, so
that in case a "ship's hull is pierced
by an Iceberg like the Titanic was she
would not -founder, at least for many
hours, by which time her passengers
and crew could have been saved in
. the boats.
The White Star line sent their big
gest steamship, the Olympic, back to
Belfast to be ripped open ana fitted
- with the double skin, or hull, at a cost
.; of mors than $1,000,000, in order that
r she should be safe in every respect.
' The Mauretania and the Lusltania had
j been -built that way because the ships
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were constructed under the British ad
miralty regulations.
The Empress of Ireland was not
fitted with a double skin of this de
scription, trot she had several water
tight bulkheads, both longitudinal and
transverse. This would have kept her
afloat; according to experts, In any
ordinary collision, but unfortunately
the Storstadt, the steamer which col
lided with her, struck the liner a slang
ing blow amidships and went through
her hull toward the stern, ripping up
every bulkhead and this let .the water
enter in great volume.
Lewis Nixon, who Is an authority
on shipbuilding la America, when
asked if anything could be done in the
future to avoid such another disaster
at sea, replied that It was impossible
to build ships that could not be sunk
in a collision If they were struck In
a vulnerable part, Tbs only way was
to change the International naviga
tion laws to compel the commanders
of vessels navigating narrow waters
or o the open sea In the track of
ships to slow down to steerage way.
about three knots, during a fog.
This precaution Is observed by most
captains to a certain degree, but there
has been a tendency on the part of
the commanders of fast liners to keep
a certain headway on the ship in a fog
in order not to loss time In making
port. .
Owners of these Teasels do not tell
their captains to drive through a fog
openly,, but If a commander does not
d -riii. f l i5r 1 fill
to dO&
make bis passage across the Atlantic
in a certain time he is looked upon as
being unfortunate or unlucky and oth
ers are promoted over his head.
One well known captain trading be
tween New York and a European port
is famous In shipping circles for the
precautions he takes, especially in a
fog, when he will 'stop dead, if it Is
days, until the fog lifts and he can
see a clear sky ahead.
This qualification is so. well known
to the traveling public that numbers
of business men who cannot afford
the time to go to Europe themselves
send their families on his ship.
It is highly probable that the steam
ship lines will hold a conference them
selves to adopt stringent rules regard
ing navigation In fog, which will also
bs taken up by the marine Insurance
companies who have been heavy losers
recently through the loss of the Ti
tanic, Volturno, and Empress of Ire
land. 4
Another move in the . direction of
safety was made by the steamship
companies In , altering the course for
their steamers on the Atlantic accord-'
ing to the Ice reports received from
the patrol ships. Within the last few
days, owing to the prevalence of ice
. near the tracks, the course ' has been .
shifted 40 miles further to the. south
ward to avoid all risk of .collision.
. Tears ago, -when' steamers were
smaller; and slower, it was the usual
thing for steamers to sight Icebergs
In June and July, and the captains
used to pass within two or three miles
If it was daylight in order that the
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passengers might get a good view.
Today if a captain passes one within
10 miles of his ship, it sends a thrill
through his passengers and is report
ed by- them on arrival in port as a
narrow escape.
Next to the ice patrol in Importance
for safety at sea, in the opinion of
experts, is the regulation regarding
wireless apparatus made by the Unit
ed States government, which came in
to force a year ago.
All vessels trading to this country,
carrying 50 or more persons on board,
must be equipped with . an apparatus
capable of sending messages at least
100 miles. On the larger passenger
lfnrs this distance is increased to, 230
miles, and each liner must carry, two
operators,' so that there will always be
one man on duty. - ' .
Wireless Precautions.
In order that there should be an op
portunity for . the' operators r to hear
distress calls sent out without any in
terruption by : commercial messages,
the companies close down their wire
less apparatus on their steamers for
. commercial purposes; every night from
10 to 1J o'clock.
A fire patrol with trained firemen,
who go around at night In all parts
of the .ship and make reports at cer-
; tain points, as Is done in big hotels,
is a safeguard against the danger of
a disaster by fire at sea. ' In addi-
tion, there are telephones to all parts II - ' . .
of. the "Vessel, Including the bridge, ! 1 - - . r ' j
where there are never less than two r I - ' " " . - ..... . j .
officers on duty, and hose leads along - , I I . , i ' ,
- ..flV"' "v Wt-V Ml I HI. H I
the corridors ready to b turned on
at a second's
notice. The nyarants
are indicated ? by red,- lamps so that
any member of the crew or gassengers
can find them easily in time of need.
The majority of the big' liners now
carry a staff commander whose duty
it is to look after the efficiency and
discipline of the ship at sea. That
is, he sees that the ship is kept clean
above and below decks, and he Is held
directly responsible for "the life saving
apparatus on board and has to ser
that it is kept in first-class condition.
On vessels trading to the United
States there has t be a lifebelt and a
place in a lifeboat or raft for every
passenger and member of the crew
on board. This has been complied
with by ihe companies 'because it ' has
been demanded, but the most experi
enced captains are against carrying
100 per cent of lifeboat capacity on
their decks. They say that with such
a large number of boats on the upper
deck It would te an impossibility to
get them all out In time of need and
it would prevent the saving of life
through overcrowding the deck. Steam
ers when sinking usually list either
to one side or the other, and if three
or four heavy lifeboats were let go
on the deck at the same time It would
result In people being swept off the
decks and killed as they were on the
Empress of Ireland before she went
down. " .
Motor Lifeboats Effective.
In place of carrying such a number
of boats, hampering the; decks, it has
been suggested that two or more pow
erful motor lifeboats shoUld.be taken,
as in the "event of transferring pas
sengers at sea these boats could do
more work in one hour than a dosen
lifeboats, on account 9 their sseed.
The Aqult&nla has been equipped
with two large motor lifeboats s with
FAMOUS TRINITY HOUSE
TRINITY HOUSE, which celebrated
its four hundreth anniversary re
cently, is famed across the Seven
Seas. The first general lighthouse
anil nilntar, authorltv in the United
. . , ,
Kingdom, It has played an important
past ln nautical affairs throughout the
period during which Britain has been
"the mistress of the ocean a ;
The organization, an' association ; of
master mariners, was an important in
stitution at the time, ln 1614, when it
was granted Its first charter by Henry
VIII, ths anniversary of which event
has recently been observed. L j-
The charter declared that the organ
ization was given that document "for
the relief, increase, and augmentation
of the shipping of this realm of Eng
land." while ths body was described as
"the guild or fraternity of the most
glorious and undivldable Trinity of St.
Clement." , , . 1
The "fraternity" idea has been main
tained and the guiding officials of
Trinity House are known as Elder j. ths lighthouse and coast marking sys
Brethren, there also being Younger j tern of England and Wales, under ths
Brethren. There ars 10 acting Elder 1 financial control of ths board of trade.
A - . --' - . -" - V " ' .
twireleas apparatus which has a range
; of 100 miles, and ths "Vaterlafld and
Imperator also carry motor lifeboats.
The crews of the ships are drilled fre
quently during the voyage In handling
lifeboats and life apparatus, so that ,
they, are ready to turn out and go to
their proper stations when the alarm iiK
sounded by the wblsUe or the belL
yi ia uau uii.wu. v ...
.lowered in the water in New York
and the crews are encouraged to prac
tice lowering and rowing the lifeboats
by the offer of prises by the various
companies.
The introduction of the searchlights
has proved a success ln foggy weather
and also in entering a port at night
The searchlight soon will be adopted
by all lines as a precautionary meas
ure to avoid running into ice, which is
a greater danger than running into
another ship, because it often lies low
and has no lights. ' -.
It has been suggested that the
'. searchlight should be placed on the
foremast at an angle of 45 degrees
; about six feet above the crow's nest,
j where the light would show to the best
advantage. One of the dangers in
lease of collision at sea Is the cutting
off of the electric lights ln the ship
: when the engine room is flooded and
, the dynamo put out of commission.
;, This has been averted ln the latest
: constructed liners of the Vaterland and
Aqultania class, by putting an lnde
j pendent electric light plant worked
from storage batteries on the boat deck
! so that there will be ample light in
case of emergency to get the boats out.
I Thirty years agotl when the electric
j light was first installed on board
; ships, this emergency was anticipated
by the steamship lines and 'large oil
lanterns were hung ln the alleyways
j below decks and a triangular box with
j glass sides, containing large candles,
i was inserted in the bulkheads between
Brethren, of whom one is a. retired of
ficer of ths navy, nine being retired
commanders of tbs mercantile marine;
there are also two Elder Brethren who
have retired from the active list and 11
honorary Elder Brethren.
.
On the list of Elder Brethren are
King George, the Duke -of Connaught,
Premier Asqulth, A. J. Balfour, Win
ston Spencer Churchill, Lord Tlosebery.
Prince Louis of Battenberg, the Earl
of Selborne, the Marquess of Crewe,
and Lord George Hamilton.
The present duties of the Elder
Brethren have reference ln addition
to lighthouse and pilotage matters to
buoys, beacons, and attendance at the
admiralty court to act as assessors.
The brethren also advlss the board of
trade in nautical affairs. Until 1S54
all dues were collected by Trinity
House, and until 1974 ths Elder Breth
ren examined masters of tbs navy.
Ths present income of ths corpora
tion from light dues is IMOO.OO year
ly, which goes for ths maintenance of
the cabins to bs lighted In case the .
electric light failed at any time. In
order that the stewards should be well
acquainted with the ship and know
what to do in case of accident, the cap;
tains would . suddenly order the elec
tric lights to be extinguished at I or I
o'clock in the morning and give the
order for a lamp drill. When the elec
trio light became established on a firm
basis the oil and candle lamps were
Mmomtimmdl wlth ln th. ..Mm.
can sUll be found ln the older
vessels. ' i
The submarine signaling spparatus
which has been installed on many of
the new ocean liners has proved to bs
of inestimable value to navigators in
foggy weather ln locating the station
ary lightships, to which the submarine
bells and transmitters have been fixed.
Two electric wires ars run from the
chart room through casings to the
bows of the vessel , and made fast to
the outer hull about midway between
the keel and the water line
By placing the port or starboard re
ceiver to his ear the officer on duty
can easily discover on which side the
lightship Is and detect bow far the
ship is away from It.
Captains of liners coming Into New
York have got the Nantucket Lightship
10 miles away and steamed slowly
right to it and got their correct bear
ings ln dense fogs during the .winter.
The bell must be fixed on a sta
tionary . vessel, but emergency sub
marine bells can be carried on moving
steamers and put over the side In a '
fog In time of danger, so that another
vessel can locate her position by the
sound of the bell.
There Is a disk belL too. which can
be used in lifeboats in foggy weather
to indicate their position to any ships
coming to their assistance. This is a
large brass gong with a dapper at
tached which can be struck by a lever
worked by a line from the boat when
it is suspended over the side. The
United States is ahead of Europe In
the use of submarine signals, having 49
lightships equipped with the apparatus.
A wireless telephone has been installed
on the Vaterland, through which people
on board 1 have talked with friends
ashore ln Hamburg at a distance of 100
IS NOW .400
Trinity House also administers some
charitable trusts for impecunious mas
ter mariners and their widows.
Trinity Housed whose .headquarters
is now ln London, originally was lo
cated at peptford, Kent ,Henry VIII
made a royal dock yard at Deptford, It
being the station where outgoing ships
were supplied with pilots, and there
after the organisation rapidly devel
oped ln importance. Henry VIII gave
to Trinity House ths direction of ths
royal dock yard.
Ths institution was founded by Sir
Thomas Spert, commander of ths ship
of ths line Harry Grace ds Dleu and
controller of ths nay. 1 '
Queen EUxabeth conferred upon ths
corporation' a grant of arms In 1193,
and Intrusted It with Its chief modern
duty by giving itauthority to create
beacons and other marks for "tbs guid
ance of navigators along ths coasts of
England. ; These duties Trinity House
has over sines carried out. . Tbs insti
tution ln ' Elizabeth's time was also
recognised as ths authority in ths con
struction of vessels for ths royal navy.
- Prior to 1796 tbs offices of ths cor
miles at sea. This telephone requires
special instruments, however, and it
will be some time before the Invention
is perfected sufficiently for it to be
used generally on board ships.
New Mode of Lowering Boats
Patent davits, too, have been in
stalled recently on liners of the Olym
pic, Vaterland. and Aqultania class,
which will lower boats over the side
one after another without capsizing.
It is claimed.' even when the deck of
th ship is listed over to a considerable
angle on either side. '
Captains of liners, who were inter
viewed by the writer on the subject of
what could be done for the better pro
tection of life at sea, suggested that
the companlonways for exit - to the
upper deck might be more uniform on
'all ships Instead of being tucked away
In many instances at the whim of the
designer, and that they should also be
Wider and more plentiful.
' A passengers can never be made to
understand plans. It would be better to
affix large oil lamps with red glasses
in the center of each alleyway, lndt-,
eating where the companlonway or
staircase leading to the decks was sit
uated. Incidentally, the passengers
themselves might take a little inter
est in their own protection, the cap-
alns suggested, by examining their
lifebelts when they went on board and
trying them on, so that in case of ac
cident they would know where to find
them and adjust them In the dark if
the cabin lamp- went out. -
It would also be. a good thing for
passengers to find out the nearest
means of reaching the boat deck from
their cabin and to realise that in spite
of all the precautions taken by the
builder of the ship and the officer on
the bridge the sea sometimes takea Its
toll as It has done unfortunately during
the last two years.
. Encouraging Officers.
Shipbuilders are endeavoring:-to con
struct vessels for the passenger-carrying
trade ln the Atlantic that are as
near unsinkable as human skllcan de
vise, and it Is suggested by captains
of experience that the steamship com
panies should endeavor to get the high
est grade of young men obtainable to
train up as officers, and eventually to
bs commanders of those vessels whUh
require brains to navigate them In time
of need. The various companies have
realised this ' recently and raised the
pay of their officers all round and
given them better quarters in the new
ships.
At the present time the aversgs pay
of the Captain of an Atlantic liner is
not over $4000 a year, and there is
only ens commander who draws 1(000.
Certain- companies give their com
manders 91000 a year for what is
called conditional money. Half of this
amount goes into the pension fond and
the remaining S500 is given the cap
tain in cash. That is, unless he meets
with any slight accident, such as
knocking a small hole In an Iron shed
and doing about f 100 worth of damage,
touching tbs mud, oven without Injury
to the ship's hull, or getting two of
three ventilators washed overboard by
a big sea. In this event the captain
really loses his bonus for two years,
and the whole amount the following
year Is swallowed up by the pension
fund. This is what the directors of
tttm onm na.nl m ea.ll disciDllnc their com
manders, who in turn describe the ac
tion as treating them like naughty
school children Instead of men who
hold, when they ars afloat, one of the
most responsible positions ln ths world
today. -
YEARS OLD
poration were moved to London, and in
1798 ths headquarters was established
at Trinity House, Tower Hill, the pres
ent address.
In 1899 an act of parliament gave
the institution authority to purchase
from ths crown, as well as from prl
vats proprietors,' all Interest in coast
lights. For ths maintenance of lights,
buoys, and other aids to navigation
Trinity House was given power to raise
money by tolls.
By Its charter it Is provided that the
active governing body should "consist
of master, wardens, and assistants,
numbering 12 in all, and elected annu
ally by the brethren." In 1(04 the
brethren were divided into feldeT and
Younger Brethren. Io 1(09 the sole
management of affairs was conferred
on the Oder Brethren, the ' Younger
Brethren having a vote in the elec
' tion of masters and wardens. But it is
tbs acting Elder . Brethren who dis
charge ths practical duties. . k
It was Trinity House which by a by
law la 1(87 mads a written agreement
between tbs 'master and crew of a ship
compulsory. ... , -.'.....