CO129-536-10 Need for leglisation concerning number of certificated officers carried on passenger ships 18-11-1931 - 15-6-1932 — Page 39

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GFNERAL SURVEY

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Among observations contained in a few of these replies specially emphasising the importance of the object which the question had in view, the following may be noted.

Australia considers that all vessels (including fishing vessels) over a certain size should have on board a person or persons of such certificated professional capacity as to ensure as far as possible the safety of all concerned. This Governments points out that the safety of all vessels from a navigational standpoint depends, inter alia, upon a thorough knowledge of the Collision Regulations by those on board, that lack of such knowledge on the part of any one vessel imperils the safety of others, and that it is also essential that the person or persons responsible for the machinery section of a vessel should, for the safety of all concerned, possess certificated qualifications for the proper control and maintenance of such machinery and the proper discharge of his or their duties in connection therewith. Similarly, France recalls the collision of the Lotus and "Boz-kourt as demonstrating the import- ance of the principle in issue, while Spain emphasises this principle by reference to the following passage in the report of the Committee of the Thirteenth Session of the Conference, which has already been cited in the Intro- duction (ante, p. 6), viz "As experience had shown, a vessel, however well built, equiped, navigated and staffed, could be exposed to serious dangers from the fact that the staff of another vessel did not possess sufficient professional capacity ".

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The following special comments in favour of an international solution by way of the adoption of a Draft Convention by the Conference should also be mentioned. If the object in view is not, or cannot, be achieved independently by the maritime countries concerned, the question should become the subject of international consideration (Australia). The adoption of a Draft Convention would be facilitated by the fact that the great majority of maritime countries already have laws or regulations on the matter, and an interna- tional Convention would be the only effective means, in contradistinction to a Recommendation, for inducing maritime countries with defective or no laws or regulations to undertake obligations required in the general interests

QUESTION 1

of seamen and of maritime trade as a whole (France). Further, as the Finnish and French Governments emphasise, the International Labour Conference is the body indicated for framing such a Draft Convention, which the Finnish Government considers is all the more required by the nature of the terms of Article 48 of the London (1929) Convention for the safety of life at sea, which, this Government observes, simply provides in general terms that ships are to be sufficiently and efficiently manned and that each Government is to see that this requirement is complied with in respect of its national ships 1.

(b) Three Governments (Denmark, Norway and Sweden), while expressly stating that they do not oppose the framing of a Draft Convention by the Conference (and in fact returning answers which are for the most part favourable to all the six points in the Questionnaire), indicate that before coming to this conclusion they had had some doubts whether the question to be the subject- matter of the Draft Convention should be dealt with by the International Labour Conference.

The Danish Government, recalling the terms of Article 48 of the London Convention, which is open to adherence by any Government, observes that, as this Convention has already been ratified by Denmark and Article 48 includes, inter alia, an obligation to ensure that ships officers and engineers have the requisite profes- sional capacity, there is no need so far as Denmark is concerned for further Conventions on this question: as, however, the London Convention was signed only by certain maritime countries, the Government has no objection to the investigation of the question whether the Conference, in view of the existing circumstances, should also adopt a Convention on the matter, and has replied to the rest of the Questionnaire on this footing.

The Norwegian Government observes that, while it considers the item on the Agenda to be chiefly a

1 The actual provisions of this Article are as follows:

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The contracting Governments undertake, each for its national ships, to maintain, or, if it is necessary, to adopt, measures for the purpose of ensuring that, from the point of view of safety of life at sea, all ships shall be sufficiently and efficiently manned.'

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