620
THE HONG KONG GOVERNMENT GAZETTE, AUGUST 19, 1932.
www.........
COLONIAL SECRETARY'S DEPARTMENT
No. 543. The following memorandum regarding the change from the indirect to the direct system of helm orders, based on information supplied by the Secretary of State for the Colonies and by the Board of Trade, is published for general informa- tion.
Under Article 41 of the International Convention on Safety of Life at Sea the contracting Governments, of which His Majesty's Government is one, agree that
"helm or steering orders, i.e., orders to the steersman, shall on all their ships be given in the direct sense, e.g., when the ship is going ahead an order containing the word starboard' or 'right' or any equivalent of starboard' or 'right' shall only be used when it is intended, on ships as at present generally constructed and arranged, that the wheel, the rudder-blade and the head of the ship, shall all move to the right."
This system, which is exactly the opposite of that which has traditionally prevailed on British ships, was agreed to by the British delegations, including four naval officers and seven mercantile captains, after full consideration had been given to the initial disadvantages which might arise during the period of transition, with a view to securing for British shipping as a whole the benefits of international uniformity in practice and, through such uniformity, a material increase in the standard of safety of life at sea. It has been the experience of nations which have already effected the change that the transi- tion can be made without difficulty or danger, and it is not therefore anticipated that British seamen will be inconvenienced in this respect.
So far as ships registered in the United Kingdom are concerned the necessary provision for enabling effect to be given to Article 41 of the Safety Conven- tion has been made in Section 29 of the Merchant Shipping (Safety and Load Line Conventions) Act, 1932, which reads:--
"(1) No person on any British ship registered in the United Kingdom shall when the ship is going ahead give a helm or steering order containing the word "starboard" or "right" or any equivalent of "starboard," or "right," unless he intends that the head of the ship shall move to the right, or give a helm or steering order containing the word "port
port" or left", or any equivalent of "port" or "left", unless he intends that the head of the ship shall move to the left.
46
"(2) Any person who contravenes the provisions of this section shall for each offence be liable to a fine not exceeding fifty pounds ".
The above quoted section is not yet in force but the intention is that it should be brought into operation on the date on which the International Safety Con- vention comes into operation; and the date which has been suggested to the other signatory governments for this purpose is the 1st January, 1933.
To secure that the change should have the fullest possible effect it is desirable for the direct system of helm orders to be adopted simultaneously in all British ships, wherever registered; it is therefore proposed that the necessary steps shall be taken in the United Kingdom to move the issue of an order by His Majesty in Council, applicable to Hong Kong as from 1st January, 1933, under section 36 of the same Act which reads
"(1) His Majesty may by Order in Council direct that the provisions of this Part of this Act and (so far as may appear to His Majesty to be expedient for the purpose of giving effect to the provisions of this Part of this Act) the provisions of any other Act relating to Merchant - Shipping, including any enactments for the time being in force amending or substituted for the provisions of this Part of this Act or any other such Act, shall extend, with such exceptions, adapta- tions or modifications (if any) as may be specified in the Order, to the Isle of Man, any of the Channel Islands, and any colony."
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.