Sessional_Paper_1923 — Page 16

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(4).-BY THE CHIEF ENGINEER.

We find that the Chief Engineer must be held negligent for his failure to comply with Regulation No. 32. He also omitted to comply with Regulation No. 52 which requires that the doors of the engine and boiler rooms should be kept locked.

(5). BY THE SECOND ENGINEER.

What we have stated above with reference to the Chief Engineer applies also to the Second Engineer. At the same time with reference to his position in this enquiry having contravened Regulation No. 32, we notice that he was on duty in the engine room at the time of this occurrence, and we shall here later recommend that certificated officers on duty in the engine room shall not be required to carry arms upon their persons.

(6).---THE GRILLES AND THE DISPOSITION OF THE GUARDS,

There are two outstanding features in the circumstances of this occurrence to which our attention has been drawn. Firstly, the grilles prescribed by Regulation No. 2 or provided in accordance with Regulation No. 10 were not kept locked. Secondly, two guards out of the four who were on duty were posted aft on the main deck among the second class passengers. Both these matters are within the province of the Master only. We notice that no contravention of any Regulation is involved in them. The Regulations require grilles but at the same time omit to require that they should be locked. It is, of course, obviously improper that they should not be kept locked. The suggestion has been made to us that this omission by the Master constitutes a breach of Regulation No. 56 which requires that "The Master shall commit no act of omission which may tend to prevent any of the provisions of these Regulations from being properly carried out". We rejeen this suggestion and are content to express the view that Captain Birss would have carried out his duty as Master more efficiently if he had taken steps to keep the grilles locked. The two guards allocated to the main deck aft were posted there by the Master primarily to protect the bridge deck, &c., in accordance with Regulation No. 24 (6). We have only one comment to make on this subject, namely, that in our opinion a better and more effective disposition could have been made.

(7.)-GENERAL.

The complete success of the piratical attack on the S.S. Sui An was in our opinion due to the fact that the Piracy Regulations generally were not carried out as a routine on this ship; the officers carried no arms on duty; the guards were improperly armed and badly placed for defence. There seems to have been no anticipation whatever of an attack.

8.

Adequacy of the existing Piracy Regulations for the suppression

of the attack made upon the S. S. "Sui An".

If the Piracy Regulations had been strictly followed by Captain Bir one guard provided with a whistle and armed with one rifle and 50 rounds of ammunition, also with one revolver and 25 rounds of ammunition would have been on duty near the bridge between the dodgers and the grille. A second guard similarly equipped, presumably posted on the bridge deck forr'ard of the engine room skylight would have been also on duty. Every certificated officer, whether on or off duty, would have carried a revolver and 25 rounds of ammunition. Apart from these Regulations we think it likely that if discipline had been enforced on the officers and on the guards of the ship, the master of the ship, in view of the short duration of the voyage, would have been found at the time of this attack, near the bridge. In our opinion these Regulations if carried out would have been effectual to this extent. We think it unlikely that this piratical plan of attack would ever have been attempted. If it had been attempted, in our view the bridge could have been held against the attack for a sufficient time to have robbed it of its element of surprise. An opportunity would have been furnished to inflict damage upon the attackers and to send up signals of distress. It is probable that the bridge could not have been finally held against a determined assault by a large body of armed pirates, but unless the success of the surprise is practically certain, no surprise attack would be undertaken on a ship of the type of the S.S. Sui An.