CAB11-57-15 — Page 166

CHAPTER VII (L),

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her arrival has been previously notified, will readily be done, the Examining Officer will give her the special signal for the day as described in the following paragraph, will place a pilot on board when necessary, and will then allow her to proceed with as little delay as possible.

35. Special Signal. The special signal by day will be a simple combination of inter- national code flags. It will be arranged for and changed daily, or more frequently if requisite, by the Chief Examining Officer, who will be responsible for informing the Commodore, who will communicate it to the Fortress Commander for the information of the shore batteries.

36. Suspicious Vessels.-If the approaching vessel is not recognised, she will be directed to proceed to the examination anchorage, where she will be examined at anchor.

37. If there appears to be anything suspicious about a vessel, either from the number or appearance of her crew, the nationality of her master and mates, the nature of the replies given to the Examining Officer's enquiries, or any other reason, the ship's papers are to be examined.

Should the papers prove to be correct, and their examination remove all doubt from the mind of the Examining Officer, the vessel is to be given the special signal and allowed to proceed, a pilot being put on board.

Should the examination of the ship's papers fail to allay suspicion, a search will be instituted and the nature of the cargo ascertained as far as possible and compared with the manifest. If the search is satisfactory, the vessel is to be given the special signal and allowed to proceed, a pilot being put on board.

Should the search strengthen or fail to remove previous suspicion, the case will be reported to the examination battery and the Chief Examining Officer. The Chief Examining Officer will forward the report to the Commodore. The vessel must remain anchored in the examination anchorage and await further instructions. The Commodore will either take action at once in conjunction with the military authorities, or immedi- ately report the matter to the Senior Naval Officer.

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38. Procedure for bringing to α Vessel. Should a vessel fail to stop when ordered by signal, the examination steamer will fire a round of blank from her signal gun to attract her attention. Should the vessel fail to "bring to," the examination battery is to bring her to.

39. The procedure for "bringing to" a vessel will be as follows: If an incoming steamer disregards the signals from the examination steamer to "bring to," and continues to approach the port at speed, not showing the signal of the day, a round of plugged shell will be fired across her bows by the examination battery. If she fails to regard this warning she is to be regarded as hostile.

40. Should the vessel "bring to" after the examination battery has warned her by shot to do so, the same procedure as in paragraphs 36 and 37 is to be adopted.

41. Towed Vessels. Should a steamer, not a tug, be observed approaching the port having another apparently disabled vessel in tow, the character of both vessels is to be ascertained.

42. Vessels approaching in Company.-When two or more vessels approach simul- taneously, the examination steamer, flying the "Stop instantly" signal, is to deal with each vessel in turn. Any vessel not complying with the "Stop instantly" signal is to be dealt with by the examination battery.

43. Procedure in Bad Weather.-Should the weather be too bad to allow of boarding being carried out, all merchant vessels must remain in the examination anchorage or proceed to sea until the weather moderates.

44. Procedure by Night or during a Fog.--No merchant vessel will be allowed under any circumstances to proceed beyond the examination anchorage between sunset and sunrise, or during foggy weather, whilst the examination service is in force.

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