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Hygiene of Crew Accommodation.
The hygiene of living accommodation on board ships in the Port receives the
constant attention of the Sanitary Inspectors, but it is not possible to complete the
above table because defects on foreign-owned ships, which cannot be remedied whilst
such ships remain within the Port Sanitary district, but which would have to be
the subject of correspondence with the owners abroad, have not been reported. On
the other hand the Inspectors invariably report sanitary defects on British ships
because it is possible to get them put right either immediately, or on the next occasion
when time and place permit of the work being done.
But even if records had been available from which the information required
in the above table could be supplied, the figures would be of no value whatever as
a basis of comparison between the crew accommodation in British ships, and that
in ships of other nations. In regard to dirty conditions, British ships would always
appear at a disadvantage because frequently the crew are paid off on arrival and
leave their quarters in an untidy and dirty-looking condition, whereas in the case
of foreign ships the crew are living on board and their quarters, therefore, have a more
cleanly appearance. As regards structural defects, and defects due to wear and
tear, can any Port Medical Officer judge the standard of hygiene of the whole Mercantile
Marine of any nation from the samples he sees in his own port? The opinions of
the Sanitary Inspectors in the Port of London as to how British ships compare
with those of other countries, differ according to the part of the Port in which their
work lies. They are agreed that there are some nations whose ships are consistently
unsatisfactory as judged by our own standards of hygiene, but when it comes to
saying whether there are other nations whose ships of all classes are consistently
superior to ours, they find it difficult to be dogmatic. It is true that there are a few
countries whose legal standards in regard to crew accommodation are higher than
ours. But there are many British ship owners who go far beyond the minimum
requirements of the Merchant Shipping Act and the Regulations of the Board of
Trade in regard to the provision they make for the crews of their ships. On the
other hand there are some who provide the bare minimum, and it is disappointing
to come across new ships in the designing and construction of which there has been
a complete absence of consideration for the welfare and comfort of the crew. Criticisms
are met by statements regarding trade depression, international competition, low
freights and high operating costs. These difficulties are admitted, but every ship
must carry a crew (though this seems to be an afterthought with some ship designers)
and since capital expenditure must be incurred in housing the men, surely it is
desirable that the money should be spent to the best advantage. It is contended
that at the present time much more satisfactory crew quarters could be provided
without serious additional expense if in the drawing up of the plans, and in the
specification of fittings more careful consideration were given to what are to-day
accepted as reasonable standards of hygiene. There are ship owners who can point
with justifiable pride to the living quarters of the officers and men on every ship of
their fleet, and there is no doubt that there is also a general all round improvement.
But there are notable exceptions which demonstrate very clearly that our present
standards are too low. This question is receiving consideration, for a Standing Joint
Committee of the Board of Trade and Ministry of Health on the hygiene of the
Mercantile Marine was set up over a year ago. Moreover, the Manning Committee
of the Shipping Federation has produced three most excellent Reports on "Officers
and Crew Accommodation in Cargo Vessels," but nothing has so far been done to
raise the minimum standards, and meanwhile ships are being launched which, so
long as they remain afloat, will be, from the point of view of hygiene, a disgrace to
the British Mercantile Marine.
VII.—FOOD INSPECTION.
The facts that the Port of London extends over such a wide area and that
Foodstuffs may be landed at almost any point makes it impossible to divide the Staff
strictly into Food Inspectors and Sanitary Inspectors. There are certain parts of
the Docks where the nature and quantity of the Foodstuffs landed are such that
a whole-time Food Inspector is essential, but there are many districts where the
food inspection and sanitary inspection must be combined. For this reason every