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15
cleaning. Foreign-going steamers of the tramp class have their fresh-water tanks fitted
in the bridge space or shelter deck with a hand-pump on deck. This position is
satisfactory, but care should be taken to lead the sounding pipes and filling pipes to
some suitable place on deck.
Fore and after peak tanks are unsatisfactory for fresh water as on account of
their shape they are difficult to clean and cement wash properly.
Many tanks in all classes of vessels were inspected as to cleanliness, and rarely
was any cause of complaint found.
A tank in good condition which has not received contaminated water will not
require cleaning more than once in twelve months, though it should be drained to get
rid of residual water and sediment whenever the opportunity occurs.
Men engaged in cleaning tanks wear overalls and their ordinary boots. It is
suggested that they should wear rubber boots kept specially for use in fresh-water
tanks.
Manholes should have a water-tight joint of rubber or asbestos packing. In two
instances manhole doors were found to be jointed with white lead and in one instance
with red lead.
When tanks are situated in the bridge space or the shelter dock or in the open,
it is desirable that the manhole should be on the side and not at the top, so as to give
easy access for cleaning and to ensure that the covers are properly fitted after
being removed.
Various types of water filters are found in ships. For the most part they will
remove sediment and clarify the water, but they will not remove bacterial contamination.
Except in the large passenger liners, which are fitted with batteries of carbon
block filters on the rising main between the pump and the gravity tank and in regard
to which special instructions as to cleansing are issued by the makers, there is usually
no appreciation of the fact that a dirty filter is more dangerous than no filter at all.
Filling pipes, sounding pipes and air pipes are frequently terminated in a manner
and in a situation involving risk of contamination of the water in the tanks. Thus in
the majority of cargo vessels filling pipes terminate flush with the deck and are closed
with a brass screw cap. When a tank is being filled it is usual to insert the nozzle of
the hose into the pipe. If the air pipe is small, there is regurgitation through the
filling pipe, the surrounding deck is flooded and some at least of the dirty water finds
its way into the tank. Sometimes the brass cap is missing and it is replaced by a
wooden plug which may be a poor fit. Risk of contamination would be reduced if filling
pipes terminated in a protected situation well above deck level.
In passenger ships it is more commonly the sounding pipes which are at fault.
Thus in one first-class liner the sounding pipes to a pair of fresh-water tanks terminate
in a gentlemen's lavatory compartment on the port side and in a ladies' lavatory
compartment on the starboard side. The end of the pipe in each case is in a little
depression in the floor of the compartment.
It is the usual practice for the carpenter to sound every tank in the ship twice a day
and report to the Chief Officer. The carpenter uses a steel rod about four feet long
attached to a length of spun yarn. This he lowers into the tank, pulls it out, records
the depth, wipes the rod on a piece of waste and lowers it into the next tank.
Fresh-water tanks, salt-water tanks and the bilges are all sounded with the same rod
one after the other. In between tanks the rod is frequently trailed along the deck.
Though water-borne disease is very uncommon in ships, it is apparent from
Mr. Madeley's report that there are many circumstances sufficient to account for
unsatisfactory bacteriological reports, and much might be done by attention to detail
to reduce the risks of contamination.