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Ships requiring medical inspection are required to fly the L.I.M. signal during
the day and to flash "Q" on their Morse lamp by night when approaching Gravesend.
No use has been made of land signal stations. It would be convenient to receive
messages from Lloyd's Signal Station at Southend, as they would enable the Medical
Officer to time the arrival of ships more accurately than do the wireless messages.
Such an arrangement, would, however, involve expenditure which I have not felt
justified in asking the Port Sanitary Authority to incur.
Information that ships are expected on certain tides is obtained from Shipping
Companies and their Agents, the Harbour Master, Lloyd's Agent, Customs Officers,
Pilots and the Masters of Tugs. All this news is welcome and useful, but cannot be
regarded as an efficient substitute for the wireless messages from the actual ships
which require our attention.
Mooring Stations designated under Article 10.
Application was made to the Port of London Authority for Mooring Stations, and
the following have been designated:—
(a) Within the Docks:—
London and St. Katharine Docks These are small and busy docks and it is impossible to
allocate a mooring station. Vessels which had to be
isolated would have to be sent out of the docks into the
River to the nearest available River mooring, by arrangement
with the Harbour Master.
Surrey Commercial Dock Quebec Dock Buoys.
West India and Millwall Docks Mark Lane Buoys, Millwall Dock.
East India Dock Here again it would not be possible to isolate a vessel, and
it would be necessary to send vessels to moorings in the
River.
Royal Victoria, Royal Albert and (a) Between "A" Jetty and No. 9 Granary, Royal Victoria
King George V. Docks. Dock; (b) "C" Jetty Buoys, Royal Victoria Docks.
Tilbury Dock The most suitable quay berth available.
In the event of any of these moorings being occupied when required for an
infected ship, the Port Sanitary Authority has been assured of the co-operation of the
Port of London Authority's officials in finding a suitable berth.
(b) Outside the Docks:—
Thames Gravesend Lower Mooring or, if this is occupied, to the
vessel's own anchors in this vicinity.
MedwayTo anchor off Garrison Point.
Particulars of any standing Exemptions from the provisions of Article 14.
All ships which are required to be visited on arrival by the Port Medical Officer
are dealt with in the Boarding Station at Gravesend. Any found to be "infected"
or ''suspected'' can be sent to the mooring station by the Boarding Medical Officer
himself. If there are on board cases of the minor infectious diseases, it would be
no advantage to anyone to let ships proceed to their berths before being medically
inspected because they can be cleared promptly at Gravesend, whereas it might take ,
several hours to get a Medical Officer to them in the docks, at wharves or at moorings
in the River. No standing exemptions have therefore been made in regard to ships
proceeding above Gravesend. But at Thameshaven and at the mouth of the Medway
the following special arrangements have been proposed to His Majesty's Customs:—
Thameshaven.—In view of the fact that "oil tankers" are very unlikely to
be infected with Rat Plague and that the crew are seldom exposed to infection ashore,
it would be unreasonable to require such vessels to come up to Gravesend for medical
inspection even if they have come from infected ports. It has, therefore, been
arranged with His Majesty's Customs that in respect of oil tankers proceeding to
Thameshaven, if the answers to all the questions on page 1 of the Declaration of
Health are "No," pratique may be granted without reference to the Medical Officer,
but if any of the answers are "Yes," the Customs Officer who boards her shall
communicate by telephone with the Medical Officer on duty on the " Hygeia."
The mooring stations of such vessels may, however, be their ordinary berths at
Thameshaven.