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frequently doing between sixty and seventy voyages between the Thames and NorthEast
Coast ports annually. The nature of their cargoes, and the weather existing
for two-thirds of the year on the British Coast, must also be borne in mind.
According to North-East Coast rules, when these vessels are lying at the buoys
in the Thames awaiting their turn for a berth, the men only work in the forenoon
(8 to 12), the remainder of the day being free. Bearing this in mind, one might
reasonably expect to find their quarters in a comparatively clean and well-kept state,
but, unfortunately, this is quite exceptional. On boarding these vessels during the
afternoon, it is common to find the men turned in, complete with working clothes and
sometimes boots. From this it can be easily understood that the condition of the
bedding is filthy, and the quarters themselves dirty, ill-kept and untidy. It is
amazing to see men apparently perfectly content to live in such conditions, and making
no effort of their own to establish something even bordering on cleanliness and comfort.
To go into the matter more thoroughly, it has been found necessary to approach
the officers in charge of the vessels with a view to ascertaining the reasons why such
conditions do exist and why the men are permitted to be so slack. All manner of
excuses are readily brought forward, the main ones being that, due to the trade and
to the hard running of the ship, there is no time to devote to the cleansing of the crew's
quarters. Sometimes the excuse is that Saturday morning is given to the crew for
this purpose. This is, of course, totally inadequate, and the most that is ever done is
the swabbing of the forecastle deck. It needs but little thought to be convinced that
these excuses are absurd, as a very well-known and well-organised firm, whose vessels
are run equally as hard, and in the same trade as those in question, leaves nothing to
be desired as far as the quarters of the crew are concerned. This is due solely to the
interest shown by the owners, who compel strict supervision by their shipmasters
and senior officers. To emphasise this two concrete examples are given.
(a) The chief officer of a collier when approached considered that he must be
willing to overlook dirty forecastles as long as the men were reliable, sober and good
seamen. From this it is apparent that the cleanliness of the quarters is a very minor
consideration; in fact, one might almost say it is the last consideration of all.
(b) Another company, whose vessels run equally hard and are engaged in the
same trade, find it no hardship to employ men who, in addition to being reliable,
sober, and good seamen, are prepared to devote some of their spare time to a systematic
cleansing of their quarters. The men are encouraged in this by good accommodation,
mess-rooms and shower-bath rooms. It is a rule of the company that the master shall,
at the time of engagement (in addition to the clause in the Articles), inform the crew
that if they intend to remain in the employment of the company they must be prepared
to maintain the standard described above. Daily routine inspection of the crew's
accommodation by the master is also compulsory. The crews generally stay in these
vessels for many years, and it is a pleasure to inspect these ships.
To remedy the conditions described above, it is of paramount importance that
interest be shown by the owners, to the extent of placing the onus of the welfare of
the crew on their shipmasters, and rigidly enforcing systematic supervision of all
accommodation by them. Until such steps have been taken and are enforced, one
is led to conclude that little improvement may be expected.
(3) Ocean-going Steamers of the Tramp Class.—The ocean-going steamers met with
during inspections on the Biver are usually of the tramp class, and generally speaking
the accommodation is poor. As previously mentioned, a great deal of this is due to
the original construction, no attention having been paid to detail. By this is meant,
absence of clothes lockers, inadequate food storage accommodation, poor heating and
lighting arrangements.
These vessels present a totally different aspect from those of the coastwise trades,
as the crew are usually paid off and leave the ship at the termination of each voyage.
The usual type of quarters seen consists of a large compartment, generally forward,
divided by a wooden bulkhead for sailors and firemen. The bunks are usually iron,
and are arranged in tiers around the forecastle. The men provide their own beds,
which are of the cheapest type, viz., straw mattresses. These are sometimes