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(c) Number of water boats and their sanitary condition:—
There are twelve water boats working in the Port. All are of steel construction
and of the "single skin" type, i.e., the skin of the boat forms the sides and bottom
of the tanks and the deck forms the top. The manholes are raised from 6 inches to
1 foot above the level of the deck and the steel covers are fitted with locks and should
be secured whenever the boat is unattended, to prevent unauthorised persons dipping
water from the tanks in buckets which may be dirty. Each boat should be provided
with a small domestic tank for use of the crew, as otherwise they will obtain water
from the main tank usually by lowering a bucket into it. Manhole covers should have
proper filling caps, so that there is no need to open the tanks during loading. It is
particularly undesirable that the manhole covers of tanks should be opened when
a water boat is lying alongside a ship, as there is risk of foul water from the ship's
scuppers being accidentally discharged into the tanks. For the same reason all hoses
not actually in use should be kept under cover. It is the usual practice to clean tanks
every three months and to cement-wash them every six months, and the boats come
under the supervision of your Inspectors at these times.
All water boats must be registered annually with the Port of London Authority,
and before a certificate is granted they must be inspected as to their fitness for
navigation in the river and docks. The Port of London Authority notify the Port
Health Authority when water boats are coming up for re-registration, and will not
issue a certificate to any water boat until your Medical Officer has certified that it is
fit for the carriage of drinking water. This arrangment has now worked quite
smoothly for several years, and has enabled your Officers to get repairs and
improvements carried out without difficulty.
IV.—PORT SANITARY REGULATIONS, 1933.
Arrangements for Dealing with Declarations of Health.
Ships bound for London coming up the English Channel take on a pilot off
Dungeness, those coming across the North Sea take on a pilot at the Sunk Lightship,
near Harwich. The Elder Brethren of Trinity House kindly agreed that pilots should
deliver copies of the Declaration of Health to the Masters of the ships they boarded,
but stipulated that pilots should not be held responsible for any failure on the part
of the Masters to comply with the instructions of the Port Health Authority.
Accordingly supplies of the form of Declaration of Health are sent from time to time as
necessary to Trinity House, whence they are sent to the Pilot Stations for distribution.
Although the pilots accept no responsibility they have co-operated willingly and
conscientiously, and consequently the arrangements are working satisfactorily.
The Customs Officers at Gravesend and Sheerness are kept supplied with
Declarations of Health, as also are the Boarding Medical Officers and the Sanitary
Inspectors.
When the Regulations first came into force copies of the Declaration of Health
were sent to the Shipping Companies having vessels trading regularly into London,
for distribution to their ships, but since the pilots have played their part so well there
have been no calls for renewal of these supplies.
The instructions to Masters are printed on page 4 of the Declaration of Health,
and are as follows:—
INSTRUCTIONS.
The Master of a foreign-going ship approaching a Port in England or Wales from a Foreign Port must
ascertain the state of health of all "persons on board and fill in and sign a Declaration of Health in the
prescribed form.
If the answer to any of the questions on page 1 is "YES," or if the ship has sailed from, or during
the voyage called at, any of the following Ports:—
Ports in ASIA, including JAPAN, the EAST INDIES and CEYLON, AFRICA,
including MADAGASCAR, the CANARY ISLANDS and CAPE VERDE ISLANDS,
TURKEY, GREECE, BLACK SEA, AZORES, SOUTH AMERICA, CENTRAL
AMERICA, GULF OF MEXICO, WEST INDIES
free pratique will not be granted by His Majesty's Customs until the vessel has been visited
by the Port Medical Officer.