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the vessel or craft in substantial numbers.
Any person -who fails to give such notice shall be liable on summary
conviction to a fine not exceeding five pounds.
The local authority may serve on the owner or occupier of a vessel,
a notice requiring him to take, within such reasonable period as may be specified
in the notice, such steps as will rid the craft of rodents.
The problem arising from the application of this Order to the Port of
London can be judged by the following craft population in the Port at any given
momenti-
1. Coastal Vessels (weekly arrivals) 300
2® Lighters 7,000
3. TUgS 382
4. Grain Elevators 9
COASTAL VESSELS.
All coastal vessels are inspected, as soon as possible after their
entry into the Port by the Sanitary Inspectors and Rodent Operatives, with a view
to ascertaining the population, if any, of rodents on board. This information
is reported to the owner or agent and he is requested to take steps to rid the
vessel of the rodents.
The problem of taking effective action against rodents in coastal
vessels is considerably complicated by the fact that they are seldom empty of
cargo and consequently the opportunity to fumigate the vessel throughout with
hydrogen cyanide rarely occurs.
If any effective action, therefore, is to be taken in regard to these
vessels arrangements must be made for a partial deratting of an empty hold by means
of a rodenticide other than a poisonous gas such as hydrogen cyanide, and the
only effective rodenticide for this purpose if "t1080".
It is considered that the Port Health Authority would not be well
advised to adopt a policy of carrying out this work by direct labour since in
doing so they would be in direct competition with the Operating Companies who are
quite competent to carry out the work. The Port Health Authority has never
carried out cyanide fumigation; it haa neither the staff nor the equipment for
the purpose and the companies competent to fumigate should also be permitted to
effect partial deratting with a poison such as "1080".
In the Order coastal vessels are required to carry a certificate, in
• the form laid down in the Order, declaring that the vessel is either (a) free as
far as is practicable from rodents or (b) has been treated satisfactorily for the
destruction of the rodents on board.
This certificate is issued after inspection by the Port Medical Officer
and is valid for a period of four months from the date of issue®
While, as is at present the practice, all coastal vessels will continue
to be inspected whether or not they are in possession of a valid certificate} if
they are not in possession of such certificate and are found to harbour rodents, the
oirner or agent will be so informed and recommended to take the necessary steps
to rid the vessel of rodents, but he is under no obligation to do so until the
expiry of the validity of the certificate.
The Port Medical Officer considers that the inspection of coastal
vessels now carried out as a routine will suffice to meet the requirements of the
Order but he will now be required to issue a large number of certificates, to keep
a register of the vessels entering the Port and the state of validity of their
certificates as well as the results of inspections of such vessels® It would
appear, therefore, that there would be no need to increase the present staff of
Inspectors and Rodent Operatives unless it is found that the supervision of the
v/prk of the Operating Companies called in by the owners or agents to derat a
vessel and the issue of the appropriate certificate following what is regarded by
The Port Health Authority as a satisfactory deratting, necessitates, as it will
in all probability, a considerable amount of evening and early morning work (the
°aly time when the vessel is free to carry out a deratting operation) and
additional staff may be necessary to enable the existing inspectorate to carry out
their normal duties during day-time working hours.
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