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Collision Sinks S.S. Mohawk With Loss of 45 Lives The S. S. MoHAwk, chartered by the Ward line from the Clyde-Mallory line, to take the place of the S. S. Havana lost on a Bahama reef, Jan. 6, sank 4 miles off Bayhead, N. J., after a col- lision about 9:20 p. m. Jan. 24, with the Norwegian freighter TALISMAN. Fifteen passengers, and 30 of the crew of the MoHAwk lost their lives. The TALISMAN was not badly damaged. The MoHAWK sailed from Pier 14, Bast river at 4 p. m., bound for Ha- vana and Mexican ports with 54 pas- sengers and 110 in the crew, and pro- ceeded down the coast with the weather clear and cold and a north- west wind blowing. The TALISMAN sailed from New York at 5 p. m. for South American ports. Later off the Jersey coast the two vessels, headed in the same direction, were on parallel courses, the TALISMAN somewhat fur- ther offshore. Due to some difficulty with the tele- motor steering gear on the MOHAWK, it was cut out and the vessel was steered directly from the steering en- gine room aft with orders communi- cated from the bridge to this location by telegraph. Thereafter the MoHAWK sheered to port, although the instruc- tions from the bridge were to change the course to starboard. The danger signal was sounded. Again the officer on the MoHAWK’s bridge signaled the steering engine room aft to change to starboard, and also ordered the en- gine’s reversed to full speed astern. She continued, however, swinging to port toward the TALISMAN and the TALISMAN’s stem cut into the Mo- HAWK’s port bow, penetrating deep into her side. When the TALISMAN backed clear, the starboard side of her bridge broke the port wing of the Mo- HAWK’s bridge and disabled the en- gine room telegraph. An S.O.S. was sent out; lifeboats were lowered, and as far as ascer- tained, all passengers entered lifeboats and were put off. The MoHAwk sank at 10:30 p. m. with the master Capt. J. E. Wood and the third officer on the bridge, both going down with the ship. The Clyde Mallory liner ALGONQUIN and the United Fruit Liner LiIMon, standing by in response to the 8.O.S., took on board 40 passengers and 80 members of the crew from the Mo- HAWK’s lifeboats. One passenger died of heart disease during the confusion. Bodies of 13 passengers and 21 mem- bers of the crew have been recovered. One passenger and 9 members of the crew are missing and have been given up for dead. The United States steamboat in- spection service has been holding an inquiry to fix the responsibility for the disaster, and an investigation was also conducted by the United States 24 attorney to determine whether crimi- nal negligence was involved. From reports of this disaster the officers and crew carried out their du- ties with courage and efficiency after the accident. It is now apparent that the accident was caused by confusion in understanding the signals from the bridge by the man at the wheel at the emergency steering station, and it brings out the utmost importance of unmistakable clarity in helm orders. Safety Conference Meets The sixth annual greater New York safety conference will be held under the auspices of the National Safety council at the Pennsylvania hotel, New York City, March 5 to 7. Prof. H. L. Seward, Yale university, will preside as chairman at the ma- rine section, which will hold its meet- ing at 2:15 p.m., March 6. The following papers are to be pre- sented: Organization for Safety at Sea, by Samuel Aitken, vice president, Moore & McCormack Co., New York City; Pier Fire Hazards, by John J. McElligott, fire chief and commis- sioner, New York City; and The Un- derlying Psychology of the Stevedor- ing Problem, by Frank E. Ames, man- ager, safety department, Lykes Bros. Ripley Steamship Co., New Orleans. The Texas Co., New York, has pre- pared a complete set of 1935 cruising charts of the Atlantic coast. Under preparation are also cruising charts for Great Lakes and Hudson river. Labor Dispute Settled, Upholding Shipyard The national labor relations board, on a complaint and petition for elec- tion of the industrial union of marine and shipbuilding workers of America, on behalf of employes at the Fore River plant of the Bethlehem Ship- building Corp. Ltd., Quincy, Mass., on Feb. 14 decided that the union affiliations of three men had nothing to do with their lay-off; that the men were laid off due to lack of work re- sulting from a stop work order on certain main condensers in the boiler shop, issued by the engineering de- partment, because of a change in de- sign which had to be submitted to Washington. The board also denied the union’s petition for an election at the Fore River plant. After reviewing the evi- dence as to the strength the union has mustered at the plant, the board has concluded that, ‘‘an election at this time would in all likelihood merely result in confirming the status quo.”’ An employes’ representative plan has been in effect at the Fore River plant since 1923. MARINE REVIEW—March, 1935 Shipping Conference Ends Preliminary Meeting The preliminary conference of ship- owners which convened in London Jan. 14 completed its deliberation and the delegates from the various nations. returned home to present their re- ports to their respective organizations.. R. J. Baker, president of the Ameri- can Steamship Owners’ association, represented that association and the United States as a delegate. This preliminary meeting of ship- ping representatives had been called to prepare an agenda for the interna- tional shipping conference which, it is expected, will be held at London in April. At that conference an attempt will be made to come to an agree- ment on the rationalization of ship- ping with the view of stabilization and a reasonable increase in rates. The British government in propos- ing a temporary subsidy for British tramp shipping in July, 1934 made it a condition that British owners should consult their colleagues in other coun- tries with a view to framing proposals. tending “to adjust the supply of ton- nage in the world to the demand and thus to raise freight rates once more to a remunerative level.’ Consulta- tions since then between shipowners of the world resulted in this prelimin- ary conference which concluded its. sessions on Jan. 19. The conference was mindful of the fact that the level of freight rates in relation to pre-war is even lower than that of wholesale prices; that the ship- ping industry is being grievously and unfairly injured, and that ships are wearing out without proper provision for replacement. In these circumstances the prelim- inary conference concentrated on the task of preparing a draft scheme which might be likely to receive the greatest common measure of. support but without in any way committing the shipowning organizalions -repre- sented at the conference. The various. shipowning organizations in each country will examine the proposals made by the preliminary conference and will express their opinion on these proposals with a view to further consideration by a fully constituted meeting of the international shipping conference, preceded, if necesary, by a further preliminary meeting. It was emphasized at the prelimin- ary conference that the depression in shipping due, as it is, to the general economic difficulties of the world tends through its manifold reactions to increase such world economic diffi- culties. The conference, therefore, strongly urged the governments of the world to intensify their construc- tive efforts to find a sclution of the difficulties now standing in the» way’ of a general restoration of interna- tional trade.