Regulations

A special court, including three master mariners, sat in Singapore last week to inquire into last fortnight's sinking, by a British defense mine in Singapore harbor, of the British liner Sirdhana, with loss of eleven lives (TIME, Nov. 27). The commander of a British battery guarding the harbor testified that he saw the ship heading straight where he knew lay a mine field. Did he do anything to warn the ship? No, he replied, he had no authority to do that. But he telephoned to his fire commander and reported the situation. Did the fire commander do anything to warn the Sirdhana? No, he had first to get an order from the port war station.

The judge: "If, by firing a round, you can save lives and a ship, you cannot give the order to fire?"

Fire commander: "I myself couldn't see the ship." He explained that the battery was to defend the harbor, not to warn ships about mine fields.

The court's verdict: Captain Philip Fairburn, master of Sirdhana, was guilty of wrongful default in not finding out the position of the mine field. Second Officer Thomas Gerard Green was guilty of wrongful default in not transmitting to Captain Fairburn messages received about the mine field, whose location was not marked on Sirdhana's chart. Second Officer Green was censured, Captain Fairburn deprived of his master's certificate for one year (but permitted to act as mate meantime).

Sequel: Last week along came the

Norwegian freighter Solviken, seeking to enter Singapore harbor. She headed for a mine field. Whang went a warning shot from a shore battery across her bows, out came a patrol ship to lead Solviken into port.

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