Page 46 - British Inquiry into Loss of RMS Titanic Day 27 - 31

they? - Yes. 25579. They carry passengers and mails? - That is right. 25580. Have you experience at sea? - Yes. 25581. How many years? - I have been 39 years at sea, and five years Marine Superintendent. 25582. How long have you been in the Red Star Line? - 32 years. 25583. When you have been navigating in the region of ice, have you changed your course or speed? - Never. I slow her down in the case of fog or thick weather, otherwise not. 25584. Is that the case, although ice has been actually reported to you? - I would not slow her down. 25585. Have you examined the deck logbooks and the engine logbooks of the steamers of your line running the Atlantic passage during April last? - I have. 25586. What steamers are those? - The “Finland,” the “Manitou,” the “Kroonland,” the “Zeeland,” and the “Vaterland,” and the “Minomini.” 25587. Do those logbooks show whether those vessels passed ice? - Some of them. 25588. Which of them? Can you remember? - The “Lapland” and the “Manitou”? - The “Lapland,” the “Finland,” and the “Manitou,” and I believe the “Zeeland.” 25589. They all passed ice? - Yes. 25590. Where were they going to, to New York? - They were going to New York except the “Manitou” and the “Minomini,” which were going to Boston. 25591. Did they change their course or their speed? - Absolutely not. The “Manitou” slowed down after she entered the field ice. She went into field ice at full speed for about an hour and then the field ice became thick, heavy lumps amongst it, and her Captain slowed her down for about an hour. He reduced speed for fear of damaging the propeller. 25592. What date was that? - I think it was the 14th or 15th. 25593. The 14th, the very day of the “Titanic” going down. I thought it was the 12th? - Yes, th the 12 . 25594. You think it was the 12th? - Yes. 25595. You have the logbook if necessary here, have you not? - Yes. 25596. Can you tell us what boats these ships carried, the “Lapland,” the “Vaterland,” the “Zeeland,” and so on? - Yes, the “Vaterland,” the “Zeeland,” have 14 lifeboats and two gigs under davits. 25597. (The Commissioner.) Two emergency boats? - Yes. The “Lapland” has nine collapsible boats, the “Zeeland” has seven collapsible boats, the other three had eight collapsible boats. 25598. (Mr. Rowlatt.) Here is the list. (Handing same to Witness.) I think you have added some since the wreck of the “Titanic”? - Yes, since then. 25599. Look at the list. There is a list of ships and boats, and are those that are underlined in black the ones which have been added since the “Titanic” went down (Handing same to Witness.)? - Yes, all above the black line were there before. 25600. All under the black line have been added? - Yes. 25601. (Mr. Rowlatt.) I was wrong; it is not underlined; it was under the line. I do not know whether that shows it; I do not think it does, but for what percentage of the passengers and crew do you provide boats? - Before the disaster to the “Titanic” about 50 percent, roughly speaking. 25602. Are there any regulations in Belgium as to the boats which must be carried on passenger steamers? - No, we go by the regulations of the American law and the Board of Trade. 25603. (The Commissioner.) The British Board of Trade? - Yes. 25604. (Mr. Rowlatt.) That is because you call here? - We call at Dover. 25605. You get a passenger certificate from our Board of Trade? - We do. 25606. That involves a certain survey? - Yes. 25607. Do your steamers follow the tracks agreed in 1898? - We do, yes.