Papers relating to the foreign relations of the United States, 1929, Volume I

580.7A3/461

The Chairman of the American Delegation ( White ) to President Hoover

Washington , August 6, 1929.

To the President: As Chairman of the Delegation of the United States of America to the International Conference for the Revision of the Convention of 1914 for Safety of Life at Sea held at London from April 16th to May 31st last, inclusive, I submit the following report on behalf of the Delegation:

The Convention of 1914 was signed by representatives of sixteen governments. It was ratified by some of the signatory governments but because of the War and for other reasons it was not brought completely into force as a convention, by any State, although parts of it were made effective by particular States by legislative enactment or otherwise. In the years following the signing of the Convention in 1914, many changes and advances were made in the types and methods of construction of ships, and additional experience and knowledge were gained with respect to many other matters covered by the Convention of 1914. For these reasons the British Government in the autumn of 1927 transmitted to other maritime nations which had signed the Convention of 1914 a memorandum by the British Board of Trade covering in some detail a study which had been carried on in Great Britain since 1914 of the subjects included in the Convention of that year, and made tentative suggestions for the revision of the 1914 Convention and for the holding of a Conference for that purpose.

As a result of these proposals from the British Board of Trade, a study of the 1914 Convention and of the respects in which it should be revised was undertaken by interested Departments of our Government and by shipbuilding and ship operating interests of the United States: An Interdepartmental Committee under the Chairmanship of one of the Assistant Secretaries of State, and an Executive Committee, under the Department of Commerce, were created for the purpose of organizing and directing these preliminary studies.

For making the detailed technical studies, three principal technical committees with subcommittees were organized, under the supervision of the Department of Commerce, as follows:

1. Ship Construction Committee

A. Subdivision of Ships

B. Lifesaving Appliances

C. Fire extinguishing Appliances

2. Wireless Telegraphy Committee

3. Navigation Committee.

A. Ice Patrol and Derelict Destruction

B. Meteorology

C. Rules of the Road

Representatives of the American Steamship Owners’ Association, of the National Council of American Shipbuilders, and of the American Bureau of Shipping, as well as of the interested Departments of the Government, were included in the membership of these technical committees and of the Executive Committee.

The technical committees devoted a year to an intensive study of their subjects. From their earliest organization, they were aided in their work by many of the leading naval architects, shipbuilders and marine insurance authorities of the country. Their reports were submitted to the Executive Committee, and by it were transmitted through the Secretary of Commerce to the Secretary of State, who issued the instructions to the Delegates.

The holding of an international conference to convene at London on April 16, 1929, having been decided upon, an invitation to the Government of the United States to participate therein was extended through the British Ambassador at Washington on January 21, 1929, and was accepted on behalf of the United States on February 21, 1929. Participation by the United States in the Conference was authorized by Congress and Delegates were appointed by the President. The members of the Delegation were:

• Honorable Wallace H. White, Jr.,—Member of Congress, Chairman of the Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries, House of Representatives.
• Mr. Arthur J. Tyrer,—Commissioner of Navigation, Department of Commerce.
• Mr. Charles M. Barnes,—Chief of the Treaty Division, Department of State.
• Rear Admiral George H. Rock,—Construction Corps, United States Navy, Assistant Chief of the Bureau of Construction and Repair, Navy Department.
• Captain Clarence S. Kempff,—United States Navy, Hydro-grapher, Navy Department.
• Mr. Dickerson N. Hoover,—Supervising Inspector General of the Steamboat Inspection Service, Department of Commerce.
• Mr. William D. Terrell,—Chief of the Radio Division, Department of Commerce.
• Rear Admiral John G. Tawresey,—Construction Corps, United States Navy (Retired), United States Shipping Board.
• Mr. Herbert B. Walker,—President of the American Steamship Owners’ Association.
• Mr. Henry G. Smith,—President of the National Council of American Shipbuilders.
• Captain Charles A. McAllister,—President of the American Bureau of Shipping.

With a single exception, the Delegates designated by the President had served upon the technical committees to which reference has been made and were familiar not only with the 1914 Convention but with all the shipping and navigational questions likely to be considered at the Conference. They were the men who had determined the principles and the policies and indeed the precise proposals which were recommended in the reports of the technical committees, and which it was believed the United States should endeavor to have adopted by the Conference.

In addition to the Delegates, the following Technical Assistants were appointed and accompanied the Delegation to London:

• Lieut. Commander E. L. Cochrane,—Construction Corps, United States Navy, Bureau of Construction and Repair, Navy Department.
• Mr. J. C. Niedermair,—Navy Department.
• Mr. J. F. MacMillan,—American Steamship Owners’ Association.
• Mr. David Arnott,—American Bureau of Shipping.
• Captain William E. Griffith,—United States Shipping Board.
• Mr. A. J. Smith,—Marine Office of America.
• Captain N. B. Nelson,—United States Steamboat Inspection Service.
• Lieut. E. M. Webster,—United States Coast Guard.
• Commander C. M. Austin,—United States Navy, Bureau of Navigation, Navy Department.
• Mr. Edgar B. Calvert,—United States Weather Bureau.

Instructions were issued to the Delegation under date of March 28, 1929. A copy of these instructions is attached hereto and is marked “Exhibit A”.¹⁰ In addition to these general instructions, the President, in a letter to the Chairman, indicated his desire that the Delegation should strive at the Conference for the highest practicable standards of safety. A copy of this letter is attached and is designated “Exhibit B”.¹¹

In pursuance of these instructions, the Delegation of the United States proceeded to London, arriving there on April 12. The Conference convened on April 16. Delegates were present from Germany, the Commonwealth of Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Spain, Irish Free State, the United States of America, Finland, France, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, India, Italy, Japan, Norway, the Netherlands, Sweden and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. The League of Nations was represented by observers. The Conference was opened by Sir Philip Cunliffe-Lister, President of the British Board of Trade. By request, the Chairman of the Delegation of the United States placed in nomination as President of the Conference Vice Admiral Sir Herbert Richmond, of the British Delegation, who was unanimously elected. At this opening session the rules of procedure for the Conference were presented. They followed closely the rules of the 1913–1914 Conference. A change of importance was in that article of the rules which made English and French both official languages. At the previous Conference French only was recognized as the official language. By vote passed at this first plenary session the duty of drafting a program for the Conference was placed upon a Committee consisting of the Chairmen of the Delegations present at the Conference. As a result of action by the Committee of Chairmen, the following technical committees of the Conference were determined upon, i. e., (1) Ship Construction, (2) Life-saving Appliances, (3) Radiotelegraphy, (4) Safety of Navigation, and (5) Certificates. A (6) Committee on General Provisions and a (7) Drafting Committee were provided for later. The Committee of Chairmen also was given authority to designate the heads of these committees and by its action Rear Admiral George H. Rock of the Construction Corps of the Navy of the United States was named as Chairman of the Committee on Ship Construction. The Chairmen of the other Committees were:

• Committee on Life-saving Appliances,—Sir Norman Hill of the British Delegation.
• Committee on Radiotelegraphy,—Mr. Hermann Giess of the German Delegation.
• Committee on Safety of Navigation,—Sir Charles Hipwood of the British Delegation.
• Committee on Certificates,—Major General F. Marena of the Italian Delegation.
• Committee on General Provisions,—Sir Charles Hipwood of the British Delegation.
• Committee on Drafting,—Senator Rio of the French Delegation.

The Chairmen of the several Delegations at the Conference were asked to designate the members of their Delegations to serve upon the Conference Committees. With the approval of the Delegation of the United States, I made assignments of Delegates and Technical Assistants to each Committee as follows:

Ship Construction

Delegates	Technical Assistants
Rear Admiral George H. Rock	Lieut. Commander E. L. Cochrane
Mr. H. G. Smith	Mr. J. F. MacMillan
Mr. H. B. Walker	Mr. David Arnott
Rear Admiral J. G. Tawresey	Mr. J. C. Niedermair
Mr. D. N. Hoover	Mr. A. J. Smith

Life-saving Appliances

Delegates	Technical Assistants
Mr. D. N. Hoover	Captain N. B. Nelson
Rear Admiral J. G. Tawresey	Captain W. E. Griffith
Captain Charles A. McAllister	Mr. A. J. Smith
Mr. H. B. Walker	Mr. J. F. MacMillan
Mr. H. G. Smith	Mr. David Arnott
	Lieut. Commander E. L. Cochrane

Radiotelegraphy

Delegates	Technical Assistants
Mr. W. D. Terrell	Lieut. E. M. Webster
Mr. H. B. Walker	Captain W. E. Griffith
Mr. A. J. Tyrer	Mr. E. B. Calvert
Captain Charles A. McAllister
Mr. D. N. Hoover

Safety of Navigation

Delegates	Technical Assistants
Captain Clarence S. Kempff	Captain W. E. Griffith
Captain Charles A. McAllister	Commander C. M. Austin
Mr. H. B. Walker	Mr. E. B. Calvert
Mr. H. G. Smith	Lieut. E. M. Webster
	Mr. J. F. MacMillan

Certificates

Delegates	Technical Assistants
Mr. A. J. Tyrer	Captain N. B. Nelson
Mr. Charles M. Barnes	Captain W. E. Griffith
Captain Charles A. McAllister
Mr. D. N. Hoover

Committee on General Provisions

Delegates	Technical Assistants
Honorable Wallace H. White, Jr.
Mr. Charles M. Barnes

Drafting

Delegates	Technical Assistants
Honorable Wallace H. White, Jr.
Mr. Charles M. Barnes

Upon the completion of the organization of the Technical Committees, those Committees began the study of the proposals submitted. As the several Technical Committees completed their work and made their reports to the President of the Conference, these reports were read, discussed and acted upon at meetings of the Delegation of the United States. Upon the conclusion of the work of the Technical Committees the Drafting Committee began its work. From time to time as questions arose which could not be readily solved by the Drafting Committee, they were referred to a Committee of Five appointed by the Drafting Committee. Great Britain, France, Germany, Denmark and the United States were represented on this Committee of Five by the Chairmen of their Delegations.

No alterations which appeared to result in changes in substance in the reports of the Technical Committees were agreed to by the United States members of the Drafting Committee which were not called to the attention of and which were not passed upon by the full Delegation of the United States.

The Conference concluded its work and the Convention as agreed to was signed on May 31. Every Delegate present indicated his approval of the Convention by signature thereof. The Conference adjourned in the afternoon of May 31. A copy of the Convention is attached hereto and is marked “Exhibit C”.¹² It was signed in French and English texts, both of which are of equal authority. The greatest care was taken that the French and English texts should be identical in meaning. The Final Act of the Conference, signed at the same time and included in the document with the Convention, embraces certain supplementary agreements, declarations and recommendations made by the Conference or Delegations thereof.

The Convention consists of 66 articles grouped in eight chapters. It is completed by regulations which have the same force and take effect at the same time as the Convention itself.

Chapter One contains certain preliminary articles. Of first importance is the article setting forth to what ships the Convention shall apply and carrying definitions used throughout the Convention.

Chapter Two deals with ship construction. This subject was considered by and the chapter was prepared by the Committee of which Rear Admiral Rock of the Delegation of the United States was Chairman. Its work was technical in the extreme and the provisions of the chapter are of outstanding importance, for safety of life at sea in the first instance and in large degree depends upon the ship itself. The work of the Committee divided itself into four main subjects: (a) that of subdivision of ships, (b) the structure and openings, (c) stability, and (d) the voyages. In very large measure the agreements reached by the Conference with respect to these subjects were responsive to proposals urged by the Delegates of the United States and it is believed that by this chapter of the Convention world standards of construction have been substantially raised. With few exceptions the laws of the United States do not cover the requirements of this chapter, although in practice they are largely conformed to. The chapter deals with structural matters and applies in the main to ships built after July 1, 1931. With respect to existing ships, the obligation is imposed upon each government to effect upon its ships, so far as practicable and reasonable, the increased standards of safety recommended. The chapter covers in detail water-tight subdivisions, peak and machinery space bulkheads, the rules for constructing and testing bulkheads, watertight decks, fire-resisting bulkheads, the openings in bulkheads and ships sides, exits from compartments, pumping arrangements, etc. It requires a stability test for every new ship, and initial and subsequent surveys for ships. In the regulations annexed to the Convention and having reference to this chapter, will be found the detailed provisions for making effective the general requirements of the Convention dealing with this matter of ship construction.

Chapter Three of the Convention, as supplemented by regulations, deals with life-saving appliances and with fire detection and extinction. With respect to these subjects your Delegation supported those safeguards which science, nautical experience and seamanship approve. This chapter and its regulations make provision for the life boats required on passenger ships, and for additional buoyant apparatus. They provide specifically that there must be accommodations in boats for all persons on board, and in addition, buoyant apparatus for twenty-five per centum of the persons on board. They deal with the construction of life boats, with the embarkation of passengers, with life jackets and life buoys, with means of ingress and egress for passengers and crew, with dangerous goods and fire protection, and with muster rolls and drills. In many respects this chapter raises world standards and the standards of the law of the United States.

Chapter Four relates to the subject of radiotelegraphy. The provisions of the chapter are supplemented by regulations. The 1914 Convention required a radio installation only if a ship had on board 50 or more persons. Radio installation under the law of the United States is required only on steam vessels having on board 50 or more persons. The law does not apply to sailing vessels carrying either passengers or cargo. It does not apply to the modern motor ship. There are many cargo ships of the United States of a tonnage of 6,000 to 8,000 tons and possibly up to 10,000 tons, which under the present law are not required to have radio installation because of the fact that such vessels will not have on board 50 or more persons and there are many passenger ships not reached by the law of this country. The present Convention requires, subject to definite exemptions, that all passenger ships and all cargo ships of 1,600 tons gross tonnage and over engaged on international voyages, shall be fitted with radio installation. These new standards are much above those of the 1914 Convention and of the law of the United States.

An interesting problem of the Conference was with respect to authorizing the use of an automatic radio alarm receiver. The Washington Radiotelegraph Convention of 1927,¹³ in Section 21 of Article 19 of the General Regulations annexed thereto, specified standards which should be attained by any such automatic alarm receiver. The present Convention recognizes the use of any automatic alarm receiver meeting the specifications of the Washington Radiotelegraph Convention. It was believed that the recognition of this instrument would increase the number of ships which might hear a distress call, and so add to the margin of safety of all vessels. The general result of the provisions of the Convention relating to radiotelegraphy is that at least 1,000 vessels not now equipped with radio will be required to install radio apparatus and that many hundreds and perhaps thousands of vessels now maintaining a voluntary radio service of indifferent quality will be compelled to have an installation and to meet standards prescribed by the Convention. They make potential life savers of a vastly increased number of ships. Through the use of the automatic alarm continuous watch is assured upon many vessels not now required to maintain such watch. The whole effect of this chapter of the Convention, in the opinion of your Delegation, is to elevate the legal standards of the world and of the United States.

Chapter Five of the Convention and the articles pertinent to the chapter, deal with the general subject of navigation. The provisions refer, unless express exception is made, to all ships on all voyages. Under this chapter provision is made for the collection and dissemination of meteorological data by ships at sea and for ships. The North Atlantic ice patrol established by the 1914 Convention is continued and its activities are enlarged. The question of routes across the Atlantic is dealt with. The chapter requires the equipment of passenger ships of 5,000 tons and over with the radio compass. The chapter also covers helm orders, alarm, distress and urgency signals, the misuse of distress signals, the speed of transmission of messages of distress, the procedure in handling messages, and includes an undertaking by each government to insure that ships shall be sufficiently and efficiently manned. Of outstanding importance in this chapter is the agreement in Article 40 that alterations in the international regulations for preventing collisions at sea should be made. In Annex 2 to the Convention appear the alterations to these collision regulations which the Conference believed should be made effective. An examination of Annex 2 will disclose the importance from the standpoint of safety of life at sea of these “rules of the road,” so called, and of the changes which are recommended therein. The changes recommended tend to clarity and to greater safety. As a part of its work the Technical Committee on Safety of Navigation also made various other recommendations which are included in the Final Act of the Conference, Part III, paragraphs 9–14. These recommendations have to do with radio aids to navigation, synchronized radio and under-water signals, depth sounding apparatus, life-saving signals, shore lights and collision regulations for aircraft on the surface of the water. The subject matter of Chapter Five and of the regulations bearing thereon, the changes recommended in the collision regulations and the recommendations adopted by the Conference with respect to the matters enumerated were of particular concern to the Delegation of the United States, and the advances made may be attributed in no small part to the interest and efforts of its Delegation.

Chapter Six provides for the issue of certificates by the appropriate government. A safety certificate is required to be issued after inspection and survey to every passenger ship which complies with the requirements of Chapter Two (Construction), Chapter Three (Life-saving Appliances) and Chapter Four (Radiotelegraphy) of the Convention. In addition to this safety certificate a safety radiotelegraphy certificate is required for every ship other than a passenger ship which complies with the provisions of Chapter Four relating to radiotelegraphy, and a third certificate, called an exemption certificate, is provided for each ship to which an exemption is granted by a contracting government under specific authority of the Convention. This chapter deals with the form of certificates, their duration, and the credit to be given them by another government. The right of inspection of a foreign ship while within the jurisdiction of a contracting government is preserved.

The Convention will come into force on July 1, 1931, as between the governments which have deposited their ratifications by that date provided that ratifications of at least five governments have been deposited. Provision is made for future conferences for the revision of the Convention, the first of which conferences may not be held until after the Convention shall have been in force for five years. A government may withdraw from the Convention by denunciation thereof after the expiration of five years from the date on which the Convention came into force with respect to it.

The hope of the Delegation of the United States was to secure the adoption of rules which with respect to vessel construction would make ships as nearly unsinkable as practically possible; which would guard against fire; which would protect from the dangers of storm, of derelicts and of ice; which in time of emergency and disaster would insure adequate lifeboats, rafts and belts, and would otherwise safeguard the lives of passengers and crew; which would extend the use of radio as a protection of life and as an aid to navigation; which would make the rules of navigation responsive to the use of modern ships and changed conditions; and which would contribute in their letter and spirit to the highest standards of safety for those going down to the sea in ships. The Delegation encountered wide diversity of interest and opinion as to many of the subjects considered, but the deep sense of responsibility felt by all led to final agreements upon all matters included within the scope of the Convention.

I am convinced that the purpose which animated the Government of the United States in participating in this Conference has been realized. I believe the Convention provides for the highest standards of safety which it is now practicable to bring forward for international adoption. It represents a marked advance over the present legal standards and practices of the world and in many and important particulars it has raised the standards of our own country.

Respectfully submitted,

Wallace H. White, Jr.

[For text of the International Convention and Regulations for Promoting Safety of Life at Sea, signed at London, May 31, 1929, see Department of State Treaty Series No. 910 or 50 Stat. 1121. Ratification of the convention was advised by the Senate, subject to understandings, June 19 (legislative day of June 15), 1936; it was ratified by the President, subject to said understandings, July 7, 1936; ratification of the United States was deposited at London, August 7, 1936; and the convention was proclaimed by the President, September 30, 1936. For amendment of the convention, proclaimed by the President, September 3, 1937, see Department of State Treaty Series No. 921 or 51 Stat. 13.]

10. Ante, p. 368.
11. Ante, p. 373.
12. See bracketed note, p. 388.
13. Foreign Relations, 1927, vol. i, p. 288.