§ 10. Major Neven-Spenceasked the President of the Board of Trade whether he is aware that in less than three years three large steamers have been wrecked on Swona, Orkney; that 30 lives were lost in the latest wreck; and that on this occasion, as in August, 1936, when a party of workmen employed on a wreck narrowly escaped death, the people of Swona could not establish contact with South Ronaldsay for the purpose of calling out the Longhope lifeboat and the life-saving crews; and whether, in view of this gap in the life-saving chain, he will undertake to establish some form of communication between Swona and South Ronaldsay which can be relied upon in all states of the weather?
§ Mr. RuncimanI am aware of two vessels being wrecked on the Swona Island, Orkney, in the past three years—the Swedish steamship "Gunnaren" in August, 1935, and the Finnish steamship "Johanna Thorden" on 12th January last. In the first case, the crew 195 of 26 were rescued by the Longhope lifeboat after the receipt of an S O S message from the ship In the second case, the loss of life appears to have been due primarily to the failure of the vessel's wireless and to the fact that poor visibility prevented the pyrotechnic signals made by the ship from being seen: There are considerable difficulties in the way of providing electrical communication with Swona Island, on which only one family lives, but they are provided with rockets to call the attention of the coastguard at Broughness in the event of a casualty being observed, and I am examining the possibility of providing them with more powerful sound and visual signals.