§ 66. Rear-Admiral Sir Murray Sueterasked the Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of War Transport whether his attention has been called to the recent Annual Report of the Mercantile Marine Association, stating that many ships' masters have gone down under the strain of having to cope with the increase in clerical work; and what steps are being taken to create a body of trained officers who can assist the captain in his clerical and crew welfare duties.
§ The Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of War Transport (Mr. Noel-Baker)Yes, Sir, my attention has been called to the annual report of the Mercantile Marine Service Association, and to the statements there made about the strain imposed on masters of merchant ships by the increase of clerical work which results from war conditions. The report also recognises that the shortage of man-power makes it impossible to appoint a writer or clerk to every foreign-going ship. In many ships, however, masters do have officers or writers on board to help them, while many companies send down staff to help the master when a ship arrives in port. The problem was examined in 1941 by a joint committee of representatives of Govern- 2093 ment Departments, and of the shipping industry. All the recommendations made by the committee were adopted.