§ 67. Captain Orrasked the Minister of Transport in view of the fact that the report on the s.s. "Princess Victoria" disaster discloses that this ship was not equipped with radio capable of providing speech communication with the shore and with rescue vessels, what steps he is taking to remedy this state of affairs.
§ Mr. Lennox-BoydThe m.v. "Princess Victoria" was fitted with radiotelegraph equipment and carried a qualified radio officer in accordance with the statutory safety requirements for passenger ships. In general, radiotelegraphy has considerable advantages over radiotelephony for ships' safety purposes, being superior in range, more intelligible when there is interference, and capable of alerting ships by means of auto-alarms. Ships so fitted are able to communicate not only with other radiotelegraph ships but also with the coast radio stations, which are an essential link in the rescue organisation. In this way, communication is established with all possible sources of assistance.
There is no evidence that the provision of radiotelephone equipment would have assisted in the case of the "Princess Victoria."