June 1.] THE NEW ZEALAND GAZETTE. 1505

(3) If the vessel has a plan showing the proposals for the erection of shifting-boards, feeders, &c., which has been approved by the Board of Trade or any authority administering regulations approved by the Board of Trade, such plan shall be submitted to the Marine Department with the notification required by Subregulations (1) and (2) of this regulation.

5. The fee payable for the services of a Surveyor in connection with the survey or inspection of a vessel in respect of which a notice of intention to load a grain cargo is required to be given under these regulations shall be the sum of £2 for the first visit and the sum of £1 for each subsequent visit.

6. Where it appears to the Secretary of the Marine Department on the report of a Surveyor that the requirements of these regulations insufficiently provide for the safety of any particular ship, or that they could with safety be modified, the Secretary may, in his discretion, either require the observance of additional precautions necessary for the safety of the ship, or, upon the written application of an owner, agent, or master, modify the requirements of the regulations as the circumstances of the particular case warrant.

7. If the loading is satisfactory to the Surveyor he shall, if required by the master, issue a certificate that these regulations have been complied with.

PART III.—INSPECTION AND FITTING OF HOLDS.

PRELIMINARY SURVEY.

8. (1) Agents, owners, or masters of vessels arriving at a port in New Zealand for a grain cargo shall notify the Marine Department and make arrangements for a preliminary survey.

(2) At the preliminary survey, section of the limber-boards must be clear for inspection of the bilges, which must be clean and clear of any refuse liable to choke the suction-pipes.

(3) All pipes, gearing, rods, and sounding-tubes entering the bilges must be absolutely grain-tight. Drain-pipes and scupper-pipes from compartments carrying bulk wheat must be blocked up.

(4) Limber-boards must be grain-tight.

(5) Cement cappings or chocks must be in good condition.

(6) Permanent ceilings on tank-tops must be made grain-tight, and when laid on top of fuel-oil tanks must have a clear space of 2½ in. between ceiling and tank-top, and be laid on athwartship bearers.

(7) The Surveyor, if requested, shall issue within twenty-four hours of the completion of such preliminary survey a written report setting out the repairs and work necessary to render the vessel fit to carry her proposed grain cargo and any modifications considered necessary for the erection of shifting boards, feeders, &c.

(8) The report shall also specify the dunnage required to be laid.

SHIFTING-BOARDS, UPRIGHTS, AND SHORES.

9. (1) Longitudinal grain-tight shifting-boards must be fitted from deck to deck or deck to ceiling in any compartment or hold in which bulk grain is carried, and must be continuous for the whole length of the compartment or hold, excepting where vessels load parcels of bulk grain in the lower holds not exceeding one-third the capacity of their respective holds, and provided the bulk grain is levelled and covered with platforms in accordance with Regulation 12 (5), and secured with approved cargo to prevent grain from shifting.

(2) Shifting-boards are to be fitted in the hatchways and trunk feeders up to the bottom of the hatch-covers.

(3) Shifting-boards of a minimum thickness of 2 in. of good sound lumber will be accepted.

(4) The maximum unsupported span to be allowed for shifting-boards of varying thickness is as follows (not to apply to permanent fittings) :—