244 OCEANOGRAPHY IN THE UNITED STATES 



Do I understand you to say you were under orders not to go to 

 the Coast Guard while you were on the Albatross ? 



Captain Beatty. Yes, sir; I had specific orders never to contact 

 the Coast Guard under any conditions. 



Mr. Drewry. This boat under the law did not have to be certified 

 by the Coast Guard ? 



Captain Beatty. That is right, sir; under the law they do not have 

 to come under the Coast Guard registration, but it w^as recommended. 



Mr. Drewry. Whom did you contact in the Coast Guard ? 



Captain Beatty. It is the duty of the master to contact the Coast 

 Guard. 



Mr. Drewry. You contacted them anyway ? 



Captain Beatty. Yes, sir ; and I was fired. 



Mr. Drewry. Was that one of the reasons for the firing ? 



Captain Beatty. I suspect so, Mr. Drewry, that was relative to com- 

 plying with the international law. 



Mr. Drewry. What I am getting at is, if you had not gone to the 

 Coast Guard, would anyone else have gone to them ? 



Captain Beatty. It was my responsibility as master to do it, Mr. 

 Drewry. 



I spoke of a determination of many factors involving the vessel, its 

 equipment, the personnel, the answers to which could only come from 

 the Coast Guard. I never heard from them again. This would also 

 involve a master's responsibility to the union and the Government, 

 because the law was being violated. 



Mr. Drewry. There was nobody on the staff at the institution who 

 would correspond to a port captain ? 



Captain Beatty. No, sir ; that is one of the weak links in the system. 

 There is need for a man who has specialized training. The man who 

 replaced me never went to sea in a beam trawler in his life. Maybe he 

 is qualified in other fields, but this takes training over some years. 



Mr. Drewry, Just one more. Do you have any opinion as to why 

 the Albatross is being deactivated ? 



Captain Beatty. I have none. Senator Saltonstall said if I wasn't 

 replaced by January 1960 it w^ould be released. Inasmuch as Senator 

 Saltonstall's office had very poor relations with the Department, they 

 told him I could go. 



Mr. Drewry. You don't mean to imply they deactivated the vessel 

 because management was mad at the crew, do you ? 



Captain Beatty. There is a possibility of that, but I don't know 

 what reason they had in their minds. 



Chairman ]\Iiller. Captain, as a qualified master, having worked on 

 research vessels, do you know of any reasons Avhy these vessels should 

 not be required to meet all the requirements of the Coast Guard? 



Captain Beatty. Mr. Miller, I tliink, inasmuch as the United States 

 vessels do not have to comply, I think there is a moral obligation to 

 make them comply. 



Chairman Miller. Do you think the requirements of the Coast 

 Guard are too severe ? 



Captain Beatty. No, sir; I do not, not only for the safety of the 

 ships, but for tlie personnel they should comply. 



Chairman Miller. Do you think the Government should be less 

 restrictive than they like private ship owners to be ? 



