Examination Officer Boarding Merchant Ship
Painted by Donald C. Mackay in 1943

Traffic control and ship inspection were critical functions at busy wartime ports.

In this painting, an officer of the navy's examination service (right, climbing ladder) boards an inbound merchant ship to verify its registry and inspect its cargo. After the devastating Halifax Explosion of December 1917, involving the collision of a heavily-loaded munitions ship with another vessel, examination officers paid particular attention to explosives.

Beaverbrook Collection of War Art
CWM 19710261-4218