COPY OF LETTER TO MR. MILBURN OF
HONGKONG MARINE DEPARTMENT FROM MR. Y.K. PAO
Dear Mr. Milburn,
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REF.
MAI
13/€
16th June, 1971.
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Registration of British Ships
I thank you for your letter of the 5th May. As indicated previously I would welcome a favourable opportunity for registering more ships in Hong Kong and would certainly like to see Hong Kong enjoying the privileges and prestige, as I am sure it would do, of a colonial territory able to boast of more registered tonnage under its flag than that of many of the longer established maritime nations of the world.
To do this, however, the existing manning problems caused by shortage of eligible personnel (which would of course be aggravated by an upsurge of Hong Kong registered tonnage) would have to be overcome. No ship owner could be expected to man on a port to port or short term exemption basis and if there are problems whereby Hong Kong legislation affecting such matters are only effective and enforceable within Hong Kong then a system would have to be found whereby the Hong Kong manning and kindred regulations have a more definite recognition in other parts of the Commonwealth, though I understand this question of recognition of other Commonwealth countries' special legislation is not a problem unique to Hong Kong I am sure you recognize (top of page 2 of your letter) that for an owner to be at the whim of a port authority in another part of the world who might refuse clearance poses an intolerable predicamenta for the efficient conduct of our business. Clearly a solution must be found before any progress can be made, and this is the reason why I originally requested the co-operation of your Department.
I heartily concur with your suggestions that the terms of service which we offer and the accommodation we provide are above the minimal standards laid down by law and should be an inducement to Masters and officers, but the fact is the shortage of certificated officers which you mention is very real and not one which is controlled solely by the standard of the employment terms currently offered by owners so that one cannot, by offering more, be certain of having the requisite experienced personnel available. Temporary exemption from time to time is far from being a satisfactory solution especially as even when available it is not always the most conscientious and competent British master or officer who finds himself in Hong Kong seeking employment. This means that we must have the ability to engage others and cannot sustain the interruption to our operations which would inevitably occur from temporary exemption. This even more so if in other Commonwealth ports we face the risk of being obliged to take on officers there who claim the right to be employed in preference to our temporary non-British officers.
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