territories. So far as the Department is concerned we feel that some flexibility as regards nationality will be necessary in any case we would have to look carefully at this in connection with our possible entry into the Common Market - but we may well run into strong resis- tance from representatives of the seafarers' organisations. In brief therefore I believe that some relaxation of our present nationality rules in this context is probable but I doubt whether the changes would necessarily go as far as Mr Pao has suggested, namely complete
relaxation.
3. As to the acceptance of foreign nationals who hold what Mr Pao des-
cribes as "equivalent national qualifications" it is extremely diffi- cult to make a realistic comparison of the standards of training and competency as between the systems applied in different countries. Within the Commonwealth we have developed over the years a system under which there is reciprocal recognition and acceptance of the certificates of competency issued by some of the member countries but this stems largely from the fact that their respective standards and examination arrangements have been modelled closely on the UK pattern. Attempts have been made and are still being made internationally by IMCO and ILO to develop internationally acceptable standards in this sphere but the task is a formidable one and the solution is far off. While I would certainly not rule out the possible recognition and acceptance of certificates of competency issued by other Governments in cases where we have been able to satisfy ourselves that their standards are at a comparable level to our own, progress along this path is not easy and in any case it is one where we would be inclined to move with considerable caution. The whole trend at present in the light of the spate of strandings and collisions in the English Channel and elsewhere is to look more closely at the systems of certification and supporting standards applied by the flag States whose ships have been involved. As I have said we are reviewing our national require- ments as a matter of urgency and the probability is that after due consultation with the industry we shall introduce a revised certifica- tion structure for application to our merchant fleet.
To sum up