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DEPARTMENT OF TRADE AND INDUSTRY
SHIPPING POLICY DIVISION
The Adelphi John Adam Street London WC2N 6BQ Telegrams Civilair London Telex Telex No 22231
36
(33)
RLT.
งา
Telephone 01-836 1207 ext 1842
Your reference
HKK 21/2
Our reference
FSR.2314
Date 30 June 1972
M A Goodfellow Esq
Hong Kong and Indian Ocean Department
Foreign and Commonwealth Office
King Charles Street
London S.W.1.
22.22
Миний
Пе
35
ne Wilsoni
Letter of 15/011
نکالاها
Dear Goodfellow
FLAGS AND CREWS OF CONVENIENCE:
HONG KONG
Your letter of 21 June to Mackenney of our Marine Division, enclosing the letter of 9 June from Derek Jones in Hong Kong and other documents about the threatened harrasment by Australian dockers of ships owned by Hong Kong shipowners flying (for the most part) flags of convenience and employing crews recruited from countries other than the country of flag (within the meaning of the International Transport Workers' Federation), has come to me. In general, I would think that it would be difficult for us to influence the action of Australian (or any other) dockers, and appropriate for us to see what influence we might be able to bring to bear on the situation in the same way as we mig shipowners flying the same
real of flags (and of the 27 ships listed most are registered under the Liberian flag, some under other flags of convenience and a few under the British flag). In the last resort I suspect that only legal action in the Australian courts or, as Derek Jones suggests, any informal representations that could be made through the ITF would stand any chance of success.
2.
However, I have spoken to the Director of the British Shipping Federation, Rice-Oxley, who
knows all about the ITF position on which the International Shipping Federation have made an agreement with the ITF. The application of the ITF policy to ships owned in Hong Kong would mean that crew conditions on ships registered under other flags would have to be up to the standards of the flag countries unless agreement had been reached with the union of the flag country (for Britain the National Union of Seamen) to allow other conditions. If Briti sh managers (e.g. Swires) managed the ships from the UK they world have to have NUS agreement covering a Hong Kong crew; if they managed them from Hong Kong it was just possible that it would be consistent with ITF policy to use Hong Kong standards since the ITF resolution on crews of convenience was aimed against owners introducing a change of practice.
3.
However Rice-Oxley will be seeing Blyth of the ITF on Tuesday 4 July and proposes raising the problem of Hong Kong (not, I think, in the present Australian context of which I do not believe he knew although he said the Australians were the most active in pursuit of ITF policy): Swires will be talking to the ITF during the week also. Meanwhile (this may be confidential) the Hong Kong Shipowers' Association here Hayad to join the International Shipping Federation. The British Shipping Federation has been instrumental before in getting Blyth to call off blacking of ships.
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4. the delay/ 40
Ar. Wilson (DTI) in the absence of thr. Drukker.
Letter
ᅥ of 13 July
6
13/04