breach the present, miform practice designed to maintain UK standards bub
also bocsuce of timing. The nationality requiremento in relation to UK
registered ships which derive from section 5 of the Aliens' Rectictron (Amendment) Act 1919 will be repealed and replaced by regulations to be
made under the Merchant Shipping Act 1970. Wo have yet to formulate
draft proposals as a basis for the making of such regulations and those will have to be discussed with both sides of the shipping industry. It is contemplate. that such discussions will cover, inter alia, the question of the reciprocal recognition of certificates of competency with out EC partners. It is
expected to be difficult to formulate proposals acceptable to the officers'
associations who are likely to urge that certain key positions in UK registered ships should be reserved to UK subjects. If any suggestion was made at
this stage that Hong Kong should be permitted to issue certificates of competency to foreigners this would be likely to make progress more difficult when wo are ready to discuss with both sides of the shipping industry our proposals (which have yet to be propared) with regard to revised requirements on UK registered ships, and in the EEC context, in the light of the intended repeal of section 5 of the Aliens' Restriction (Amendment) Act 1919.
The second course would also como under strong criticism by Merchant llavy
Officers' Associations in this country. It is recalled that the Merchant Shipping Act 1967 was introduced mainly through sustained pressure from the officers' associations for the statutory requirements for the carriage of certificated officers in UK registered ships to be applicable not only to such ships when going to sea from the UK but also when they put to sea
from places outside the UK. Before the Act was passed it was the practice of nome shipping companies to replace British certificated officers serving in
UK registered foreign-going ships by foroign certificated officers at near- Continental porta before their ships continued their voyages. Even now tho Department is criticised by tho officers' associations from time to time for not seeking to apply the provisions of the 1967 Act moro vigorously, To approve an arrangement enabling the Hong Kong Government to ieque certificates
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