Vol. XXIV No. 225
H.K STANDARD IM August
Way cleared for registry of world's 6th largest fleet
THE INDEPENDE
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HK TO BE MERCHANT SEA POWER
THE British Government has opened the door for Hongkong to establish an autonomous shipping registry, thus paving the way for the Colony to become one of the world's largest maritime powers.
Reliable sources told the Standard yesterday that a breakthrough has been achieved in 20-month-long negotiations between the Hongkong and London governments on the registry issue with a British compromise that would allow Colony-registered ships to sail with a British captain in command of non-British officers rather than a totally British officer staff as previously required.
The settlement will now make it feasible for Colony owners who control more then 20 million deadweight tons of shipping plying the world's occans, but registered mostly in Liberia 2nd Panama, to hoist the Hongkong flag.
now
Registration in the Colony of these vessels alone would ghe Hongkong the sixth largest merchant fleet in the world and the second biggest in the Far East after Japan's.
The source said Marine Department Director A. Fletcher will go to Britain shortly to finalise details for the two to three-year task of setting up a registry which will involve drawing up regulations and, most importantly, recruiting staff.
REPORT
But the source also revealed that preparations are already under way to establish a top navigational school at the Hongkong Polytechnic and that Captain G.W. Wakeford, one of the world's top
sea school authorities who helped Britain Japan et up major institutions, ent several weeks here last month studying the sitution for the Government.
Mr Wakeford submitted a 04 the Polytechnic propo d. the source said, and
by Peter Kwok,
Kenneth Chu
are the
Hongkong's shipowners and the Government itself determined to establish institution, hoping not only to meet the needs of ships to be registered here in the future but also to fill vacancies in other coustics.
Hongkong shipping magnate Y.K. Pao, now the world's largest private ship owner, without minimising the problems involved, last year made a strong call for establishment of an autonomous Hongkong registry.
He said one of the most important bencfits to be reaped would be the incentives and opportunities for the Colony's youth to take up sophisticated and highly technical careers now lacking in the Colony.
In addition, he said, although Hongkong is already a maritime power in the sense that five per cent of world shipping 15 controlled by owners here, most of the tonnage is not identifiable with the Colony and gives added weight to other countries statistics.
With ал autonomous Hongkong registry, "those 20-odd million tons of ships would not be as silent as now,' he said, and "could, and presumably would speak with a fairly loud voice" in international conventions to puarantee the Colony's owners
and seamen a fair deal.
Mr Pao mentioned many administrative and financial challenges that a registry would present, but expressed the conviction that they all could be met.
FEES
The source told the Standard yesterday that Hongkong will likely charge slightly cheaper registration fees than me now assessed by Liberia $6 a net ton and 50 cents a net ton each year thereafter.
But he said registration of all Hongkong-owned shipping would mean immediate revenue of $120 million and at least $10 million annually.
The most immediate challenge, he said, will be crew training and recruitment.
Under the previous regulations, a ship flying the Hongkong British flag had to have British certificated officers and, in addition, the senior officers, captain, chief officer, chief engineer, second engineer and radio officer had to be British or Commonwealth country
nationals.
In late July this year, negotiations reached the point where Britain agreed to requiring that only the captain and one of the senior officers be British.
The final agreement requires only A British ΟΙ Commonwealth national captain, a requirement shared by oll Commonwealth
countries.