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10.
staff of the Marine Directorate is. hard pressed to comply with their existing work-loads. A special Hong Kong register would not increase the number of ships visiting Hong Kong and any appreciable increase in tonnage on a special Hong Kong register would require massive delegation to classification societies unless a very large increase in recruitment could be achieved. Great diffi- culties in recruiting qualified staff to D.T.I. standards are being experienced. Lower standards of recruitment could result in the development of a situation similar to that existing in Singapore. The Hong Kong Directorate is not staffed to perform surveys in Japan and previous official visits by surveyors have been negligible. A special Hong Kong register would mean massive delegation to N.K. surveyors.
The requirements for certification of officers serving on flag of convenience vessels are, on paper, more stringent than those of the United Kingdom, 1935 I.L.O. Convention which requires the certification of all watch-keeping officers. We have positive evidence of the accuracy of the generally held impression that the surveys of these countries are almost worthless.
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From the interviews of candidates it is clearly evident that probably all of the World Wide applicants have had Liberian certificates provided for them by Worlá Wide. These certificates have apparently been issued on the basis of a Taiwanese certificate i.e. a certificate issued by another administration. In fact these candidates have never sat any examination at all and the procedure is dubious to say the least. The certificates of the candidates are not really their own property and are retained by the company,
The point I am making is that without satisfactory means of inspection, and bearing in mind that Hong Kong registered ships will not trade to Hong Kong, similar practices will be retained under a special Hong Kong register. 4、 Close N
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It is not possible to divorce social and financial aspects of ship operation from general safely. Personnel from U.K. registered ships are entitled to paid study leave and because of higher pay and longer periods of paid leave, it is established procedure for British officers to attend long pre-examination courses, This system is almost completely non-existent in Hong Kong and none of the engineers interviewed have had the benefit of pre-examination courses as in the U.K. It is cheaper and more convenient for owners to obtain certificates for candidates without the inconvenience of an examination procedure.
This absence of technical instruction and knowledge gained during a substantial period in a college means that the candidates are not conversant with procedures for dealing with emergency situations with which they have not had personal experience. This means that they can be faced with a situation with which they are not competent to deal. With respect to new ships the situation is even more difficult, as the candidates do not have the basio education and knowledge of principles to cope with sophisticated control systems in marine ships. Extensive experience in a supernumerary capacity may alleviate this, but the certifying authority is not in a position to demand this requirement.
Oral examinations alone are not considered suitable for a true apzessment and guide-lines will be necessary for future candidates if a register is established.
/11. Elucation
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