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PROPOSAL TO ESTABLISH A SEPARATE HONG KONG REGISTER OF SHIPPING
1.
Discussions have been taking place for some time between the UK and Hong Kong Governments about the proposal that there should be a separate Register of Shipping in Hong Kong. A study tean from this Department spent two months in Hong Kong, at the expense of the Hong Kong Government, at the end of last year, to study in detail the feasibility of setting up a separate register and we now have their report. The next step would appear to be to send the team's report to the Governor of Hong Kong to ascertain whether Hong Kong shipowners would be likely to transfer ships to a Hong Kong register under the conditions now proposed in the light of the team's report. If reactions in Hong Kong are favourable then we would discuss the proposals further with both sides of the British shipping industry and would see the British marine equipment industry before reaching a final decision on the setting up of the register.
Background
2.
Hong Kong is at present a port of British registry; the conditions applying to ships now registered there are essentially the same as for ships registered in the UK. The Hong Kong Government and shipowners, however, wish to establish a separate register under the Red Ensign, with standards broadly equivalent to those attached to the UK register but with greater flexibility in order to reflect the different situation in Hong Kong, as compared with the UK, in respect of the availability of Department of Trade-certificated officers and of ships' equipment. Such an arrangement would be expected to result in Hong Kong shipowners, who currently register virtually all their ships under flags of convenience, registering a much greater proportion of their fast-growing tonnage in Hong Kong where requirements would be stries. It has been argued that this would lead to higher overall shipping standards.
Certification of Officers
3. There is an acute shortage of British certificated merchant navy officers in the Far East. The problem for Hong Kong is accentuated by the relatively poor educational facilities that have been available in the Colony and the scarcity of specialised nautical training facilities. The team were therefore asked to examine the proposal that, for an interin period during which Hong Kong's nautical training facilities would be substantially improved, special arrangements might be made for experienced seamen in mid-career, currently serving as officers on Hong Kong- owned ships. It had been suggested that aliens should be able to serve in all officer positions below the level of Haster on Hong Kong ships (instead of there having to be a British first ofilcer and chier engineer as on UK ships) and that, during the transitional period, Hong Kong certificates of competency might
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