engineering surveyors are British, and the ship surveyors, although
locally-recruited, are British-trained.
This points out the difficulties
of achieving an expansion in the register of the kind implied in the latest
demands.
NOTES
Note 1. The basis for this is Section 4 of the Hong Kong Merchant
Shipping Ordinance 1978. Section 8 provides that the Governor in Council
may authorise the employment, s master or officer of any grade, in a
British ship of the subject of any such foreign state as he may specify,
but this is assumed to be an exceptional provision rarely if ever invoked.
Note 2. It is not clear how far Sir Y K Pao's proposal stems from a
real shortage of British officers and how far from → wish for greater
flexibility in vessel crewing under the British flag. In the past there
are said to have been shortages due it is alleged to the much lower wages
Hong Kong owners were prepared to pay in Hong Kong and the apparent
(possibly consequential)
reluctance of British officers to work for
Chinese companies, but the real reason now would seem to be the wish to make
more use of officers of a wider range of nationalities including those
of one or two neighbouring developing countries such as Taiwan.
(There
are more than 6000 officers from Taiwan on vessels flying the Liberian flag,
and a significant proportion of these must work on vessels beneficially
owned in Hong Kong).
Note 3. It is not clear how far the creation of a separate Hong Kong
register would stimulate
facilities in Hong Kong.
sought to become officers.
or require an expansion of officer training
In the past very few Hong Kong Chinese have
There are no deck officer training facilities
Marine Engineers are trained at the University
in Hong Kong at the present.
and Polytechnic but given current employment opportunities in
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