BACKGROUND
CONFIDENTIAL
1.
like other dependent territories, a
After 1997 it will not of course be able
Annex I Section VIII of the Joint
Administrative
Hong Kong is at present,
British port of registry.
to retain this status.
Declaration
provides that "The Hong Kong Special
Region shall be authorised by the Central People's People's
continue to maintain a
shipping register and
Government to
issue related
certificates under its own legislation in the name of "Hong Kong,
China". " In order to
Government propose to
register well
before
ensure a smooth transition the Hong Kong
introduce a separate and autonomous Hong Kong
1997. They attach great importance to this both for political reasons (a viable register will help maintain confidence in Hong Kong and further enhance its autonomy after 1997) and commercial ones (the 820 ships currently on the Hong Kong register (gross tonnage 6.4 million) represent only a small part of
the beneficially-owned Hong Kong fleet of
of about
about 55 million tons,
which constitutes about 10% of the world's merchant fleet.
The Hong
s ome of Kong Government hope that the new register will attract back
the Hong Kong owned ships which are currently registered under flags
of convenience).
2.
consultative a
In May 1985, after preliminary discussions with Department of Transport officials and other interested parties, the Hong Kong
Government published
document containing detailed
proposals
for such
a
register.
The principal
features
of
the
register would be that:
(a) its standards and obligations should be set out in local
legislation;
(b)
it should not be, nor be regarded as, a flag of convenience;
(c) it should operate to international standards;
(d) it should have a distinctive flag;
(e) it should be self-financing;
CONFIDENTIAL
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