46c
175/1
29 October 1991
REC
Dr Harkin fi
De
다.
Foreign &
Commonwealth
Office
45
ナ
04 NOV 1991
Fondour SALA 2AH
lephone: 071
270 2638
R W Barnett Esq BONN
للعن
ett
DOUBLE-FLAGGING OF HONG KONG REGISTERED VESSELS
1. Thank you for your letter of 29 August to Peter Spiceley. I apologise for the delay in replying. This particular question has been raised recently in respect of other Dependent Territories and it was necessary to ensure that there was agreement on the legal position.
2. Hong Kong is not a State and the Blue Ensign with Hong Kong armorial bearings is not the flag of a State. The M/S Canmar Triumph was therefore complying with the requirements of Article 92 of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea 1992 in that she was flying the flag of one State only ie the United Kingdom.
Yours
P WILLIAMS
Aviation and Maritime Department
CC: D
Anderson Esq, Second Legal Adviser Ms M Sanderson, IMCG Hamburg
I Gibson Esq, Honorary Consul, Kiel WED
HKD
Ms Barrett, Legal Advisers o/r
PRAADT