(COPY)
Number 161
British Consulate-Gene ral,
Shanghai.
(and three copies)
Copies to: Nanking, No.151,
Hongkong,
Commercial Counsellor, No.57, Financial Adviser, No. 33.
July 29th 1937.
63
sir,
I have the honour to report that, owing mainly to
the present Sino-Japanese tanaion, efforts are being
made by various local merchants to secure the protection
of the British flag for vessels not genuinely British-
owned.
2. The latest and most enlightening example has
been supplied by a Norwegian firm known as Wallem and
Company. On July 27th Mr. Sv. Froland, a representative
of the firm, called at the shipping office of this
Consulate-General and stated that he had been instructed
to secure British registry for two vessels which had
recently been acquired in the United States by a Chinese
company, and for which Wallem and Company had arranged
charters to Japanese interests. While admitting that
there was absolutely no British interest in the vessels,
Mr. Froland represented that, arrangements having been
made to transfer them to the nominal ownership of the
Hongkong branch of his firm, Vallen and Company, Limited,
a company incorporated under the Hongkong ordinances,
they were entitled to British registry and protection.
3.
Mr. Froland was informed that, even though
nominally owned by a British company, the vessels could
not be admitted to the British registry of shipping at
Shanghai until satisfactory evidence had been produced that there was a genuine and predominant British interest
/in
His Majesty's Ambassador,
British Embassy,
PEKING.