MONDAY, OCTOBER 29, 1984
10
HK NOW MAJOR SHIP REGISTRATION CENTRE
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HONG KONG IS NOW A MAJOR INTERNATIONAL SHIP REGISTRATION CENTRE FOLLOWING A PHENOMENAL GROWTH IN THE NUMBER OF OCEAN- GOING SHIPS REGISTERED HERE DURING RECENT YEARS.
BY THE END OF LAST YEAR, THERE WERE 760 SHIPS ON THE HONG KONG REGISTER, WITH A COMBINED GROSS TONNAGE OF 5.2 MILLION TONS, COMPARED WITH 508 SHIPS TOTALLING 1.3 MILLION TONS IN 1978.
MORE IMPORTANT, THERE HAD BEEN A GROWING NUMBER OF LARGER SHIPS REGISTERED HERE, A SPOKESMAN FOR THE MARINE DEPARTMENT SAID TODAY (MONDAY).
+IN 1978, THERE WERE 411 SHIPS UNDER 500 TONS ON THE REGISTER AND ONLY 97 SHIPS IN EXCESS OF THIS TONNAGE. NOW WE HAVE WELL OVER 200 SHIPS THAT ARE ABOVE 500 TONS, HE SAID.
LAST YEAR, 98 SHIPS ON THE REGISTER WERE IN THE 20 000-PLUS TON RANGE, COMPARED WITH ONLY 24 IN 1978.
+LARGE SHIPS REGISTERED IN HONG KONG INCLUDE TANKERS, BULK CARRIERS AND CONTAINER SHIPS, MANY OF WHICH ARE MODERN PURPOSE-BUILT VESSELS,+ HE POINTED OUT.
TO GIVE AN IDEA OF THE RAPID EXPANSION, HE SAID BEFORE 1978 THE MARINE DEPARTMENT HAD SURVEYED AN AVERAGE OF FOUR VESSELS A YEAR FOR REGISTRATION. TODAY, THAT ANNUAL AVERAGE COMES TO 37 AND IS STILL RISING.
THE GROWTH OVER THE PAST FIVE YEARS HAD ACCELERATED, WITH A JUMP OF 400 PER CENT IN TOTAL TONNAGE FOR THE PERIOD.
+A SIGNIFICANT DEVELOPMENT HAS BEEN THE GROWING NUMBER OF SHIPS SWITCHING REGISTRY FROM OTHER COUNTRIES TO HONG KONG, THE SPOKESMAN SAID.
+
THERE WERE 13 SHIPS MAKING THIS SWITCH IN 1981 AND AGAIN IN 1982, AND 17 IN 1983. IN THE FIRST SEVEN MONTHS OF THIS YEAR, THE NUMBER SOARED TO 34 AND THE UPTREND IS EXPECTED TO CONTINUE.
SHIPS SEEKING HONG KONG REGISTRATION MUST MEET THE HIGH STANDARDS REQUIRED BY THE MARINE DEPARTMENT, WHICH IS RESPONSIBLE FOR MOST MATTERS CONNECTED WITH MERCHANT SHIPPING.
+ALL OCEAN-GOING VESSELS HAVE TO BE CERTIFIED IN ACCORDANCE WITH INTERNATIONAL AGREEMENTS. THOROUGH SURVEYS ARE CARRIED OUT TO MAKE SURE THAT THE SHIPS ARE UP TO PAR BEFORE THE DEPARTMENT ISSUES THEM A CERTIFICATE.
/+WHILE SOME