Hong Kong. We do not know if any thought has been given to this in the Colony. We would expect however that whatever course was eventually decided upon it would be no part of the policy of the Hong Kong Government to create another flag of convenience. While there would seem to be no reason why Hong Kong should not establish an independent Merchant Shipping Register there would clearly be no point in considering such a course if neither Hong Kong nor the UK were to obtain any advantage from a separate register. The question of a separate "flag" if that is really what Mr Pao means, raises even wider issues.
On the face of it, it would seem possible for the Director of Marine to grant exemptions on the lines set out in paragraph 4 above.
8.
To sum up, our conclusions are as follows
(a)
(b)
(c)
(a)
(e)
In the longer term, changes in the manning requirements under UK legislation will almost certainly be forthcoming. These will be the subject of regulations under the Merchant Shipping Act 1970 and the DTI say that in due course the Aliens Restriction (Amendment) Act 1917 will be repealed. The DTI will be consulting Commonwealth Governments and certain dependent territories (including Hong Kong of course) giving details of their proposals under the 1970 Act.
The United Kingdom already use Classification Society surveyors for safety equipment surveys of ships building in Japan (paragraph 6 above).
The question of establishing a Hong Kong "flag" raises wide issues although there would seem to be no reason why Hong Kong should not establish an independent Marine Register if this was thought to be in the interests of the United Kingdom and/or Hong Kong.
Mr Pao has remarked more than once that the registration of his ships in Hong Kong would bring considerable additional revenue to the Colony. Our information is that the registration fees in Hong Kong are currently about HK $100 for every 500 tons of shipping; this means that Mr Pao's 7,000,000 tons of shipping would represent only a one-time payment of HK 1.4 million or £98,000. This assumes of course that Mr Pao's ships would be operating at ports other than Hong Kong.
4
CONFIDENTIAL
19.
Page 15Page 16
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.