TNAG-0323-FCO40-359-Legislation-for-merchant-shipping-registered-in-Hong-Kong-1971 — Page 58

Mr Shouler

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With regard to item 4 of doc 4a the position on the ship construction side is as follows:

UK REGISTERED SHIPS

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argo Ship Safety Construction Certificates may be issued by the five Classification ocieties (or the Department) as Certifying Authorities following survey by themselves. The Department reserves to itself a small area covering structural fire protection and compasses, but in the case of a building in Japan, the Classification Society surveyor would be appointed to do this portion on the Department's behalf.

Load Line Certificates for both cargo and passenger ships may be issued by the five Societies or the Department) as Assigning Authorities, following survey by themselves. The Department need take no hand in this survey - although it would carry out the approval of stability information provided for the guidance of the Master. But while this is a requirement of the Act and Rules, it is not a pre-requisite for the issue of a Load Line Certificate.

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Passenger and Safety Certificates (and the surveys therefory) are not to Classification Societies. In the UK all would be done by the Department. have not had an instance of a new building in Japan for UK Register but existing UK passenger ships have been s urveyed there, and the Hong Kong Government has in those cases acted and issued the Certificate on behalf of the UK Government Where ships which habitually remain in the far east are on running survey arrangements, certain surveyors of Lloyd's Register (all British nationals) may be specially appointed to do interim items of survey, reporting results to the Hong Kong Government in readiness for the next annual re-certification survey which that Government undertakes on our behalf.

HONG KONG REGISTERED SHIPS

In general our requirements under the above three heads apply to ships not registered in the UK only when they are in a UK port but both the 1960 SOLAS Convention and the 1966 Load Lines Convention have been extended through the relevant implementing legislation to Hong Kong. The respective Orders in Council are SI No 529/1953, SI No 2011/1965 and SI 285/1970.

In relation to cargo ship Safety Construction Certificates, the Governor is empowered to make.Rules as to survey and certification and as to the persons authorised to perform such functions. It would seem likely, although I have no knowledge, that these Rules would follow our own in appointing the five Societies as Certifying Authorities on behalf of the Hong Kong Administration. Similarly the Governor's Rules as to the load line matters no doubt appoint the five societies as Assigning Authorities on behalf of that Administration. If this is so there should be no difficulty in leaving these two types of surveys in the hands of Classification Society surveyors when they take place outside Hong Kong.

The 1955 Order in Council provides for the making by the Governor in Council of construction rules relating to passenger steamers and provides that the UK Rules shall apply unless they are found to be incompatible. But the UK Rules on passenger ship construction, unlike those for cargo ship construction and load line, contain no provision for the appointment of bodies other than the Dapartment to carry out the survey and certification functions. Under UK law the appointment of surveyors to carry out these functions is at the discretion of the Department (or more properly the Secretary of State) but we have not so far seen fit to

7328 TV Q3.907 30M 2 273. TP GO (58