TNAG-0358-FCO40-394-Registration-of-merchant-shipping-in-Hong-Kong-1972 — Page 137

CONFIDENTIAL

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Sir D Watson

Mr Goodfeller je sand

23/11

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HONG KONG REGISTER OF SHIPPING

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75

letter MaTD.

Cahid to Nor Asten.

will mis-

1. In his letter of 30 October, Mr Archer of the DTI enclosed their revised draft minute to the PM on this problem.

2. DTI seek the PM's approval to go back to the Hong Kong Government, in effect to reject the latter's proposals that an independent Hong Kong Register of Shipping should be established.

3. To help Hong Kong over their most pressing practical problems (safety equipment standards and Second Officer and Second Engineer manning) DTI propose that the Colony should be authorised to establish its own safety equipment testing facilities; and on manning they will recommend that Hong Kong use dispensations they already have more liberally than their present practice.

4. Whilst the DTI's reasons, as set out in para 6 of their draft, for not recommending the establishment of an independent register have some weight and their practical solutions will clearly be helpful to the Hong Kong Government, it is questionable whether the latter will consider them sufficient. Moreover the provisional view of Marine & Transport Department and their Legal Adviser is that doubt could be cast on the strength of some of the DTI's arguments.

5. DTI are asking for our concurrence with the line they are taking and for our immediate agreement to the paper going to the PM. Should the PM accept the recommendations, we shall presumably be placed in effect in the position of imposing the DTI view on Hong Kong. This would come on top of all the other problems we have with the Colony.

6.

I do not think we should let the draft go forward as it stands, with the implication in paragraph 9 that we are seeking the PM's agreement to turning down Hong Kong's proposal, without giving them a further chance to express their views. There appear to be two alternatives. We could ask DTI to hold up the revised draft whilst we send it to Hong Kong for their comments. The DTI would be reluctant as this would take time and on balance I recommend that instead we propose a revision of paragraph 9 to replace the last two sentences with the following:

We propose now to go back to the Hong Kong Administration and hope they will agree that these proposals offer the best solution overall. The FCO have reservations about some of the arguments advanced in paragraph 6 above, but agree that this should be the next stage.

CONFIDENTIAL

17.