the Merchant Shipping Acts, be registered in United Kingdom or Hong Kong. Most countries have similar links in their laws between the registry of a ship and the nationality of its owner, though some half a dozen countries including Liberia, Panama and Singapore have abandoned those links and ships owned anywhere in the world can, if the government of the owner permits, be registered in those countries. Such registration is variously referred to as 'flag of convenience' or 'flag of necessity'. It may or may not be accompanied by the establishment of a fictitious 'brass plate' subsidiary in Monrovia or Panama City.
4. Mr Pao has suggested that if we were to open up the Hong Kong register in this way (as well as making certain changes in existing manning and safety requirements) we might be able to attract perhaps 20 m. tons of foreign-owned tonnage from e.g. Liberian registry on to the Hong Kong register. He admitted that opening the Hong Kong register to ships owned by foreigners would be of no particular benefit to him since, as a company based in Hong Kong, World Wide is already qualified to put ships on the Hong Kong register or indeed on the UK register.
ADVANTAGES OF OPENING THE REGISTER
5. The principal and probably the only significant benefit to the UK or Hong Kong would be income from the additional registration fees. Liberia earned some 5 m. in 1969 in registration fees (initial and annual). Her fleet is now about 50% larger than it was in 1969 and the earnings will therefore be higher to-day, possibly $10 m.
To a country the size of Liberia with foreign trade earnings of $225 m. such income is obviously far more significant than to the UK, with foreign trade earnings of $22,336 m., or even Hong Kong, with foreign trade earnings of $1,755 m. Moreover Liberia cuts costs by delegating all ship survey and certificate work to classification societies (which we do not) and exercising no effective control itself over the Liberian fleet. Panama is a similar case. Singapore's motive was to relieve unemployment among Singapore sailors,
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