TNAG-0358-FCO40-394-Registration-of-merchant-shipping-in-Hong-Kong-1972 — Page 20

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DISADVANTAGES OF OPENING THE REGISTER

9.

First, a large part of the benefit of the income from registration fees would be swallowed up in the administra- tive cost and burden of policing the extra ships.

Unless

survey responsibilities were handed over to classification societies extra staff would be needed to survey them and issue the necessary international certificates of safety. There would also be the need to hold enquiries into accidents in which they were involved. Since many of them would never come to our shores the policing of this large fleet of additional ships would present greater difficulties than if their owners were located within the jurisdiction.

10.

Second, we are at present party to the International Convention on the High Seas of 1958 Article 5 of which provides that there must be a genuine link between the ship and the State of registry, and that the State must effectively exercise its jurisdiction and control in admin- istrative, technical and social matters over ships flying its flag. (We were in fact one of the countries which pressed for this provision to be included.) This is a

i valuable Convention as it contains a codification of inter-

national law on the high seas including a statement of the freedoms of navigation, fishing and overflight to which we attach importance (e.g. in relation to disputes such as that with Iceland). If the UK (or Hong Kong, to which the Convention applies) became a flag of convenience we should be accused of defaulting on the Convention. We could of course denounce it. But our stance in defence of the free- doms in the Convention would be weakened. (It is noticeable that neither Liberia, Panema nor Sirgapore have ratified this Convention.)

11.

Third, the member countries of OECD are at present, on a French and Italian initiative, carrying out a study of flags of convenience on the suspicion that they are undesirable because their casualty rates are unduly high and because they represent unfair competition in that the shipping companies concerned are not resident in a country

4.