DRAFT
PRIME MINISTER
PROPOSED HONG KONG REGISTER OF SHIPPING
I had useful discussions in Hong Kong both with the
Governor and with the leading Hong Kong shipowners
about the draft terms on which the setting up of a
separate Hong Kong register of shipping might be
approved. A vital element is that the Governor
must be able to ensure that such a move would not
result in standards of safety and manning required
in Hong Kong ships being inferior to those in ships
registered in the UK. Although the terms we had
suggested did not go as far as Hong Kong shipowners
would like the main difference is that we cannot,
in my view, agree to vary our own existing require-
ments at Master level I think they constitute a
fair basis on which we could proceed.
I also had separate talks in the week before Easter
with representatives of both sides of the UK shipping
industry. They both expressed serious concern on
certain aspects, stressing in particular that the
setting up of a separate Hong Kong register is likely
to be generally regarded as evidence that ships
flying the Red Ensign will have different standards
of safety and manning depending on whether they are
registered in Hong Kong or in the UK and the
assumption will be that the Hong Kong standards
will be inferior.
The UK shipowners raised a number
/of specific
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