-6452
Seatrade, September 1973
ing offenders to justice.
Topical and special features
It is the highly political nature of legislation on terri- torial seas and exclusively in exploiting marine resources that is the greatest challenge. The poor countries of the
world are determined not to see their chance for funge economic development slip frøin them. This is why any meaningful and lasting international agreement will have to pay particular attention to their needs.
Liberia fights the bad name habit
BY JANE BERGEROL, RECENTLY IN MONROVIA
BETWEEN AUGUST 1971 and June 1972, Liberia inspected some 1500 vessels under her flag. Some 45 were 'detained for violation of applicable laws and regulations.' And yet, remember, it was only a few years ago that the Liberian flag was a constant target for criticism--and accidents such as the Pacific Glory-Allegro collision all pointed to insufli- cient regard for international conventions and regulations on the part of ship operators under the Liberian flag. Today, the Monrovian Bureau of Maritime Affairs is still smarting under what it feels has now become a habit of calling the flag bad names.
Since the Liberia Maritime Inspection Division was created in 1971, following the Allegro collision and the decision to overhaul completely and tighten up Liber- ian vessels' safety regulations, one hundred inspectors have gone to work first in New York, Rotterdam and London and now in Japan and Hong Kong.
The Maritime Bureau's overseas offices are in constant touch with Monrovia. The Commissioner for Maritime Affairs was actually in New York during my visit, and his deputy, Mr Gerald Cooper, recently returned from the U.S. office, told Seatrade of the rigours of Liberian inspections: they now take place every year, and inspec- tors can board at any time within a period three months before or after the year's inspection date. This means masters have virtually no forewarning, whereas, under the British rules, ships must go into dry dock for inspection so there is plenty of time to make sure everything is up to scratch on inspection day,
Liberian vessels must comply with all international safety conventions and as Lloyd's stated at the time of the Allegro inquiry: 'Liberian ships are no different from U.K. vessels' in this respect. On the manning question, there is a continuing liberal policy of not requiring Liber- ian crews on board the country's vast merchant navy. This has resulted often in accusations of exploitation of alien crews--and there are still points where wage agreciments are less satisfactory to crews on Liberian ships than else- where. Manning scales are being stiffened up--four licensed deck and four licensed engine officers per ship.
Another overhaul the Maritime Affairs Bureau is mak- ing is in licences and training methods. Licences are based on one of the toughest of all, the U.S. course card examination, and are valid, like the American ones, for five years. Now Princeton's Educational Testing Service is in the process of devising exams for second and third mates calculated to speed up the licensing process without sacrificing efficiency or rigour.
In spite of the new effort to shed once and for all their intage of irresponsibility, Liberian operated ships still chalk up more than their share of accidents. Or do they? In Monrovia, it is pointed out that with the world's largest merchant navy, Liberia's name is bound, arithactically, to be more often than most involved in accidents. And when, to this fact, is added the enormously high pro-
portion of huge new tankers in the fleet (see table below) the figures appear in a rather different light.
Whether or not the advantages of the Liberian flag will continue to attract shipowners in the future in ach quantities is something about which Monrovia is now seriously worried. Recently, the American Committee for Flags of Necessity put out a detailed report on incentives offered by the major maritime nations to shipbuilders and owners operating under their flags---and the list is impres- sive. Granted, the Liberian registration fee of $1.26 on each net ton, plus 10 cents per ton annual tax, is among the lowest---although not actually the lowest ---- in the world.
But income tax conditions are matched by many mori- time nations now. As the U.S. report stated: “Toreign shipping is by and large untaxed'----and follows this up with a look at the situation in Britain, Norway, Sweden, Japan, Greece and several other major maritime nation. The variety and size of incentives--and their point of impact on the shipowner--vary but the same themes emerge: advantageous loans and grants, amortisation arrangements, tax exempt investment funds, depreciation rules, rebates on import duty and value added tax in ship. building, all of which have their effect on subsequeta operation costs, amortisation and income tax-while other incentives apply specifically to operating.
It is the Greeks who are most worrying the Liberians: with the clause exempting ships under 10 years of age from paying tax on net tonnage (to say nothing of the clatte exempting Greek owners of Greek-flag vessels from income tax altogether), Liberia is already beginning to feel an e lib in new registrations. Other incentives to Greek teatry are not lacking either; from low interest loans to incore tax exemption for foreign-flag ships using Greek regonal or home offices services.
Obviously Liberia is not far behind in the advantages offered to shipowners flying its flag. There is no under- estimating the banking services available in the US, Liberian shipowners, quite apart from operating arivans tages. And the ships on order for the Liberian fleet are progressing quite nicely with revenues creasing. It is essential to the country's economy tha trend continues: shipping remains the fourth export, after iron ore, rubber and timber, and pu $7.2m in revenues during 1972.
CONSTATUS
One more step has just been taken by Liberia te courage shipowners from taking their flag lights owners as from January 1975 must comply with I corporate law and this will entail representation in M rovia which, the Maritime Bureau feels, will make e ment of regulations that much easier and more eftest All this makes the Liberian flag more and more n venient: the Maritime Bureau has the difficult :.. A wielding both the carrot and the stick in the next th years. Both are essential if it wants to keep Liberia's te as the country with the largest merchant navy in the
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