TNAG-0420-FCO40-466-Registration-of-merchant-shipping-in-Hong-Kong-1973 — Page 74

CONFIDENTIAL

Draft Letter from P/S Minister for Aerospace & Shipping

to Lord Bridges at No. 10

HONG KONG REGISTER OF SHIPPING

Thank you for your letter of 29th August.

The Minister's latest

move to resolve the matter was well received in Hong Kong and

their Director of Marine was here last week when the enclosed

document was drawn up. This is now being considered in Hong Kong

and by the Governor, who is on holiday in Scotland, and we are

currently discussing it with both sides of industry and our own

Staff Side. The question of access to the register is a difficult

matter and may take some time to resolve.

You will see that the document is described as a Draft Agreement

in Principle. The Director of Marine made it clear in discussion

that his aduinistrationhas little knowledge of the standards of

spoken English and technical competence of officers on Hong Kong shipowners' ships, many of which do not trade to Hong Kong, of

the syllabus and training for Taiwan certificates, which many of

the officers hold, and of the arrangements for type-testing items

of ships' equipment, many of which are fitted in Japanese yards.

Also, his plans for increasing numbers of marine surveyors to deal

with a greatly enlarged register are sketchy and almost certainly

inadequate. Hong Kong shipowners are reluctant to commit tonnage

to the new register before they see something of the marine surveyors

we send out, and can form a better idea of the standards of spoken

English and technical competence looked for in non-British Officers

cont'd........