Ir.
6.
2
The assessment of candidates put forward for interview by the Hong Fone shipowners has led the Team to conclude that no reliance at a'l can be placed on foreign certificates (Taiwanese, Tiberian, Panamenian) which can be easily acquired. Nevertheless, some candidates, especially on the engineerin side, appear from interview to measure up to the recuired standards. Experience so far is, however, limited and it appears that reliance on a half-day interview with no reliable documentary evidence is a dubious basis for officer qualifications on a separate register.
The only Hong Kong shipowner who seems likely to transfer ships to a Hong Kong register on a big scale is ír. Y.K. Pao: nearly half the masters and first mates of his companies' ships are DTI certificated, but this is exceptional among Hong Kong owners. Another shipowner, Wah Kwong, has shown some interest in the proposals and might be prepared to enter new ships on the register on the conditions we had in mind. A difficulty has arisen in that Mr. Pac's companies have submitted only a handful of deck personnel for interview by the Study Team, and all those submitted were in any case studying for DTI certificates at the Hong Kong Polytechnic. We are trying to remedy this.
The situation therefore is that, whilst we were aware that there would be some penalties to our trade resulting from the proposal for a separate Hong Kong register, these now appear to be greater than we at first thought. The position in relation to officers' certificates is also worse than we expected. Moreover, if a separate register were set up, it now seems clear that there would he pressure for £ further easement of our requirements, e.r. in relation to the requirement for a British Master, Horeover, our proposals look extremely liberal alongside the Hong Kong Postmaster-General's insistence that British nationality will continue to be required for radio officers on Hone hong registered ships. There is also the problem that the Hon kong Merine Department does not have enough surveyors to deal with a sudden increase in tonnage on the Hong Song register and is unlikely to be able to attract sufficient recruits to enable it to send surveyors abroad regularly to exercise surveillerce van Hong Kong registered ships which never call at Hong Kong.
In view of these problems, I have considered whether there is or alternative to a separate register for Hong Kong or the lines of relaxine nationality requirements for taking UK and Hong Kong examinations for First Mete and Chief En vinger poste on ships on the "British" Register (UK and Hong Kong) within say, two years; there might be MOD Aiffien bies in the case of Pirst Mate. We might also allow recognition of Japanese equipment for ships on the British Register but on a reciprocal basis. So far the Japanese have indierted that they are not interested in reciprocal recomition in the context of the Hong Kong Register, and the British Embassy in Tokyo have voiced serique doubts shout our acceptance of daunnone equipment and materials without reciprocity at a time when our exports of marine erinmont to Jeman ane competative and hove been
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