TNAG-0510-FCO40-575-Registration-of-merchant-shipping-in-Hong-Kong-1974 — Page 40

Foreign and Commonwealth Office London SW1

Sir Murray MacLehose KCMG MBE

HONG KONG

Telephone 01-

Dear Rumarang,

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18

27

Your reference

Our reference

Date

F RE

- 5 Ark (714

HKK 21/3

3 April 1974

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(28

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REGISTER OF SHIPPING

1.

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As you will understand, I have not been able to reply sensibly to your letter of 20 February until the new Government have had time to sort itself out a bit.

2.

The position now is that the Department of Trade have submitted to their new Secretary of State recommending that the DTI report should be sent to you, and that, in the light of your reactions and those of Hong Kong shipowners, they would have further talks with interested parties here.

3.

We do not know how the Secretary of State for Trade will react, but we have registered the FCO's interest to the extent that we have said that we would want to bring in our own ministers if there was any question of a final rejection of the proposals at this stage. How the balance of decision would then go I can only guess.

4.

On the substance of the scheme, I frankly doubt whether the proposal for written examinations now has much chance of deletion. The Department of Trade are proposing to send you a resolution by the ITF condemning the proposed register as a flag of convenience. I attach in advance a copy of this resolution. It is pretty strongly worded. I am told that the Merchant Navy and Airline Officers' Association (MNAOA), which was largely behind this resolution, has been to some extent mollified by the possibility of examinations. But Dept. of Trade officials, who are working hard for a viable scheme, are by no means sure that they can get the unions to call off their campaign.

MNAOA are also concerned that Hong Kong shipowners may use the Register as a device to pay their crews less.

5.

On the question of equipment, to which you refer in the fourth paragraph of your letter, the shipping industry are insistent that any changes should also apply to British registered shipping. The Dept. of Trade agree. It follows that business would in fact be lost to the extent that Japanese replaced British safety equipment on British registered ships. The Dept. of Trade's aim would be to get

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