TNAG-0959-FCO40-1178-Shipping-in-Hong-Kong-1982 — Page 63

engineering surveyors are British, and the ship surveyors, although

locally-recruited, are British-trained.

This points out the difficulties

of achieving an expansion in the register of the kind implied in the latest

demands.

NOTES

Note 1. The basis for this is Section 4 of the Hong Kong Merchant

Shipping Ordinance 1978. Section 8 provides that the Governor in Council

may authorise the employment, s master or officer of any grade, in a

British ship of the subject of any such foreign state as he may specify,

but this is assumed to be an exceptional provision rarely if ever invoked.

Note 2. It is not clear how far Sir Y K Pao's proposal stems from a

real shortage of British officers and how far from → wish for greater

flexibility in vessel crewing under the British flag. In the past there

are said to have been shortages due it is alleged to the much lower wages

Hong Kong owners were prepared to pay in Hong Kong and the apparent

(possibly consequential)

reluctance of British officers to work for

Chinese companies, but the real reason now would seem to be the wish to make

more use of officers of a wider range of nationalities including those

of one or two neighbouring developing countries such as Taiwan.

(There

are more than 6000 officers from Taiwan on vessels flying the Liberian flag,

and a significant proportion of these must work on vessels beneficially

owned in Hong Kong).

Note 3. It is not clear how far the creation of a separate Hong Kong

register would stimulate

facilities in Hong Kong.

sought to become officers.

or require an expansion of officer training

In the past very few Hong Kong Chinese have

There are no deck officer training facilities

Marine Engineers are trained at the University

in Hong Kong at the present.

and Polytechnic but given current employment opportunities in

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