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58. Appeals to shipmasters were broadcast to the South China Sea on two occasions early in the year. Although these appeals were in English, it was decided not to repeat the exercise in case it acted as a "pull factor".
59. Rescue at Sea exhibitions, accompanied by promotional meetings with owners and captains, have been held in London (Expoship), Thessaloniki (International Trade Fair) and Dublin. A discussion evening with owners and captains was also held in Rotterdam. In these European meetings, the emphasis has been placed on the positive thanking shipowners/masters who rescue rather than criticising those who do not. Thessaloniki and Rotterdam were particularly successful because it was possible to reunite resettled refugees with the rescuing captains, and it is planned to repeat this formula in other capitals in 1986. Meetings with shipowners/masters were also held in Hong Kong, Seoul, Singapore and Tokyo. A short (8 minutes) video film on rescue at sea has been produced to assist such meetings.
60. On 1 June 1985, UNHCR introduced a new Reimbursement Scheme. Until this point, reimbursement had been limited to cost of maintenance of refugees on board (set at US$ 5/refugee/day) plus certain incidental expenses involved in disembarkation. The new scheme broadened horizons to include all costs directly related to rescue. A normal "ceiling" of claims was set at
US$ 20,000; a few have been met above that amount, but the majority fall well within it. News of the scheme spread very fast, carried by almost all maritime journals. It has been praised by shipowners as providing a fair deal and removing the main impediment to rescue : the costs involved. To date, 25 claims have been met and five referred for further study.
61. In the administration of the Reimbursement Scheme, UNHCR relies on excellent cooperation with the maritime Protection and Indemnity Clubs ("mutual assurance societies"), the largest of which are headquartered in the UK. All but the smallest and most obvious claims are submitted by the shipowner through the owner's Protection and Indemnity Club, which "vets" the claim and forwards it to UNHCR with a recommendation if appropriate and full documentation, including copies of the relevant pages of the Captain's log.
62.
An appeal was made on the occasion of the 36th Executive Committee for all maritime states to assist actively in the promotion of rescue at sea by contacting their shipowners and shipmasters and reminding them of the requirement to rescue refugees in distress at sea. Although several countries indicated they would consider favourably this appeal, UNHCR is aware of only two countries which actually contacted its shipowners/masters.
63.
Throughout the last quarter of 1985, UNHCR had most constructive talks with the Government of Hong Kong. One of the results of these talks was a very generous offer from the Government to assist international rescue efforts by allowing a RASRO Transit Centre to be established on Hong Kong territory.
64.
Last but not least, a great deal of time has been spent answering letters written by shipowners, captains, crew members and others in the maritime world.
65.
In all promotional activity, maritime journals (of which there are a great many in many different languages) have played a most important supportive role. In several instances journals have not only reported UNHCR's activities and "horror stories" of refugee boats rescued after nightmare journeys, but have also run editorials pointing out the moral and legal duty of all shipmasters to go to the assistance of all in distress at sea.
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