TNAG-2308-FCO40-3345-Future-of-Hong-Kong-shipping-register-1991 — Page 211

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i)

ii)

sufficient authenticated sea service has been completed and which would normally qualify a candidate to appear for the same Hong Kong examination under existing regulations;

the Certificate has been obtained from a country whose examinations standards and security of examination materials are proven to be at least equal to Hong Kong's standards.

After 1997, the SAR government should issue its own certificates either on the basis suggested above or exclusively by examination.

Only the Government should have the power to suspend or cancel a Certificate of Service or Competency or replace a higher grade with a lower grade in the case of professional misconduct or criminal office. Sufficient safeguards should be built into this provision to give the officer the opportunity to establish his blamelessness. Perhaps these safeguards should include a review of the officer's conduct by the proposed Shipping Advisory Board before final action is taken to deprive him of his certificate. (NI)

Hong Kong officers holding British and Chinese certificates should continue to be accepted before and after 1997.

Presently Hong Kong officers holding U.K. or Commonwealth certificates account for only 6.7%, which can hardly meet the demand of the registered ships in Hong Kong. It is grossly unfair that paragraph 7.3.3 of the Consultative Paper should propose that only British and Commonwealth certificates would continue to be accepted, expelling the 90% local offices from the Hong Kong Register. This would lead to more officers being out of employment, detrimental to the development of shipping industry and the smooth transition of the system for regulating conditiions of seamen. For this reason, the Hong Kong Register should recognize the certificates issued by the member countries of the Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers, so as to permit ships registered in Hong Kong to employ the local officers who are holding those certificates. (HKSU)