TNAG-2308-FCO40-3345-Future-of-Hong-Kong-shipping-register-1991 — Page 70

covering confidential

HKC175/1

Foreign & Commonwealth

Office

FILE 23

N Cloke Esq

Secretariat

(Naval Staff) b

Ministry of Defence

Main Building

Whitehall

LONDON

SW1A 2HB

fear in

моне,

London SWIA 2AH

Telephone: 071-

23 May 1991

HONG KONG SHIPPING REGISTER: ENSIGNS

1.

10

(to

apologies. incoming

letter

was unaddressed.

Thank you for your letter of 18 April my colleague Mr Sainty) about the use of ensigns by ships on the new Hong Kong shipping register.

2.

Perhaps I could begin by giving some background to the establishment of a Hong Kong Shipping Register. The main purpose was to ensure continuity over 1997 and avoid the need for large numbers of ships to switch from a register of one sovereignty to that of another. It was therefore necessary to secure practical arrangements for the Register, including flagging arrangements, which could easily adapt to the change of sovereignty over Hong Kong in 1997. At the same time we wanted to ensure that ships on the Hong Kong Register were readily identifiable as such. The two-flag arrangement, which was agreed between the British and Chinese sides in the Joint Liaison Group in July 1986, not only makes Hong Kong ships easily identifiable, it also indicates clearly (and separately) the nationality and the port of registration of the ship.

3. I should like to draw your attention to a letter of 14 November 1985. from the Department of Transport to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (copy enclosed) which describes consultation which took place between the Department of Transport and the Naval Law Division of your Department. I also enclose an extract from the Hong Kong Government's "position paper" to which the letter refers. Although your colleague in the Naval Law Division shared your view that the two flag arrangement is

SIPAOJ

covering

CONFIDENTIAL