ENG-1954 — Page 243

COMMUNICATIONS

There was an increase in tonnage of ocean going vessels, but a decreased tonnage of cargo compared with the previous year and apart from a slight increase in cargo loaded by river steamers, the figures for river steamers, launches and junks continued to fall. The decrease in the latter figures is attributed to the curtailing of trade with the mainland of China.

The efficiency of the many port services required by modern shipping and their low cost has earned for Hong Kong a high reputation since the end of the late war. The Hong Kong Government maintains a staff of ship and radio surveyors, under the supervision of the Director of Marine, who are primarily concerned with the safety of ships and their crews and passengers under the provisions of the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea. A launch equipped for the calibration of ships' direction finding sets is also provided by Government. In the year ending 31st December, 1954, a total of 224 foreign-going vessels of ten nationalities, as compared with 220 in the previous year, availed themselves of the services of Government Surveyors.

The major Classification Societies, Lloyd's Register of Shipping, the American Bureau of Shipping and Norwegian Veritas are represented by resident surveyors whose services are available to all shipowners and in some cases they are the issuing authority for Inter- national Safety Certificates to ships of those nations too small to maintain their own staffs. There are, in addition, many firms in the Colony providing such services as non-exclusive surveyors, cargo surveyors, average adjustors and compass adjustors.

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