May85 - NI HKG

Future ship register

AT ONLY the second full meeting the Branch already seems to have come of age! The feeling of euphoria detected at the exploratory meeting in November has persisted and, if anything. seems to have grown.

The meeting was attended by 45 members and guests, some of whom forgot to warn us that they were attending hence the slightly cramped conditions. The drawcard, of course, was the open discussion on the future Hong Kong ship register and participation was both lively and highly informative. The complaints were widespread that there should have been more time allowed!

Captain Allan Pyrke, the Surveyor General of Ships, HK Government, skilfully co-ordinated the discussion, which at times became quite complex. He unlocked a Pandora's Box of crucial issues which must be faced in the very near future if Hong Kong is to have a viable and respectable ship register. (See article on page 11.)

One of the issues concerns qualifications of the people who man the ships. Appropriately, therefore, S. J. Singh of Hong Kong Polytechnic will present a paper on 'Maritime Training in Hong Kong—Present and Future' at the third meeting. This paper promises to be equally stimulating and thought-provoking.

The February meeting was attended by 15 guests, all highly distinguished. such as M. H. Liang, chairman of the Hong Kong Shipowners' Association, Jack Haworth, manager of the Vocational Training Council's Seamen's Training Centre and Peter Thompson, a leading maritime lawyer.

Contributed by Captain N. J. Lopez, FNI