Communications and transit > Maritime tonnage measurement

[Communicated to the Council
and the Members of the league.]
Official No. : C.4. M.4. 1936.VIII. /
[C.308.M.135.1934. VIII.] ^
Annex I.
Geneva, September 15th, 1934.
LEAGUE OF NATIONS
ORGANISATION FOR COMMUNICATIONS AND TRANSIT.
MARITIME TONNAGE MEASUREMENT.
Report to the Advisory and Technical Committee on Communications and
Transit by the Chairman and the Rapporteur of the Technical Committee
for Maritime Tonnage Measurement on the Replies received from the
Governments to the Circular Letter forwarding the Results of the
Technical Committee’s Work.
ANNEX 1.
replies of the governments to the circular letter
COMMUNICATING TO THEM THE RESULTS OF THE WORK OF THE
TECHNICAL COMMITTEE ON MARITIME TONNAGE MEASUREMENT.
Germany.
I. GENERAL OBSERVATIONS.
December 13th, 1932.
The German Government has, from the outset, welcomed the attempt to establish an inter¬
national uniform method of maritime tonnage measurement, and believes that the draft
instructions drawn up by the Technical Committee represent valuable work which seems
calculated to facilitate very considerably international agreements on this subject between
maritime countries. Germany, like many other countries, has concluded inter-State agreements
regarding the mutual recognition of tonnage papers in particular, with the United Kingdom and
countries whose national tonnage measurement system is based on the British system. The
German Government considers it desirable, in the first place, to communicate in due course with
the contracting parties to the above-mentioned treaties regarding the situation created by the
result of the Committee’s preliminary work, and will send further communications later.
United Kingdom.
July 8th, 1932.
The competent officials of His Majesty’s Government have, during recent months, been
very fully occupied with the work involved in drawing up the necessary regulations and taking
other action of various kinds to bring into operation the International Convention for the Safety
of Life at Sea, 1929, and the International Load-Line Convention, 1930, and also in preparing
the ground for the introduction of revised International Collision Regulations as recommended
by the International Safety Conference of 1929. It is hoped that it will prove possible to bring
the Load-Line Convention into operation at the beginning of 1933, and the Safety Convention
and revised International Collision Regulations shortly after; but for some considerable time to
come the competent officials of His Majesty’s Government will be very fully occupied in dealing
with matters arising out of the operation of the new conventions and regulations.
2. The Load-Line and Safety Conventions and the International Collision Regulations all
have a very direct bearing on the safety of life at sea, and have necessarily had to be
given preference over other questions, including that of tonnage measurements. His Majesty’s
Government have accordingly been unable to make more than a preliminary examination of the
proposed International Tonnage Regulations, and they are not yet in a position, and do not
expect for some little time to be in a position, to consult the various British interests concerned
(e.g., shipowners, dock and harbour authorities) in regard to these regulations.
S. d. N. 60 (F.) 40 (A.) 10/34. + 780 (F.) 750 (A.) 1/36. Imp. dc 1’Office de Publicixe, Bruxelles (9020).
Series of League of Nations Publications
VIII. TRANSIT
1936. VIII. 2.