Renaming of the Marine Department

Since air transport became more important in the post-war period, there was an urgent need to set up a separate and new department responsible for civil aviation. Therefore, the Civil Aviation Department was established in May 1946. The Harbour Department, which then became known as the Marine Department, no longer took responsibility for civil aviation matters.

In August 1947, the Governor, Sir Alexander Grantham, proposed that the Harbour Department should be reorganised and renamed the Marine Department. This was based on the rationale that “the present title of the department in no way indicate[d] its full functions”. The titles of staff would be changed accordingly. The title of the head of department was to be changed from the Harbour Master to the Director of Marine. Major titles such as the Deputy Shipping Master, Assistant Shipping Master, Chief Boarding Officer, Chief Assistant Inspector of Junks, Assistant Inspector of Junks, and Boatswain would be replaced by new titles such as Marine Officer and Senior Marine Officer. The nomenclature and organisation of the Ship Surveyor’s Office would remain unchanged. The proposal was finally approved by the British Government in January 1948.^[65]

Throughout the period 1948-1966, there were a lot of influential changes in the Marine Department’s structure, changes that laid the foundation of the department today.

Organisational development – creation of new posts

The Marine Department was divided into two main divisions, namely the Port Control Division and the Ship Surveys Division.^[66] Two new posts, the Assistant Director of Marine (Port Control) and the Assistant Director of Marine (Surveys) were created for managing the respective divisions.^[67] This structure remained unchanged until 1963.

The Ship Surveys Division was responsible for carrying out radio surveys and dangerous goods surveys, as well as examining and issuing Passenger and Safety Certificates, Load Line Certificates, Certificates of Competency, and Emigration Licences. After the staff review in 1963-65, the government renamed the head of division the Surveyor General of Ships and created the post of Principal Surveyor of Ships in February 1966. To alleviate the pressure on the Assistant Director of Marine in relation to ship surveys, the Principal Surveyor of Ships took charge of the construction and alterations of new government vessels as well as innovations to waterborne transport. At the same time, the Research and Development Section was established under the division to promote safety policy relating to the construction of new vessels. The staff in this section also had to collect information on new construction materials for vessels.^[68]

The Port Control Division was responsible for the management of port-related matters. It managed various offices, such as the Port Control Office, the Marine Licensing Office, the Mercantile Marine Office, and the Government Slipway. The Port Control Office was concerned with the administration and enforcement of the Merchant Shipping Ordinance, as it related to the regulation and control of shipping using Hong Kong waters. The Office’s duties included the operation of the Colony’s navigational buoyage system, moorings, and explosives depot. The Marine Licensing Office’s chief function was to license ferry vessels, motorboats, tugs, lighters, fishing vessels, and all classes of small craft as required by Parts XIII and XIV of the Merchant Shipping Ordinance. The Mercantile Marine Office was concerned with the administration of the Merchant Shipping Acts; Ministry of Transport Regulations; and Parts III, IV and V of the Hong Kong Merchant Shipping Ordinance. The Government Slipway was responsible for maintaining and ensuring the operational efficiency of the government fleet.^[69] Besides, it was also duty of the Port Control Division to manage the lighthouses in Hong Kong waters.

Organisational development – staff training

The Departmental Training School was first set up at the Yau Ma Tei Slipway in 1950. Under the management of J. Jolly, the Director of Marine for the period 1948-57, who had previously been Harbour Master from 1941 to 1947, the school was to provide evening training courses to all relevant government employees, including members of the Marine Division of the Hong Kong Police Force and the civilian personnel of H.M. Forces, preparing them for taking the Local Certificates of Competency Examinations for the positions of coxswains, engineers or mechanics.^[70]

In 1950, all courses started at the commencement of each quarter, and the participants needed ten weeks to complete 50 hours of lectures. For coxswains, their courses would be taught by Marine Officers at the Yau Ma Tei Slipway. For engineers, the teaching duty was undertaken by the Junior Surveyor of Ships (Engine). The instruction courses for Marine Police Officers and Assistant Marine Officers were given by the Marine Officers attached to the Port Control and Marine Licensing Offices. Arrangements were also made with the Port Health Office for the participants to learn first aid over six lectures.^[71]

The Departmental Training School was renamed the Nautical Training School in 1965, after it was moved from the Yau Ma Tei Slipway to the Government Camber (later the Government Dockyard) on Canton Road.^[72] In 1966, although the Nautical Training School concentrated on training departmental staff who wished to obtain the 3rd Class Certificate of Navigation, many other departments, notably the Marine Police, the Fire Services Department, the Commerce and Industry Department, and the Agriculture and Fisheries Department, also sent officers to attend various courses.^[73]

Organisational development – creation of a new division and its subsequent changes

At the beginning of the 1960s, the general administration work of the department was found to be scattered and decentralised. Therefore, in 1963 the Marine Department was reorganised with the setting up of a third division, the Headquarters Division^[74], which was headed by a Senior Marine Officer. The new division strengthened co-ordination within the department and increased efficiency in the daily administration of the port of Hong Kong. It oversaw the Mercantile Marine Office, the Registry of Shipping, the Secretariat, and the Accounting Office.^[75]

The Senior Marine Officer of the Headquarters Division was responsible for drafting new legislation and proposing any legislative amendments. He was also involved in “long-term port development planning, preparation of port publications, technical secretary and Marine Magistrate’s Court duties”.^[76]

In August 1964, one year after the division was established, the post of Assistant Director of Marine (Headquarters) was created to replace the Senior Marine Officer, taking responsibility for the division’s daily operations. Two years later, in April 1966, a Deputy Director of Marine post was created in the Headquarters Division. This new post replaced the Assistant Director of Marine (Headquarters) in the management of the division’s daily operations.^[77]

At the same time, the Ship Surveys Division was also reorganised and divided into three main sections, namely the Small Craft Section, the Convention Certificate Section, and the New Construction Section.^[78] The Small Craft Section handled the “survey or inspection of passenger craft operating within Colony waters and licensed under Table E (Ordinance No. 10 of 1899) and Table 14 of the Merchant Shipping Ordinance, 1953”. The Convention Certificate Section dealt broadly with international safety matters. The New Construction Section was responsible for planning the building of new vessels and alterations to existing government vessels.^[79]

The department’s headquarters had been housed in the same building on the Connaught Road waterfront since 1906. In as early as 1956 the department realised that the continuing expansion of shipping and port activities would render the building no longer viable. It was therefore suggested that a block of government offices accommodating the Marine Department should be built as part of future reclamation projects.^[80] Foreseeing that such work might take decades to complete, the department utilised its then headquarters to the fullest possible extent in the period 1948-1966. For example, in 1963 the headquarters underwent the following changes: a portion of the first-floor verandah was enclosed to form a typist pool; an information counter was established at the main entrance; an office was partitioned to provide accommodation for ship inspectors; and a partially glassed cubicle was erected in the Port Control Office to accommodate the Senior Marine Officer.^[81] Such changes enabled the Marine Department to cope with its increasing workload.