As a prominent trading port in the Far East, Hong Kong has a long history of ship registration that dates back to the earliest years of the colony. As Hong Kong did not have its own registration system from the 1840s to 1990, ships were registered on The United Kingdom Ship Register under the British system. In the first few years after the British occupation, the colonial government was not given the right to grant a British Certificate of Registry. Out of practical needs, concerns about adopting the British registration system were raised as early as 1846 in a letter sent to the Colonial Secretary. It revealed that despite only a few years after the British occupation, several applications had been made for Certificates of Registry in cases where the ships had changed owners and where the new owners belonged to firms residing in Hong Kong. Moreover, there was also a request from a mercantile house for the certificates that would entitle the vessel it was building to the privileges of a British vessel.^[1] Thus, the discussion on whether the Imperial Act for Registry of British Shipping should apply to the colony of Hong Kong began.

Ordinance No. 4 of 1855, which was designed “to establish a proper system of registration for colonial vessels”, laid down the foundation of a ship registration system in Hong Kong. Under the Ordinance, no British vessel was allowed to trade in Hong Kong waters unless they were provided with a Certificate of Registry in conformity with the Imperial Acts of Parliament. In obtaining such Colonial Register, a person had to forward to the Colonial Secretary a declaration stating whether the vessel was to be employed solely in trade with China.^[2] In the case of John Bright, one of the first ships registered under the British system, a Colonial Register had made for its efficient purchase and sale. As a result, it changed hands several times and had several owners. ^[3]

Following the Merchant Shipping Consolidation Ordinance in 1879, the British colonial ship registration system was further revised. Several consolidations were made over the years, namely in 1899 and 1953. Through the enactments of various Merchant Shipping Acts, the Marine Department was responsible for surveying vessels according to the standards stipulated in the Acts before issuing certificates to shipowners.

In the 1980s, Hong Kong was one of the British ports of registry. Before the establishment of the Hong Kong Shipping Register, the statutory provisions regarding registry were contained in the UK Merchant Shipping Acts. Under section 89 of the Act, the powers of the Commissioners in the UK relating to registry of ships in Hong Kong were vested in the Governor. Under section 4(1)(e) of the Act, the Governor had appointed the Director of Marine and Deputy Director of Marine as Registrars of Shipping. All requests for directions and advice in special and doubtful cases were made to the Chief Registrar in London or in some cases to the Legal Department in Hong Kong. By the instructions given in Instructions to Registrars of British Ship, transcripts of all the entries in the Register Book of every ship registered in Hong Kong were forwarded to the Registrar General.

The preparation of the Hong Kong Shipping Register started once its general principles had been confirmed by the Sino-British Joint Liaison Group in 1986. To ensure that high standards could be maintained after 1997, a steering group was established in March 1987 to develop detailed proposals for Hong Kong’s modified shipping register. Chaired by the Deputy Secretary for Economic Services at the time, the steering group gave recommendations on the practical arrangements for the new register so as to ensure that high standards were maintained.