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Andy Gilbert

FALSE information supplied by the Burmese Consulate which led to a casino ship sailing illegally from Hong Kong has prompted calls for the Government to intervene.

  The Bahamanian-registered Delfin Star was twice detained by marine officials last week following a dispute over the validity of qualifications of two senior Burmese engineers.

  The Burmese Consulate certified two fake engineering certificates as 'true and authentic' despite its own Government confirming they were forged.

  As a result, the ship was allowed to sail with the two bogus engineers on board - a breach of international maritime regulations - while marine officials made further checks.

  The Burmese Government has again confirmed the documents are forgeries, sparking concern in the Marine Department that information from consulates cannot be trusted.

  The Consulate's confirmation led to the ship being allowed to sail with fewer than the minimum qualified crew despite marine officials being 'doubtful about the certificates of these officers'.

  The Marine Department Senior Surveyor of Ships, Chick King-fai, has contacted the Assistant Secretary for Economic Services in charge of marine matters, Daniel Sin Pak-wing, asking for clarification.

  'We intend to take further steps to see whether we are to honour certification by the Burmese or any other consulates in the future,' said Mr Chick. 'Our main concern is safety. We have no way of knowing if we can trust [information from consulates] in the future.'   The Delfin Star was detained overnight two weeks ago when the Burmese Government told marine officers that two engineers had fake qualifications.

  But when Burmese Vice-Consul Soe Yar Zar then verified the qualification certificates as genuine, Mr Chick said that, despite his doubts, he had no choice but to allow the ship to leave.

  However, the ship was refused port clearance again the following day when the Burmese Government re-confirmed the certificates were fake. It was only allowed to depart when the engineers were replaced by qualified mainland personnel.

  Mr Chick has written to the Burmese Consulate informing them that it supplied incorrect information, but has asked for no explanation. 'It is not for the Marine Department to seek an explanation, but I would hope someone else in the Government would pick this up and do so,' he said.

  Mr Sin said he would consult the Marine Department over the matter.

  Mr Soe Yar Zar said he was considering a response to the Marine Department.



Ship's illegal trip raises concern over false information