lowering the Island's shipping standards, Transport Minister the Hon. Maxwell Burgess told the House of Assembly yesterday.

But Opposition MP Mr. Ottiwell Simmons said he was worried by the new law.

"This Government is more concerned with money than with people,'' Mr. Simmons said.

The Merchant Shipping (Demise Charter) Act 1994 received its second reading.

Mr. Burgess said the Act would allow a ship to have two registries -- one primary registry in its original jurisdiction, and a secondary registry used by those who charter the ship.

"This is the way the shipping world is moving,'' he told the House. "We believe that this has the potential of bringing us some additional business.'' The standards of neither Bermuda's primary shipping register nor the demise charter register would be lowered, he said.

Fees for the register would be set out in subsequent legislation, he added.

Fees for the primary shipping register were also being examined.

Shadow Transport Minister Mr. Dennis Lister said the Opposition generally favoured the legislation.

He understood the demise charter legislation would allow Bermudians to work on vessels in cases where the ship's primary registry would not permit them. "Is Government making efforts to make sure Bermudians will be given the opportunity to be employed on these vessels,'' he asked.

But Mr. Simmons expressed greater concerns.

He felt Mr. Burgess had not defined what a demise charter was. The Bermudian shipping register was listed under the ITF as a flag of convenience, Mr.

Simmons said.

"That is not a good list to be on. Such a register tends to have standards lower than those in the US, Europe, and certainly Great Britain.'' Bermuda had "a modified version of high standards,'' somewhere between the best standards and those of Panama and Liberia, he said.

It was important to get a clear understanding of the demise register, because if it meant Bermudians working on unsafe ships, they would be worse off.

Bermuda had to be careful, he said. If a ship rescued Vietnamese boat people, the country in which the ship was registered became responsible. In an earlier case, Bermuda had to accept six Vietnamese as a result, he said.

"We run the risk of being flooded with a refugee problem because of our shipping register,'' he said.

Mr. John Barritt (UBP) said a demise charter was when a ship owner leased a vessel without crew.

The bill would allow ships chartered in this way to register in Bermuda and become subject to local standards. The aim was to get Bermuda on an equal footing with its competitors.

Bermuda was not a flag of convenience in a bad sense, he said. It was under pressure to relax its standards, which were no different from the UK's.

Mr. Trevor Woolridge (PLP) said he too hoped Government would work to get Bermudians jobs on such ships. Fishermen hit by the fish pot ban might welcome such a chance, he said.

Mr. Burgess said jobs for Bermudians might be possible, but the ships would be oil tankers, grain carriers and similar vessels.

As for the Government only being interested in money, he said cash could not be distributed to help people if it was not earned first.

The Hon. Maxwell Burgess.