61 STAT.] MULTILATERAL-SHIPPING-AUG. 5, 1944 the United Nations. Other Governments acceding hereto shall give a similar undertaking. 6. Without prejudice to questions of disposition or title, the employ- ment of such ships as may at any time be permitted to operate under enemy flag or authority shall be determined to serve the requirements of the United Nations. 7. - -(a) In order that the allocation of all ships under United Na- tions control may continue to be effectively determined to meet the requirements of the United Nations, a central authority shall be established, to come into operation upon the general suspension of hostilities with Germany. The central authority shall be organised in accordance with the plan agreed in the Annex. (b) The central authority shall determine the employment of ships for the purpose of giving effect to the responsibilities assumed by each contracting Government in paragraph 1 to provide the tonnage required from time to time to meet current requirements for ships for the military and other purposes of the United Nations, and ships shall be allocated for those purposes by those Governments in accordance with the decisions of the central authority. So far as is consistent with the efficient overall use of shipping as deter- mined by the central authority for those purposes, and with the provisions of paragraph 7 (c), each contracting Gov- ernment may allocate ships under its own authority, wholly or partly to cover the essential import requirements of territories for which it has special shipping responsibilities. (c) In general, ships under the flag of one of the contracting Governments shall be under the control of the Government of that flag, or the Government to which they have been chartered. In order to meet the special case of military requirements those ships which have been taken up, under agreements made by the United States Government and/or United Kingdom Government with the other Governments having authority for those ships, for use as troopships, hospital ships, and for other purposes in the service of the armed forces, shall remain on charter as at present to the War Shipping Administration and/or the Ministry of War Transport as the case may be, under arrangements to be agreed between the Governments-severally concerned. (Any further ships required for such purposes shall be dealt with in a like manner.) The fact that these ships are assigned to military require- ments shall not prejudice the right 6f the Governments concerned to discuss with the central authority the measures to be taken to provide shipping for their essetial require- ments within the scope of paragraph 1. 3785 Central authority. Ships under flag of contracting Govern- Inent. Ships assigned to military reqlreolionts.
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