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COMMUNICATIONS AND TRANSPORT
ratio of mechanised junks has slightly decreased to about 35 per cent of the total. Shipboard gear is normally used for loading and discharging break-bulk cargo, but floating heavy lift cranes are available when required.
On average, conventional ships working cargo at buoys are in port for 2.8 days. Container ships are here for just 21.5 hours including steaming, berthing and unberthing time. These are probably the fastest turn-round times for ships in the Far East and have been facilitated by the modern equipment that has been brought into use by the wharf and godown companies. A mobile floating roll-on-roll-off ramp is operated by one of the Kwai Chung Container Terminal operators which, in September, began building a 12-storey multi-purpose godown with a usable floor area of 52,400 square metres, the first two floors of which will serve as a container freight station. Another 16-storey godown with a usable floor area of 79,000 square metres is located nearby at Tsuen Wan and is equipped with container lifts serving all floors.
Most wharves and terminals are provided and operated by private enterprise and they are capable of accommodating vessels of up to 305 metres in length, with draughts of up to 12.2 metres. Facilities in the public sector include the Hong Kong-Macau Ferry Terminal and the public cargo working areas at Wan Chai, Yau Ma Tei, Tsuen Wan and Kwun Tong. These areas are administered by the Marine Department. Government policy calls for the continued provision of public cargo working areas throughout Hong Kong to keep internal cargo movement swift and efficient.
Within the port, there are 71 mooring buoys operated and maintained by the Marine Department for ocean-going vessels. Of these, 43 are suitable for vessels of up to 183 metres in length and the remainder for ships of up to 135 metres in length. The moorings include 60 special typhoon buoys, which are located so that ships can remain secured to them during tropical storms. This obviates unnecessary ship movements, thus helping to maintain efficiency and reduce operational costs. Safe anchorages are available for deep draught vessels.
There is considerable tourist and other sea passenger traffic between Hong Kong and Macau, and in 1979 more than 6.5 million passengers were carried by the jetfoils, hydrofoils and conventional ferries plying this route. A further 160,000 passengers were carried on the hoverferry service between Hong Kong and Guangzhou (Canton) which is operated by the Hongkong and Yaumati Ferry Company Limited.
For ships calling at Hong Kong, quarantine and immigration facilities are available on a 24-hour basis at the Western Quarantine Anchorage and from 6.30 am to 6 pm at the Eastern Quarantine Anchorage. Ships are normally cleared inwards on arrival and large passenger vessels are processed on the way to their allocated berths. Advance immigration clearance and radio pratique may be obtained by certain vessels on application.
Pilotage in Hong Kong is not compulsory, but is considered advisable because of the density of traffic and the scale of harbour works continually undertaken. The Pilotage Authority in Hong Kong is the Director of Marine.
Navigational aids in the harbour and approaches are constantly being improved to ensure greater safety. All fairway buoys are lit and many beacons are fitted with radar reflectors. Marine Department signal stations at Waglan Island, Green Island, North Point and the Port Communications Centre are all interconnected by telephone, radio-telephone and teleprinter circuits. The Marine Department operates a continuous VHF radio-telephone port operations service based on international maritime frequencies, which gives com- prehensive marine communications throughout the harbour and its approaches. Marine Department teleprinter facilities are linked directly to users on a world-wide basis.