COMMUNICATIONS AND TRANSPORT
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All public service vehicles are now subject to annual mechanical inspection including omnibuses and taxis which in addition undergo a six monthly meter calibration check by the Transport Department.
Shipping
Hong Kong is one of the major ports of the world in terms of the tonnage of shipping using its facilities, cargo handled and the number of passengers,` carried, and has earned a world-wide reputation for the efficient way in which it satisfies the requirements of modern shipping. Victoria Harbour, lying between Hong Kong Island and Kowloon, is regarded as one of the most perfect natural harbours in the world. It has an area of some 6 000 hectares and varies in width from 1.6 km to 9.6 km.
The administration of the port is a responsibility of the Director of Marine. He is advised upon the port's administration by the Port Committee and the Port Executive Committee through which the closest liaison with shipping and commercial interests is maintained thus seeking to ensure that facilities and services develop to meet the changing needs of Hong Kong and of the ships using the port.
The Kwai Chung Container Terminal which ranks among the top three container terminals in the world, handled 1.55 million TEU's (20-foot equivalent units) in 1981. The terminal has six berths totalling more than 2 300 metres fronting on to about 85 hectares of cargo-handling area which includes container yards and container freight stations. Up the six 'third generation' containerships can be accommodated and worked simultaneously at these berths, all of which are operated by private companies or consortia. None-the-less, the further expansion of the port's capacity to handle containers is under active develop-
ment.
In 1981, some 10 600 ocean-going vessels called at Hong Kong and loaded and discharged more than 33 million tonnes of cargo. This included 26 million tonnes of general goods, 52 per cent of which was containerised cargo.
Although containerisation is a major cargo transport method, a considerable amount of dry cargo handled in Hong Kong is transported at some stage by lighters and junks of which there were some 2 073 at the end of 1981, some 27 per cent of which are mechanised. Break-bulk cargo is normally handled using ships' gear, but floating heavy-lift cranes are available when required.
On average, conventional ships working cargo at buoys are in port for 2.6 days and container ships are here for just 15.5 hours excluding steaming to and from Waglan Island and berthing/unberthing time. These are probably the fastest turn-round times for ships in the Far East. A mobile floating roll-on-roll-off ramp is provided by one of the Kwai Chung Container Terminal operators who, in June 1981 had put into full operation a 12-storey, multi-purpose godown with a usable floor area of 52 400 square metres - the first two floors of which serve as a container freight station. Nearby, at Tsuen Wan, there is a 16-storey godown - usable floor area 52 600 square metres - 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 14.6 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, Kwun Tong and Western District. These areas are administered by the Marine Department. Govern- ment policy calls for the continued provision of public cargo working areas throughout Hong Kong to keep internal cargo movement swift and efficient.