TRANSPORT
(GRT) and above must follow VTC directions. Rapid growth in the numbers of such vessels and the need to accelerate response times has generated an eightfold boost to the capacity of the computerised ship database. This improvement will accommodate anticipated growth in ship movements into the next century.
Fairways and Anchorages
Since mid-1994, the principal fairways and anchorages in the western harbour and at Yau Ma Tei have been reorganised to enhance safe vessel movements and to achieve a more organised usage of the available waters. To make the main approaches to the port of Hong Kong safer, the traffic separation scheme in the East Lamma Channel has been extended southwards as a traffic-organising measure.-
Harbour Patrol and Local Control Stations
Marine Department launches, in continuous radio contact with the VTC, patrol the main harbour area and its approaches to maintain order and respond to emergencies. A special team monitors marine traffic in the central harbour. To tighten the surveillance and control of certain high risk spots such as the Ma Wan Channel, local marine traffic control stations, supported by dedicated launch patrols, are being progressively established. The first, at the Ma Wan Channel, opened in June 1995, and the programme envisages stations at Green Island and Kwai Chung Port.
Pilotage Service
Pilots play an important role in navigation safety by assisting shipmasters who are unfamiliar with the port of Hong Kong. Ships of 3 000 GRT or over and certain other vessels must engage pilots when moving within the port and its approaches.
The Director of Marine regulates and monitors the pilotage service although the pilots themselves operate as a private company. The number of pilots and the quality of their service are kept under constant review and closely monitored by the Pilotage Advisory Committee, whose membership covers a wide spectrum of port users and shipping interests.
After a pilotage review consultancy study completed in 1994, compulsory pilotage was extended to ships of 3 000 GRT, or over, and gas carriers of any tonnage with effect from October 1, 1995. It is also planned to relocate the pilot boarding station seawards from Green Island to the outer entrance of the East Lamma Channel in the near future. These measures, together with legal changes to the institutional arrangements of the service, will enable marine pilotage to meet the needs of the port well into the next century.
Hydrographic Office
Continued growth in the number and size of visiting ships together with the increasing pace of reclamation in the port have meant increasing demand for accurate nautical charts and more frequent surveys. Since the Hydrographic Office was established in 1994, two nautical charts of the harbour area have been completely revised and a major re-survey programme for the port is under way. With the launching of a 12-metre survey boat in October 1995 and more sophisticated equipment to be delivered in the next year, the Hydrographic Office expects by 1997 to take over the existing services provided by the British Admiralty.
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