TRANSPORT
fleet of modern, high-speed passenger ferries, comprising jetfoils and catamarans operating from Hong Kong to Macau and various Chinese ports.
Immigration and Quarantine Services
Immigration and quarantine services, including advance clearance, may be applied for by radio through a ship's agent. The Western Quarantine Anchorage provides these services around the clock, while services are available between 6 am and 6 pm daily at the Eastern Quarantine Anchorage. An immigration anchorage which provides services at Tuen Mun between midnight and 1 pm is a particularly convenient facility for river-trade vessels not intending to enter the central harbour.
Mooring Buoys
The department provides and maintains 62 buoys within the port for ships to work cargo in the stream. The buoys can be booked through the VTC. Most are typhoon moorings, where vessels may remain secured during tropical storms.
Sheltered spaces for laying mooring buoys have decreased since the commencement of the new airport and related reclamations, resulting in many mooring buoys being displaced. Sites for replacement buoys have been identified and will be dredged from 1997 to accommodate ocean-going vessels using the buoys. The reprovisioning and expansion of harbour moorings can be fully implemented with the completion of the current reclamation projects. The total number of mooring buoys will then be brought up to 70.
Bunkering
Bunkering is readily available at commercial wharves and oil terminals, or from a large fleet of private bunkering barges. Fresh water can also be provided alongside berths, or from a private fleet of water boats.
Ship Repair and Dry-Docking
The port has extensive facilities for repairing, dry-docking and slipping all types of vessels of up to 150 000 dead-weight tonneş, including oil rigs. Smaller shipyards are able to build and maintain workboats and pleasure vessels. The Marine Department provides a free inspection and advice service to promote safe working practices in ship repairing, ship-breaking and cargo-handling afloat.
Reception of Marine Wastes
The department provides refuse collection services for ocean-going vessels and picks up refuse floating in the harbour. On average, 4 800 tonnes of refuse are collected annually. Floating refuse remains a nuisance to the general public. Inter- departmental effort has been made to tackle the problem. Refuse collection and scavenging services are being expanded. When the expansion is completed by early 1999, the department will provide much improved territory-wide floating refuse scavenging and ship refuse collection services.
A chemical waste treatment centre on Tsing Yi Island provides reception facilities for oily and chemical wastes from ships, as required under the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships.
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