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SUNDAY, JULY 30, 1978
MAINTENANCE OF HARBOUR LIGHTS *****
THE SAFETY OF SHIPPING TRAFFIC IN A HARBOUR TO A LARGE EXTENT DEPENDS ON THE EFFICIENCY OF BEACONS AND LIGHT BUOYS AND THE FACT THAT HONG KONG HAS ONE OF THE BEST SAFETY RECORDS IN THE WORLD IS A TRIBUTE TO A TEAM OF MAINTENANCE STAFF OF THE MARINE DEPARTMENT'S NAVIGATIONAL AIDS SECTION LED EY MR. TANG STU-YING.
THIS FACT ASSUMES ADDED SIGNIFICANCE CONSIDERING THAT HONG KONG IS ONE OF THE BUSIEST HARBOURS IN THE WORLD. AND 56-YEAR-OLD MR. TANG, AS FOREMAN OF NAVIGATIONAL AIDS, I IS ENTRUSTED WITH THE TASK OF MAINTAINING THE 250 +TRAFFIC LIGHTS+ OF THE SEA.
THE JOB OF NAVIGATIONAL AIDS FOREMAN IS A DIFFICULT ONE EECAUSE MOST OF THE MAINTENANCE WORK HAS TO BE CARRIED OUT AT SEA OR ON THE EDGE OF CLIFFS WHERE THESE AIDS ARE LOCATED.
+FALLING INTO THE WATER TIME AND AGAIN IS NOT UNCOMMON WHILE YOU ARE WORKING ON A SLIPPERY LIGHT BUCY WHICH IS BOBBING AT SEA,+ SAID MR. TANG.
+THIS IS PARTICULARLY THE CASE WHEN YOU HAVE TO SAIL OUT TO SEA AFTER THE PASSAGE OF A STORM TO REPAIR A BUOY.
+SO, IF YOU EASILY GET SEA SICK, THIS IS NOT THE JOB FOR YOU,+ QUIPPED MR. TANG.
BUT MR. TANG HAS GROWN SO ACCUSTOMED TO THIS TOSSING OF THE SEA THAT HE HAS ACTUALLY GROWN FOND OF BOTH HIS WORK AND THE BUOYS WHICH HE HAS TO MAINTAIN.
+ IT IS ALWAYS SAD FOR ME TO LEARN THAT A BUOY IS DAMAGED CR LOST,+ SAID MR. TANG.
BUT SUCH LOSSES ARE INEVITABLE AS THERE ARE OVER 250 NAVIGATIONAL AIDS WITHIN OUR TERRITORIAL WATERS WHICH ARE SUBJECTED TO THE ROUGH POUNDING OF THE SEA AND AT TIMES CRUSHED TO PIECES BY A SHIP.
LOOK ING BACK AT HIS WORK IN THE LATE 1940S, MR. TANG RECALLED: +THE NAVIGATIONAL AIDS IN THOSE DAYS WERE OPERATED BY GAS, AND TO REFILL THEM WAS QUITE A TASK. WITH 270-LE GAS CYLINDERS STRAPPED ON OUR BACKS, WE HAD FREQUENTLY TO CLIMB SLIPPERY AND JAGGED ROCKS ON THE COAST OF A REMOTE ISLAND IN ORDER TO GET TO THE BEACON SITE.+
+TO GET TO WAGLAN ISLAND TO SERVICE THE LIGHTHOUSE WAS ALSO QUITE AN AMUSING EXPERIENCE, + MR. TANG REMINISCED.
+THERE WERE NO BERTHING FACILITIES ON THE ISLAND IN THOSE DAYS, AND IN ORDER TO GET ASHORE, OUR TEAM OF FOUR HAD TO CLIMB INTO A RATTAN BASKET WHICH WAS INCHED ASHORE BY A CRAME ON THE BOAT THAT TOOK US THERE.+
/BUT THOSE