XN000022-1974-10-07 — Page 5

HONDAY, OCTOBER 7, 1974

MORE POWERFUL LIGHT BEACONS BEING INSTALLED

TO GUIDE SHIPS

IMPROVEMENT WORKS ARE BEING CARRIED OUT ON A SERIES OF NAVIGATIONAL AIDS STRETCHING ALONG EAST LAMMA ISLAND CHANNEL TO MAKE IT EASIER AND SAFER FOR VESSELS NAVIGATING IN THE AREA.

WHEN COMPLETED IN THE MIDDLE OF NEXT YEAR, THE LIGHT· BEAMS FROM THE NAVIGATIONAL AIDS WILL REACH TWICE AS FAR OUT TO SEA THAN AT PRESENT AND WILL BENEFIT ALL VESSELS, PARTICULARLY CONTAINERSHIPS TRAVELLING TO AND FROM THE KWAI CHUNG CONTAINER TERMINAL, AND OIL TANKERS DELIVERING OIL TO THE SHELL COMPANY'S STORAGE AT AP LEI CHAU.

MR. JAMES DEAKIN, SUPERINTENDENT OF THE MARINE DEPARTMENT'S NAVIGATIONAL AIDS SECTION SAID THE IMPROVEMENT WORKS WERE BEING CARRIED OUT AT SIX LOCATIONS.

THE MAJOR WORK IN THE IMPROVEMENT SCHEME IS THE INSTALLATION OF AN AUTOMATIC LIGHTHOUSE ON AP LEI CHAU. CONSTRUCTION WORK ON THE LIGHTHOUSE HAS ALREADY BEGUN AND IS SCHEDULED FOR COMPLETION IN THE MIDDLE OF NEXT YEAR.

THE OTHER FIVE PLACES INVOLVED IN THE SCHEME ARE YUEN KOK, WONG CHU KOK, SHEK KOK TSUI, MAGAZINE ISLAND AND KAU YI CHAU. THE RANGE OF THE NAVIGATIONAL AIDS PROVIDED ON THESE LOCATIONS IS TO BE INCREASED, SOME OF THEM FROM FIVE TO 10 MILES, AND OTHERS FROM SEVEN TO 10 MILES, AND FROM 14 TO 20 MILES.

MR. DEAKIN SAID THE NAVIGATIONAL AID ON MAGAZINE ISLAND WOULD BE MOVED TO A MORE FAVOURABLE POSITION.

+SINCE THE COMPLETION OF THE WAH FU ESTATE, THE INTENSITY OF THE BEAM FROM THE LIGHTHOUSE ON THE ISLAND HAS BEEN REDUCED CONSIDERABLY AT NIGHT BY THE CLARE OF THE BACKGROUND LIGHTS FROM DOMESTIC FLATS MAKING IT VERY DIFFICULT FOR VESSELS PASSING THROUGH THE AREA TO SEE THE BEACON,+ HE EXPLAINED.

THERE ARE NOW 174 NAVIGATIONAL AIDS INSTALLED IN HONG KONG WATERS, INCLUDING WAGLAN LIGHTHOUSE WHICH IS A MAJOR NAVIGATIONAL AID IN HONG KONG. THIS FIGURE COMPARES WITH

143 IN 1971-72, AND 152 IN 1972-73.

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