XN000022-1994-07-21 — Page 19

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THURSDAY, JULY 21, 1994

REPORT INTO COLLISION BETWEEN

A JETFOIL AND FLOATING PIPELINES PUBLISHED

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THE MARINE DEPARTMENT'S REPORT INTO THE COLLISION BETWEEN A JETFOIL AND A QUANTITY OF FLOATING PIPELINES TOWED BY A TUG OFF MACAU LAST JULY REVEALED THAT INADEQUATE LIGHTING TO ILLUMINATE THE PIPELINES WAS A CAUSE OF THE ACCIDENT.

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THE REPORT SHOWED THAT IF THE PIPELINES HAD BEEN LIT AS REQUIRED BY THE INTERNATIONAL REGULATIONS, THEY WOULD HAVE BEEN DETECTED BY THE VESSEL'S VISUAL AUGMENTATION SYSTEM (VAS) AND ALSO SIGHTED VISUALLY BY THE BRIDGE TEAM OF THE JETFOIL.

THE BRIDGE TEAM OF THE HONG KONG REGISTERED JETFOIL "URZELA WAS UNABLE TO DETECT THE PIPELINES BEING TOWED BY THE TUG "HANG FENG 901" OR IDENTIFY HER AS A TOWING VESSEL, THE REPORT SAID.

COMMENTING ON THE REPORT, THE DIRECTOR OF MARINE, MR ALLAN PYRKE, SAID TODAY (THURSDAY}: "I HAVE CONSIDERED THE ADEQUACY OF THE SAFETY ELEMENTS OF THE NIGHT SERVICE REGIME OF HIGH SPEED CRAFT ON HONG KONG-MACAU ROUTE AND AM CONTENT THAT THE EXISTING SYSTEM IS SOUND.

"I CONSIDER THE NIGHT SERVICES SHOULD CONTINUE BUT MITIGATING MEASURES RECOMMENDED BY THE INVESTIGATION WILL BE IMPLEMENTED TO HELP PREVENT A REPETITION OF INCIDENTS OF THIS NATURE, MR PYRKE SAID.

"P

THE MARINE DEPARTMENT WOULD ISSUE NOTICE ΤΟ REQUEST MASTERS OF VESSELS TO TAKE EXTRA CARE AT THE APPROACHES TO MACAU HARBOUR WHEN THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE MACAU AIRPORT WAS IN PROGRESS, HE SAID.

INTERNATIONAL REGULATIONS REQUIRE AN ALL ROUND WHITE LIGHT VISIBLE FOR A DISTANCE OF AT LEAST THREE NAUTICAL MILES TO BE DISPLAYED AT THE EXTREME ENDS OF THE TOWED OBJECT AND ONE

IN BETWEEN AS THE LENGTH EXCEEDED 100 METRES.

THE LIGHTS FITTED TO THE PIPES WERE APPARENTLY NOT WORKING AT THE TIME THE TOW APPROACHED MACAU, THE REPORT REVEALED.

INVESTIGATION HOWEVER SHOWED THAT THE MASTER OF THE TUG HAD USED FLOOD LIGHTS INSTALLED ON THE TUG TO ILLUMINATE THE FLOATING PIPELINES WHICH WERE SEMI-SUBMERGED WHILE ON TOW.

BUT THE LEVEL OF LIGHTING WAS NOT ABLE TO ILLUMINATE THE PIPES ADEQUATELY FOR THEM TO BE SEEN BY THE OFFICERS OF JETFOIL "URZELA", NEITHER DID THEY COMPLY WITH THE LIGHT SIGNALS FOR ATTRACTING ATTENTION AS PRESCRIBED BY INTERNATIONAL REGULATION, THE REPORT NOTED.

THE TUG, REGISTERED IN GUANGZHOU, WAS TOWING TWO LENGTHS OF LARGE FLOATING PIPELINES EACH MEASURFD 110 METRES FROM GUANGZHOU TO THE MACAU AIRPORT WORKS SITE.

MR PYRKE SAID STEPS WOULD BE TAKEN TO ESTABLISH CLOSE LIAISON WITH GUANGDONG HARBOUR SUPERINTENDENCY, ZHUHAI AUTHORITY AND MACAU MARINE DEPARTMENT TO FIND WAYS TO PREVENT FURTHER INCIDENTS OF THIS NATURE.

/THE ACCIDENT