ENG-1956 — Page 96

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HONG KONG ANNUAL REPORT

machinery and have facilities to carry out any major repair work, including the complete rewinding of large motors, the balancing of turbine rotors, electrical repairs on any scale, repairs to sanitary and refrigerating systems, and underwater work.

The Colony possesses six granite dry docks, the largest being 787 ft. overall and 93 ft. 4 ins. wide. There are two stationary hammerhead cranes with a lifting capacity of 150 tons. Other facilities are ocean-going tugs, harbour repair launches, a crane barge equipped with sheer-legs of 40 tons lifting capacity, and foundries capable of handling castings up to 30 tons.

During 1956 the two large shipyards carried out repairs on 1,567 vessels aggregating over 8,250,000 gross tons. Apart from normal repair work, the Hong Kong & Whampoa Dock carried out an extensive conversion of an oil tanker into an iron ore carrier within a period of ninety days, salvaged and carried out repairs on a vessel which had gone aground in the Paracels, and granted the facilities of the yard to George Wimpey & Co. Ltd. to build a reinforced concrete pump- house, which was eventually launched, towed across the harbour as a buoyant unit, and sunk in its required position. The Taikoo Dockyard and Engineering Company launched a number of small vessels and lighters, and are building two cargo vessels of 5,790 gross tons each for the China Naviga- tion Co. Ltd.

Among other shipyards, the Hong Kong Transportation Company completed a £687,500 contract to build 30 oil barges for the Burmese Inland Water Transport Board, and Cheoy Lee Shipyard launched, among other smaller craft, three steel vessels, two of 1,280 tons and one of 800 tons, for Korean interests.

Iron Foundries and Rolling Mills. Other heavy industries represented in Hong Kong are iron foundries and mills rolling iron and steel reinforcing bars and rounds, and brass