ENG-1977 — Page 214

COMMUNICATIONS AND TRANSPORT

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that links the Marine Department's Search and Rescue Co-ordination Centre with the Islander aircraft of the Royal Hong Kong Auxiliary Air Force and with military helicopters, marine police launches, Fire Services launches and other similar facilities. In the event of a vessel getting into difficulties in the South China Sea within about 1,300 kilometres of Hong Kong, the Marine Department is able to act as a rescue co-ordinating centre. In September, a consultant firm began a six-month study on vessel traffic management for the waters of Hong Kong.

A watch on shipping, fairways, typhoon shelters and cargo working areas is kept by Marine Department launch patrols. The launches are in continuous radio contact with the Port Communications Centre, enabling the centre to initiate and co-ordinate any action required by unusual circumstances. A fleet of modern fire-fighting vessels operated by the Fire Services Department is kept in a state of readiness, and units are stationed on both sides of the harbour..

Good bunkering facilities are provided in the port, and vessels may be supplied with fuel oil either from wharves at oil terminals or from a fleet of harbour oilers. Fresh water is obtainable at commercial wharves or from water boats that service vessels at anchor or at government mooring buoys. A harbour telephone service is available either at buoys or at wharves.

There are extensive facilities in Hong Kong for repairing, maintaining and dry- docking or slipping all types and classes of vessels up to about 35,500 tonnes dead- weight and up to 228 metres in length and 26.8 metres beam. Plans are going ahead to expand some of these facilities and to transfer them from the central harbour area to a new location on the west coast of Tsing Yi Island, at the same time establishing new facilities there. There is already a floating dry dock off Tsing Yi with a lifting capacity of 100,000 tonnes deadweight. Hong Kong has more than 130 minor shipyards equipped to undertake repairs to small vessels. These yards also build specialised craft, partic- ularly sophisticated pleasure craft and yachts.

Hong Kong is a prominent centre for recruiting seamen. More than 26,000 Hong Kong seamen serve on board some 1,500 foreign-going vessels of various nationalities. The Seamen's Recruiting Office and the Mercantile Marine Office register and super- vise the employment of seamen on board vessels of all flags. In March, the Governor in Council ordered that a Hong Kong Merchant Navy Training Board be established to assess the training needs of local seamen and to consider measures that would improve their training standards and thereby enhance their employment prospects. The board has 16 members, including representatives of relevant government departments, sea- men's training schools and employer and employee associations. Six specialist sub- committees, each dealing with a separate area in the training of seafarers, have since been formed under the board.

The Mariners' Clubs in Kowloon and Kwai Chung provide recreational and welfare facilities of a high standard for visiting seamen of all nationalities.

Transport in Hong Kong

Sometimes it must seem that all of Hong Kong's population of more than 4.5 million is out on the roads. The pavements of the urban areas are crowded with pedestrians at all hours of the day and, to move further afield, these 4.5 million people make 6.1 million public transport trips each day. They travel by ferry, rail, bus or any other of the varied