ENG-1980 — Page 229

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COMMUNICATIONS AND TRANSPORT

Victoria Harbour, lying between Hong Kong Island and the city of Kowloon, is regarded as one of the three most perfect natural harbours in the world and has an area of 6,000 hectares varying in width from 1.6 to 9.6 kilometres.

Administration of the port is one of the responsibilities of the Director of Marine. To ensure that port facilities and services continue to develop with the changing needs of Hong Kong and of the ships which use the port, the director is advised on its administration by the Port Committee and the Port Executive Committee, through which the closest liaison with Hong Kong's shipping and commercial interests is maintained.

The Kwai Chung Container Terminal, which ranks among the top three container termi- nals in the world, handled 1.48 million TEU's (20-foot equivalent units) in 1980. The terminal has six berths totalling more than 2,300 metres fronting on to about 85 hectares of cargo-handling space, which includes container yards and container freight stations. Up to six 'third generation' containerships can be accommodated and worked simultaneously at these berths, all of which are operated by private companies or consortia.

In 1980, some 10,229 ocean-going vessels called at Hong Kong and loaded and discharged more than 30 million tonnes of cargo. This included 24 million tonnes of general goods, 55 per cent of which was containerised cargo.

Despite the impact of containerisation, a considerable amount of dry cargo handled in Hong Kong is still transported at some stage by about 2,024 lighters and junks. The ratio of mechanised junks has slightly decreased to about 29 per cent of the total. Shipboard gear is normally used for loading and discharging break-bulk cargo, but floating heavy-lift cranes are available when required.

On average, conventional ships working cargo at buoys are in port for 2.8 days and con- tainer ships are here for just 21.5 hours - including steaming, berthing and unberthing time. These are probably the fastest turn-round times for ships in the Far East and-have been facilitated by the modern equipment that has been brought into use by the wharf and godown companies. A mobile floating roll-on-roll-off ramp is operated by one of the Kwai Chung Container Terminal operators who, in September, 1979, commenced construction of a 12-storey, multi-purpose godown with a usable floor area of 52,400 square metres – the first two floors of which will serve as a container freight station. Another 16-storey godown with a usable floor area of 79,000 square metres is located nearby at Tsuen Wan and is equipped with container lifts serving all floors.

Most wharves and terminals are provided and operated by private enterprise and they are capable of accommodating vessels of up to 305 metres in length, with draughts of up to 12.2 metres. Facilities in the public sector include the Hong Kong - Macau Ferry Terminal and the public cargo-working areas at Wan Chai, Yau Ma Tei, Tsuen Wan and Kwun Tong. These areas are administered by the Marine Department. Government policy calls for the continued provision of public cargo-working areas throughout Hong Kong to keep internal cargo movement swift and efficient.

Within the port, there are 72 mooring buoys provided and maintained by the Marine Department for ocean-going vessels. Of these, 44 are suitable for vessels of up to 183 metres in length and, the remainder, for ships of up to 135 metres in length. The moorings include 60 special typhoon buoys, which are so located that ships can remain secured during tropical storms. This obviates unnecessary ship movements and so helps to maintain efficiency and reduce operational costs. Safe anchorages are available for deep-draught vessels.

There is considerable tourist and other sea passenger traffic between Hong Kong and Macau, and in 1980 more than 6.6 million passengers were carried by the jetfoils, hydrofoils