ENG-2008 — Page 320

256 Transport

to load and unload cargo onto and from barges and coasters. The combined length of berths in these working areas is 6 672 metres.

Collection of Marine Refuse and Waste

The Marine Department's contractors collect domestic refuse from both ocean-going and local vessels. Sewage and oily chemical waste are collected from ships by registered collectors. The collected sewage is taken to the sewage treatment facility in the harbour for disposal, and the oily chemical waste is shipped to the Chemical Waste Treatment Centre on Tsing Yi Island for treatment.

Combating Oil Pollution

The Marine Department maintains a maritime oil spill response plan to ensure a timely and effective response to oil spills in Hong Kong waters.

The department has signed a co-operation agreement with the port administration of Guangdong, Macao and Shenzhen to adopt the Regional Maritime Oil Spill from Ship Response Plan for the Pearl River Estuary as the action guide for regional co-operation on response to major maritime oil spills from ships.

In November, the department's Pollution Control Unit organised a large-scale, oil spill clean-up drill to test the readiness and preparedness of government departments concerned and local oil companies in handling major oil spill from ships.

Shipping

Hong Kong Shipping Register

The Hong Kong Shipping Register, administered by the Marine Department, is regarded highly as a world-class register providing excellent services. For six consecutive years, the register continues to maintain its status as a quality flag under the US Coast Guard's QUALSHIP 21 Scheme.

The Hong Kong Shipping Register continued to attract quality ships in 2008. The total gross tonnage of ships registered in Hong Kong in 2008 exceeded 39 million tonnes, making the Hong Kong Shipping Register one of the top five shipping registers in the world.

To maintain high standards, the department conducts the Pre-registration Quality Control (PRQC) assessment of ships intending to join the register; and implements a Flag State Quality Control (FSQC) System to ensure ships on the register comply with international standards. During the year, the department's surveyors and auditors carried out a total of 10 PRQC inspections and made 45 FSQC visits to ships and related companies. As a result of these quality control measures, the Port State Control detention rate of Hong Kong-registered ships remained well below the world average, which enabled the Hong Kong flag to maintain its position amongst the top performance flags in the white list established by both the Paris and Tokyo Memorandum of Understanding of Port State Control.