ENG-2013 — Page 280

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Transport

Maritime Search and Rescue

The Marine Department's Maritime Rescue Co-ordination Centre (MRCC) co-ordinates search and rescue operations within Hong Kong waters and in international waters of the South China Sea. Its area of responsibility covers about 450,000 square nautical miles. The MRCC is manned by professional staff and equipped with modern communications equipment for receiving distress alerts and communicating with ships.

The Hong Kong MRCC is one of the eight maritime members nominated by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) to participate in a 16-member international joint working group, which was established by the International Civil Aviation Organisation and the IMO to discuss aeronautical and maritime search and rescue issues.

Government Fleet and Dockyard

Government Fleet

The government fleet, with over 800 vessels, serves 14 government departments. The Marine Department itself controls and manages 75 vessels, of which 43 are manned by the department. These include patrol launches, purpose-built conveyance launches, pontoons, hydrographic survey launches and explosives carriers. These vessels either support the department's own port operations or serve other departments that do not have their own fleets. In 2013, the Marine Department also had 26 vessels provided under contract by private operators, including conveyance launches, tugboats and various marine transport services for the department.

Government Dockyard

The Government Dockyard, managed by the Government Fleet Division, designs, procures and maintains all government vessels. It occupies a site of 9.8 hectares on Stonecutters Island and has a sheltered water basin of 8.3 hectares as one of the Marine Department's operational bases. For repair and maintenance of vessels, the dockyard has four movable canopies, 12 covered docking and repair sheds and 22 open-yard docking cradle spaces, supported by a ship-lift system and three ship-hoists capable of dry docking vessels of up to 750 tonnes.

In 2013, 34 new small craft, costing $2.63 million, were built for the government and 14 new craft building contracts, worth $36.63 million, were awarded to shipbuilders in Hong Kong and overseas. The total expenditure in maintaining the Government Dockyard systems and government fleet was close to $432 million.

Marine Facilities

Hong Kong is one of the world's busiest ports, and marine civil works are essential to keep the port running smoothly. The Civil Engineering and Development Department (CEDD) carries out maintenance work on public landing steps and ferry piers and terminals, the Kai Tak Cruise Terminal, breakwaters, and other public marine facilities, as well as ensuring regular maintenance dredging of the harbour, navigation channels and major river channels. The works contract for dredging the seabed of Kwai Tsing Container Basin and portions of the Northern Fairway and Western Fairway commenced in August 2013. The CEDD currently maintains 506

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