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Transport

Seafarers

The department's Shipping Registry and Seafarers Branch supervises the registration, employment, competence, discipline, health, safety and welfare of Hong Kong seafarers and seafarers working on board Hong Kong-registered ships. During the year, 52,357 seafarers of different nationalities served on board Hong Kong-registered seagoing ships and 955 officers and ratings served on high-speed ferries plying the Pearl River Delta (PRD) region.

The Sea-going Training Incentive Scheme encourages youngsters to join the maritime profession in Hong Kong by providing financial incentives to take up seagoing cadetship training. In 2019, the scheme signed up 45 cadets.

Participation in International Maritime Activities

International Maritime Organisation

The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government, under the name 'Hong Kong, China, is an associate member of the IMO and has a permanent representative in London. The Hong Kong maritime industry is consulted on, and informed of, all issues discussed at IMO meetings that may affect Hong Kong. These topics include maritime safety and security, marine pollution, maritime laws, seafarers' training and standards of certification. HKSAR Government officials attended 18 IMO meetings in 2019.

Port State Control

Hong Kong is a member of the MoU on Port State Control in the Asia-Pacific. The Marine Department leads an Advisory Group for Technical Cooperation Programmes and is also a member of other working groups. In 2019, the department conducted 705 initial Port State Control inspections on 14 per cent of all foreign ocean-going ships which visited Hong Kong. It detained 2.9 per cent of the ships inspected because of serious deficiencies that needed immediate attention.

Maritime Search and Rescue

The Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre acts on distress alerts and coordinates search and rescue operations within Hong Kong waters and for about 450,000 square nautical miles of international waters of the South China Sea.

Government Fleet and Dockyard

A fleet of more than 900 government vessels serves 14 government departments. Eighty-three of these vessels are managed by the Marine Department to serve its port operations and the needs of other government departments. The vessels it manages include patrol launches, purpose-built conveyance launches, pontoons, hydrographic survey launches and explosives carriers. In 2019, the department also contracted 30 vessels, including conveyance launches and tugboats.

The Government Dockyard, managed by the department's Government Fleet Division, designs, procures, repairs and maintains all government vessels. It occupies a 9.8-hectare site on Stonecutters Island and has an 8.3-hectare sheltered water basin to moor vessels. There are

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