Hong Kong 2006 - Transport

The department manages two cross-boundary ferry terminals: the Macao Ferry Terminal with 12 berths and the China Ferry Terminal with 13 berths. The Macao Ferry Terminal operates round-the-clock. The China Ferry Terminal is open from 7 am to 10 pm from Monday to Friday, and from 7 am to 2 am on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays. The Tuen Mun Ferry Terminal, co-managed by the tenant and Marine Department, opened for service between Hong Kong and Zhuhai on 3 November 2006. The terminal operates daily from 7 am to 10 pm and has three berths.

Immigration and quarantine services are available at the Western Quarantine and Immigration Anchorage and the Eastern Quarantine and Immigration Anchorage. Shipping agents may apply for immigration and quarantine services, including advance clearance, for ships.

The Tuen Mun Immigration Anchorage operates 24 hours a day for river trade vessels plying between Hong Kong and Pearl River Delta ports. Pre-arrival clearance has been extended to all Mainland river and coastal trade vessels. Operators of such vessels may submit pre-arrival clearance applications to the Harbour Control Section of the Immigration Department.

The department provides a total of 31 mooring buoys for ship operations. There are 21 class 'A' buoys for vessels of up to 183 metres long and 10 class 'B' buoys for vessels of up to 137 metres in length. Booking of these mooring buoys may be made through the Vessel Traffic Centre.

Bunkering is readily available at commercial wharves and oil terminals or from a large fleet of private bunkering barges. Bunker supplies meet the latest requirements under Annex VI of the MARPOL 73/78 Convention on marine pollution. Fresh water can also be obtained alongside berths or from a private fleet of water boats.

The port has extensive facilities for repairing, docking and slipping all types of vessels of up to 300 metres long and 42 metres wide. The department's Marine Industrial Safety Section carries out safety checks on vessels free of charge. It also issues permits for vessels to undergo repairs. As part of its safety advisory service, the section publishes free leaflets and pamphlets on safe working practices to adopt when repairing ships, when breaking them up, when handling cargo and during marine construction work.

The Local Vessel Safety Section provides survey and certification services for local vessels to make sure they comply with safety and pollution prevention requirements. When the Merchant Shipping (Local Vessels) Ordinance goes into effect in 2007, certain types of local vessels may also be examined by private organisations or professionals authorised by the Marine Department.

The department manages eight public cargo working areas where licensed cargo handlers are allowed to load and unload cargo onto and from barges and coasters. The combined length of berths in these working areas is 7 044 metres.

The department provides contractor services to collect domestic sewage and refuse from ocean-going vessels and local vessels. The Chemical Waste Treatment Centre on Tsing Yi Island provides facilities for handling oily and chemical waste collected from ships by registered contractors.

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

There is also a regional maritime oil spill response plan for the Pearl River Estuary to enhance regional cooperation in the event of a major oil spill occurring in Hong Kong or in any of the neighbouring ports in Shenzhen, Zhuhai, Macao and Guangzhou.

In November, the department's Pollution Control Unit organised a large-scale, oil-spill clean-up exercise in which all concerned government departments and local oil companies took part.