Combating Oil Pollution in the Harbour

The Pollution Control Unit of the Marine Department formulates the
government's Oil Pollution Contingency Plan and cleans up oil spills. For
clean-up jobs, the unit is equipped with a dedicated oil pollution control
launch, five tugs capable of dispersing oil spills with chemical dispersant,
one oil skimming boat and an oil storage vessel.

Each year, the unit co-ordinates a major oil pollution exercise involving oil
companies and government departments such as the Government Flying
Services and Civil Aid Services. The latest exercise was held in late
August 1997 in the East Lamma Channel, the main traffic lane for ships
entering into Hong Kong. Delegates from the Shenzhen Harbour
Superintendency Administration, the Zhuhai Harbour Superintendency
Administration and the Macau Marine Department were invited to
participate.

Regular meetings have been held quarterly with neighbouring Pearl River
Delta ports such as Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Zhuhai and Macau. A basic
information exchange network has been set up to enable information on a
major oil spill occurring in one port to be immediately known to other
ports.

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