A regional training course on marine casualty
investigation was kicked off today (June 3) following a reception
officiated by the Acting Director of Marine, Mr Tsang Man-ching.
The two-week course, to be held from today until next Friday (June
14) at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, is jointly organised
by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) and the Hong
Kong Special Administrative Region Government (HKSARG) for practicing
marine accident investigators from countries in the Asia and Pacific
Islands Region.
Speaking at the reception, the Acting Director of Marine, Mr
Tsang Man-ching, said: " Our main objective in providing
technical co-operation to IMO is to contribute our effort in enhancing
standards of international shipping."
"It is my hope that the training course will not only help
improve the standards in marine accident investigations, but also
foster the co-operation and sharing of experience amongst the
marine administrations within the region."
Noting that it was a great pride for Hong Kong to hold the event
for the second time in co-operation with the IMO, Mr Tsang said
the course aimed at assisting investigators of national maritime
administrations in the Asia and Pacific Islands Region to uniformly
carry out investigations into marine casualties and incidents
in accordance with IMO resolution on the Code for the Investigation
of Marine Casualties and Incidents.
He said the course would cover investigation system, human factors
affecting accidents, interviewing skills, casualties and incident
analysis and case studies.
To enrich the curriculum, he said field visits to the Marine
Department's Vessel Traffic Centre and Maritime Rescue Co-ordination
Centre would also be arranged.
Assistance from several distinguished experts with different
experiences from overseas, the Mainland and Hong Kong have been
obtained in running the course, Mr Tsang added.
Six officials from Hong Kong and 15 officials from 13 countries
take part in the course.
The participating countries include Bangladesh, Cambodia, China,
India, Iran, Korea DPR, Republic of Korea, Maldives, Myanmar,
Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam.
Monday, June 3, 2002
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