>Press Releases Home > Publications and press releases > Press Releases Consultancy Study for Mid-Stream Operations The Marine Department has carried out a unique study exploring ways of developing a safer system for mid-stream operations, which handle a third of container throughput in Hong Kong. The work is often hazardous as it involves stevedores working on top of containers to engage and disengage slings to the corners of cargo containers. An average of four stevedores are killed in Hong Kong each year, which prompted the department to commission an independent consultancy study by Scott Wilson (HK) Ltd in conjunction with DNV Technica. The major findings are: *120 stevedores will be killed over the next 20 years if no changes are made to the existing mid-stream operating practices. *Mid-stream container handling is not widely used outside Hong Kong. *Mainland coasters or river trade vessels are involved in many of the accidents. *Short-term measures include implementing safer equipment and practice procedures, reducing workers' exposure to hazards and using safe cages for personnel involved in the manual slinging of a container. *If cages are to be used with existing derrick cranes there is still a potential danger due to the failure of crane equipment or from human error by the crane operator, since existing derrick cranes were not fitted with fail-safe operation modes. *In the medium-term, improving worker safety can be achieved by modifying existing lifting equipment to include a fail-safe mechanism. *The long-term aim should be to ban stevedores from working on container tops and in the immediate area around moving containers. This can be achieved by using fully automatic spreaders with lighters and lifting equipment that have been redesigned to within the required safety standards. More protected mid-stream sites may also be required and this would have to be considered in future port planning. *There is a growing international trend to ban stevedores working on container tops, an option that should be considered in Hong Kong. As a result of the study, the Marine Department has drafted a safety code for all mid-stream operations. Seminars and courses for works supervisors; crane operators and stevedores will also be organised. Saturday, 24 June 2000
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