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| Home > Publications and press releases > Press Releases | ||
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| Safety measures at Victoria Harbour for fireworks display | ||
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| The Marine Department, Marine Police and
the Fire Services Department will jointly implement a series of
traffic arrangement in Victoria Harbour on the day of the 1997
Lunar New Year Fireworks Display on February 8 (Saturday) to ensure
public safety.
The fireworks will be discharged from barges moored in Central Victoria Harbour off Wan Chai at 8 pm and will last for about 23 minutes. This year, a laser show will be staged simultaneously with the fireworks display to create special visual effects. 
In the 1996 event, the Marine Department recorded more than 300 craft assembled in the central harbour for the display. Five barges for discharging the fireworks will be moored in Central Victoria Harbour in the afternoon of February 8. An area encompassing these barges will be established as a closed area between 2 pm and 9 pm. "This area will be closed to all traffic except for Government craft and vessels directly involved in the fireworks display," Mr Tsang said. To keep vessels clear from the marine works sites off Central and Wan Chai, a restricted area will be set up between 7 pm and 9 pm on that day. The restricted area is bounded on the east side by a straight line joining Hung Hom Railway Station Cargo Pier and the breakwater at Kellet Island near the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club, Causeway Bay. The western boundary is a straight line joining the southwest extremely of Ocean Terminal, Tsim Sha Tsui and the Central Government Pier. "No vessels other than Government craft, vessels directly involved in the fireworks display or those which have obtained permission from the Director of Marine will be allowed to anchor or to be underway within the restricted area," Mr Tsang said. He added: "Special permission will only be given to public transport vessels and those for the essential operation of the port. Applications from spectator vessels for viewing the display will not be entertained." Some ferry companies using their vessels for watching the fireworks display will be positioned well to the east outside the restricted area, in the sea area between Hung Hom and Causeway Bay. To facilitate crowd control on shore landing steps at Queen's Pier, Lung King Street, Kowloon Public Pier and Tsim Sha Tsui East promenade will be closed to marine traffic from 7 pm to 9 pm; Hung Hom East steps from 7 pm to 8.30 pm. Mr Tsang urged vessels, if possible, to use landings in areas away from Central, Wan Chai and Tsim Sha Tsui. Two sterile areas will be set up at Queen's Pier and Kowloon Public Pier receptively from 9 pm to 10 pm to ensure safe navigation and orderly disembarkation of passengers after the fireworks display. Marine Police launches will line up to mark the two sterile areas. Mr Tsang said that a vessel intending to use either of the piers was required to wait at a designated gathering area for the direction from the Marine Department and the Marine Police to enter the sterile area from the east and depart from the west. He added the two landing steps at the western end of Kowloon Public Pier would be closed to all vessels until 10 pm. Should there be any postponement due to inclement weather conditions, the fireworks display will be held on February 9 (Sunday). In this case the closed area, restricted area and sterile areas will be effective during the same periods on February 9. Due to the arrangement scheduled ferry services in the central harbour will be suspended between 7.20 pm and 9 pm while some will be rescheduled as early as 6 pm and some will not resume service until 9 pm. The Marine Department has published a Marine Department Notice No. 15 of 1997 to give full details of the special marine control measures. Free copies of the notice are available from the Victoria Marine Office on the third floor, Harbour Building, 38 Pier Road, Hong Kong and also from Marine Department Homepage on the Internet. The address is http://www.info.gov.hk/mardep/index.htm. Mr Tsang recommended masters, owners and operators of vessels to get copies of the notice and read it. As general advice small vessels, particularly those with no decking, or small vessels of a length less than five metres should not proceed to or remain in the envisaged heavy traffic central harbour area in the evening of the fireworks display since such vessels were vulnerable to the wash from large vessels and were not easily detected by larger vessels, Mr Tsang said. Before proceeding on the voyage, a master should make sure that :
In the evening of the fireworks display, the safe speed to proceed should not exceed five knots while a proper look-out must be maintained at all times, he said. "During darkness, bright light interferes with keeping a proper look-out. Therefore, cabin lights should be switched off and searchlights should not be used." Mr Tsang pointed out that there would be a large number of Marine Department, Marine Police and Fire Services vessels identified by their flashing red or flashing blue lights either stationed or patrolling in the central harbour area. Masters should follow any instructions originated from these vessels. In the event that a vessel is in danger and requires assistance, its master can :
28 January, 1997 |
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