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Following is the question by the Hon James To and a written reply by the Secretary for Economic Development and Labour, Mr Stephen Ip, in the Legislative Council today (June 6):
Question:
In reply to my question in December last year, the Government advised that the three pieces of subsidiary legislation to be made under the Merchant Shipping (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Ordinance (Cap. 413) were expected to be published in the gazette for tabling in the Legislative Council in the first half of this year, and that the Marine Department had been conducting spot checks to monitor excessive emissions of smoke from vessels. However, the Government had not conducted a study on the extent of air pollution caused by the operation of Kwai Chung Container Terminals. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) of the latest progress in the enactment of the above subsidiary legislation;
(b) of the number of spot checks conducted by the Marine Department each month and the number of cases in which the owners concerned were convicted for excessive smoke emissions by their vessels in the past three years, with a breakdown of the convicted cases by the amount of fines and offences;
(c) whether, before such subsidiary legislation is enacted, the Government will consider implementing tax concessions or other concessionary measures to encourage vessel owners to use cleaner fuel;
(d) whether the Government will consider providing onshore electricity supply in the smaller cargo working areas, such as the New Yau Ma Tei Public Cargo Working Area, to encourage vessels to switch to using onshore electricity while berthing, with a view to reducing air pollution caused by vessels; and
(e) whether it will consider conducting a study on the extent of air pollution caused by the operation of Kwai Chung Container Terminals?
Reply:
(a) The proposed Merchant Shipping (Prevention of Air Pollution) Regulation for the implementation in Hong Kong of Annex VI to the "International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships, 1973, as modified by the Protocol of 1978 relating thereto" (MARPOL) has reached the final stage of drafting. We expect to table this regulation at the Legislative Council (LegCo) in July this year.
The above regulation will, among other things, specify the requirements for survey and certification. In this connection, amendments to the Merchant Shipping (Prevention and Control of Pollution)(Fees) Regulation are required to specify the fees for such services. Submission of this amendment regulation to the Executive Council can only take place after the Merchant Shipping (Prevention of Air Pollution) Regulation is published in gazette. We expect to table the amendment regulation at LegCo later this year.
Moreover, we proposed in February 2006 to amend the Merchant Shipping (Prevention of Oil Pollution) Regulation to implement the amendments to MARPOL Annex I, and have consulted the Economic Services Panel on this legislative proposal. Nevertheless, while the regulation is being drafted, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) has adopted additional amendments to MARPOL Annex I; some other amendments have also come into force internationally after a sufficient number of convention countries have ratified such amendments. In this connection, we have to incorporate the relevant updates on the convention into the Merchant Shipping (Prevention of Oil Pollution) Regulation. Once the new legislative proposal is ready, we shall consult the Economic Services Panel again.
(b) Section 50(1) of the Shipping and Port Control Ordinance stipulates that no vessel in the waters of Hong Kong shall emit smoke in such quantity as to be a nuisance.
The number of inspections conducted by the Marine Department on smoke emissions by vessels in the past three years is set out as follows:
2004 2005 2006
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January 1 1 2
February 1 4 0
March 1 1 0
April 0 0 4
May 3 0 3
June 2 1 3
July 1 0 7
August 3 2 13
September 3 0 6
October 2 1 3
November 3 1 11
December 1 0 6
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Total 21 11 58
In 2004, there was one conviction against a breach of Section 50(1) of the Shipping and Port Control Ordinance, and the fine was $2,500. In 2006, there were seven convictions. Three cases were subject to a fine of $1,000 each, and the fines for the other four cases were $1,500, $3,000, $3,500 and $6,000 respectively.
(c) Any proposal on tax concessions or other concessionary measures would require a detailed study of their effectiveness and their financial implications for the Government. Meanwhile, we would focus on the preparation of the legislation, and have no plan to redeploy resources for the study of other concessionary measures.
(d) Among container ports, at present only one designated berth at the Port of Los Angeles provides shore power. A number of complementary measures are required before cargo vessels can switch off their engines and switch to shore power supply after berthing. These include shore power facilities on board and the power supply systems on shore and at the terminals. There is yet to be an internationally-recognised standard for shore power supply and facilities on board for the shipping industry. As such, we do not consider it practicable to provide shore power supply in public cargo working area or other berthing facilities.
(e) The Environmental Protection Department compiles a territory-wide inventory of air pollutants emitted in Hong Kong on a yearly basis, including the pollutants emitted from ships. Unless otherwise specified for specific circumstances, the above-mentioned Merchant Shipping (Prevention of Air Pollution) Regulation will also apply to all ships in Hong Kong waters, including those berthed in container terminals. The Government has no plan to conduct separate air pollution studies specific to the operation of the container terminals.
Ends/Wednesday, June 6, 2007
Issued at HKT 12:15
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