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The Marine Department today (November 4) held an annual joint exercise, code-named "Oilex 2009", off Tsing Lung Garden, Tuen Mun, to test the responses of government departments and the oil industry in combating oil pollution in Hong Kong waters under the Maritime Oil Spill Response Plan.
A spokesman for the Marine Department said that "Oilex 2009" enabled organisations related to responding to and handling oil spills to validate their key functions and have individual and team knowledge, skills and capabilities examined.
Besides the Marine Department, six government departments, the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department, Auxiliary Medical Service, Civil Aid Service, Food and Environmental Hygiene Department, Government Flying Service and Police Force, as well as six companies - Chevron Hong Kong Ltd, ExxonMobil (HK) Ltd, Hong Kong Response Ltd, Kai Fat Oil Pollution Response Ltd, Shell Hong Kong Ltd and Sinopec (Hong Kong) Petroleum Holding Co Ltd - took part in today's exercise.
The spokesman gave details of the scenario of the exercise: A tanker carrying 3,000 tonnes of fuel oil to an oil terminal in Tsing Yi had her hull damaged and had to be beached off Tsing Lung Garden to avoid sinking. The scenario posed oil pollution threats to the nearby beaches, resort facilities and a yacht club along the Hong Kong Gold Coast in Tuen Mun.
Parties involving in the Oilex 2009 set up a ring of oil containment booms around the tanker while the tanker owner's salvage teams plugged an underwater gash on the vessel. Two lines of oil containment booms were also rigged to deflect oil streaks from reaching the nearby rocky coastlines which would be very difficult to clean. Techniques in oil spill recovery by absorption mopping, water carpets, skimmers, sea and air spraying oil dispersant, shoreline clean-up and recovery of the booms and retrieval of the equipment were also practised in the exercise.
The Maritime Oil Spill Response Plan, maintained by the Marine Department, is aimed at ensuring a timely and effective response to oil spills in Hong Kong waters.
The Marine Department has also signed a co-operation agreement with the Maritime Administrations of Guangdong, Macao and Shenzhen to adopt the Regional Maritime Oil Spill from Ship Response Plan for the Pearl River Estuary as the action guide for the regional co-operation in responses to major maritime oil spills from ships.
Ends/Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Issued at HKT 13:20
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