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Expansion of Hong Kong International Airport into a Three-Runway System |
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Marine Travel Routes and Management Plan for Construction and Associated Vessels Document No. 355482/06/04.02
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Chapter
Title
Figure 5‑4 Indicative Marine Travel Route after the
Operation of Interim 2RS
Figure 5‑5 Potential Routes to Typhoon Shelters
Figure 7‑5b Dolphin Habitat Index and Marine Travel
Routes after the Operation of
Interim 2RS
Figure 8‑1 Typical Marine Traffic Monitoring System
Tables
Table 2‑1 Indicative Working Vessels Involved in the
Construction Activities
1. Introduction
1.1
Background
The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) approved
in principle the adoption of the Three-Runway System (3RS) as the future
development option for Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) for planning
purposes on 20 March 2012, and also approved the recommendation of Airport
Authority Hong Kong (AAHK) to proceed with the statutory environmental impact
assessment (EIA). An EIA study brief (ESB-250/2012) for the 3RS project
(henceforth referred to as the ‘project’) was issued by the Environmental
Protection Department (EPD) on 10 August 2012. The EIA report has been
prepared according to the EIA study brief requirements, which identified 12 key
environmental assessment aspects to be addressed as part of the EIA study.
On 7 November 2014, the EIA for the project (EIA Register No.:
AEIAR-185/2014) was approved and an Environmental Permit (EP) (Permit No.:
EP-489/2014) was issued for the project. The project locations with
indication of land formation area including area reserved for aviation support
development are shown in Appendix A.
The project is located on a new land formation immediately north of HKIA
in North Lantau, covering a permanent footprint of approximately 650 ha. As
stated in the approved EIA report, the project primarily comprises:
§ New third runway with associated
taxiways, aprons and aircraft stands;
§ New passenger concourse building;
§ Expansion of the existing Terminal 2
(T2) building; and
§ Related airside and landside works,
and associated ancillary and supporting facilities.
Mott MacDonald Hong Kong Limited is commissioned to prepare the Marine
Travel Routes and Management Plan for Construction and Associated Vessels in
accordance with the Environmental Permit to minimise
the chance of vessel collision and the disturbance to the Chinese White
Dolphins (CWD) during construction of the project.
1.2
Purpose
of the Plan
This Marine Travel Routes and Management Plan for Construction and Associated
Vessels was prepared and submitted in December 2015 in accordance with
Condition 2.9 of the Environmental Permit (EP-489/2014). The Plan which
described the regular marine travel routes of construction and associated
vessels travelling to and from the Works Area, and relevant specifications to minimise the chance of vessel collision and the disturbance
to the CWDs was approved in December 2015.
The purpose of this updated Marine Travel Routes and Management Plan for
Construction and Associated Vessels (hereafter as the “Updated Plan”) is based on the updated detailed design
and construction requirements, and update Hong Kong International Airport
Approach Area (HKIAAA). At the time of the submission of this Updated
Plan, substantial progress on filling operations of the reclamation works has
been achieved, with the marine-based Deep Cement Mixing works substantially
completed in 2020 and land formation works were approximately 95% completed.
Part of waters within the existing HKIAAA No. 3 and No. 7 at the northern
part of the HKIA would no longer exist after the completion of reclamation
works. Moreover, in order to upkeep the aviation and marine safety
requirements for the commissioning of the Interim Two-Runway System (2RS) (i.e.
when the new runway and the existing South Runway are used
whilst the existing North Runway is closed for construction) scheduled for 2022
and the 3RS in 2024, the boundaries of HKIAAA No. 3 and No. 7 have been
expanded. In this regard, the marine travel route as proposed in previous
plan has to be updated to cater for the operation of the Interim 2RS.
A summary of the major update in May 2022 is shown in Appendix D. The implementation schedule of the recommended
mitigation measures for the Plan is presented in Appendix E. This Updated Plan includes
but not limited to the following information / specifications:
(i) detailed technical guidelines to avoid adverse
water quality impacts for compliance of Contractors over the operation of
barges and construction vessels to be deployed in the project area (Section
3);
(ii) practices or measures to keep stationary and moving construction-related
vessels, including construction plants, construction vessels, delivery barges,
and passenger vessels for staff, to a practical minimum (Section 4);
(iii) predefined and regular routes for construction vessels covering waters
both inside and outside the Works Area (Section 5);
(iv) training with proper record for all vessel captains working in the area,
prior to construction, to educate them about local cetaceans, as well as
guidelines for safe vessel operations in the presence of the CWD (Section 6);
and
(v) speed limit of 10 knots for construction vessels within Works Area and
hotspots of the CWD (Section 7).
2.1
Introduction
This section presents a brief description of the types of 3RS
construction activities that are relevant to this Plan. Details of working
vessels that would typically be utilised for each
type of construction activity were also described, in order to identify areas
where potential impacts to water quality and CWDs could be minimised
during the construction phase, and as such fulfill the requirements of the EP
as stated in Section 1.2.
2.2
Non-construction
Related Activities
There are various types of non-construction related activities proposed
to be undertaken during the construction phase. These included survey boats,
monitoring vessels and sampling vessels related to environmental monitoring and
auditing (EM&A) and site investigation vessels related to quality control
measures, and voluntary patrol vessels at the marine park and Dolphin
Protection Areas. The above mentioned vessels will not form part of the
construction and associated vessels under this Updated Plan.
2.3
Construction
Methods
The 3RS project is located on a new land formation immediately north of
HKIA in North Lantau, covering a permanent footprint of approximately 650 ha.
For the purpose of this Updated Plan, only those construction activities which
are marine-based or would utilize construction and associated vessels are
described in this section. Relevant activities include land formation, diversion of submarine
aviation fuel pipelines, diversion of submarine 11kV cables, construction of
runway approach lights, construction of marker buoys and general activities.
2.3.1
Land
Formation
The main components of land
formation comprise modification of the existing seawall, ground improvement of the underlying marine
sediments, new seawall
construction and filling. Ground improvement in lieu of dredging will be
adopted to minimise any impacts to water quality and marine ecology. Marine
site investigation (S.I.) works will be conducted regularly as quality control
measures during ground improvement and reclamation works.
2.3.1.1 Modification of Existing Seawall
To connect the new land formation area with the existing airport island,
the seawall along the northern perimeter of the airport island needs to be
modified to interface with the new land formation.
2.3.1.2 Geotextile and Sand Blanket Laying
The methods for
sand blanket laying would include closed grab dredgers, hydraulic pumping with
spreader pontoon and other methods as shown in Silt Curtain Deployment Plan.
Where such closed grab dredgers are adopted, the proposed silt curtain would be
a full enclosure cage-type surrounding the grab of the dredger (such full
enclosures are typically associated with higher silt removal efficiency). Where
hydraulic pumping with spreader pontoon is adopted, a double-layer floating
silt curtain surrounding the sand blanket laying activity would be
implemented. For other methods, contractor’s customised cage type silt
curtain would be implemented. Upon commencement of the marine filling activities with advance seawall
and enhanced silt curtain surrounding the reclamation area, the remaining sand
blanket laying activities would be protected by the seawall and the enhanced
silt curtain. The localised full-enclosure-type
silt curtains surrounding the sand blanket laying activities would no longer be
required. The geotextile and sand blanket laying works were completed in May
2020.
2.3.1.3 Ground Improvement of the Underlying
Marine Sediments
Various ground improvement methods, including Deep Cement Mixing (DCM)[1], and Prefabricated Vertical Drains (PVD)
have been proposed for the 3RS project. The ground improvement methods to be
adopted vary depending on location (within or outside the contamination mud pit
(CMP) boundaries) and the ‘land type’ to be supported.
2.3.1.4 Seawall Construction
The majority of the seawalls for the airport expansion will comprise
sloping seawalls, except for some localised areas where vertical seawalls are
required. These seawalls will cover the entire boundary of the new land
formation. Due to spatial constraints within each Works Area, sectional
construction of the seawall shall not commence until after the completion of
the respective seawall ground improvement works in that section.
2.3.1.5 Marine and Land Filling
Different fill materials including rock fill, public fill, sand fill,
rock armour and graded filter layer will be used to form the land and seawalls.
Seawalls will comprise of rock fill as the seawall core, and rock armour and
graded filter layer to form the protective layers.
2.3.2 Diversion of Submarine Aviation Fuel Pipelines
Diversion of the existing submarine aviation fuel pipelines used a
horizontal directional drilling (HDD) method forming pipeline tuned by drilling
through bedrock from a launching site located at the west of the airport island
to the daylighting point adjacent to the Aviation Fuel Receiving Facility at Sha Chau, outside the land
formation footprint (see Appendix A -
Figure). The diversion of submarine aviation fuel pipeline was completed
in January 2019. Although the diversion of aviation fuel pipelines did
not involve major marine-based construction activities, a positioning barge was
deployed to check the alignment of horizontal directional drill pipe (HDDP) and
a floating platform was set up in the Sha Chau and Lung Kwu Chau Marine Park (SCLKCMP) to support the HDD daylighting and pipelines
connection works on land.
Transportation vessels were also used to transport site staff to the
Works Area located within the marine park.
2.3.3
Diversion
of Submarine 11kV Cables
The existing 11kV Submarine Cable connecting HKIA and Sha Chau required
to be diverted to facilitate the new land formation. A short section of marine
approach trench (approximately 20 m) was formed to facilitate the cable laying
operation. The submarine cable laying and burying works were conducted by
water jetting method, which fed high pressure water into the blade of the jet
sled and the blade be lowered until full penetration. The diversion of
Submarine 11kV cables was completed in January 2019.
2.3.4
Construction
of Runway Approach Lights
The approach lights will extend off the eastern and western edges of the
new land formation into the adjacent marine waters. The section of the
approach lights in marine waters will be installed on small marine structures
supported with piles, on top of which the light barrettes will be placed.
A maintenance deck in the form of a metal bridge extended from each end
of the runway will be installed to allow access to these structures. The
eastern section of the approach lights for the third runway is anticipated to
extend into an area of CMPs. Therefore, the area beneath each light stand will
be improved with DCM prior to piling.
2.3.5
Construction
of Hong Kong International Airport Approach Area (HKIAAA)
Marker Buoys
After the completion of the reclamation works of about
650 hectares of land to the north of the existing Airport Island, part of the
waters within the HKIAAA No.3 and No.7 for the previous operation of two-runway
system at the northern part of HKIA would no longer exist. In order to keep the
aviation and marine safety requirements for the commissioning of the third
runway, the boundaries of HKIAAA No.3 and No.7 are required to refine
accordingly. To demarcate the HKIAAA boundary for 3RS, marker buoys would
be installed along the boundary of the HKIAAA.
2.3.6
General
Activities
General activities include material storage and delivery of other site
materials and construction equipment, maneuvering and anchoring of working
barges or vessels, transportation of site staff, exportation of surplus fill
and/ or waste for disposal and marine site investigation works.
2.4
Types
of Working Vessels Involved
The various types of vessels
used during the construction phases are described in Table
2‑1 below, making reference to the detailed design and construction details
provided by the contractors. Photos of the recommended construction and associated
vessels are presented in Appendix B.
Table 2‑1 Indicative Working Vessels
Involved in the Construction Activities
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Construction Activities |
Working Vessels Involved1 |
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Modification of Existing Seawall § Moving armour rocks |
§ Crane Barge § Derrick Barge |
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Installation of the Geotextile Layer and Sand Blanket § Laying geotextile § Sand Delivery § Placing / Pumping Sand |
§ Derrick Barge Spreader Pontoon § Crane Barge |
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Ground Improvement § Deep Cement Mixing (DCM) Ground Improvement § Prefabricated Vertical Drains (PVD) Ground improvement |
§ Derrick Barge Crane Barge § DCM Barge § Cement silo barge § PVD Barge § Hopper barge |
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Seawall Construction § Formation of seawall core and placement of rock armour § Delivery and installation of rock and precast seawall blocks |
§ Crane Barge § Flat-top Barge § Derrick Barge
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Land and Marine Filling2 § Marine sand delivery and filling § Public fill delivery and placing § Fill Above Water |
§ Trailing Suction Hopper Dredger (TSHD) § Flat-top Barge Crane Barge § Spreader Pontoon § Pelican Barge § Hopper Barge § Derrick Barge |
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Diversion of Aviation Fuel Pipeline § Horizontal Directional Drilling (HDD) |
§ Floating Platform § Positioning Barge |
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Diversion of Submarine 11kV Cables § Water Jetting Method
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§ Water Jetting Barge § Derrick Barge § Crane Barge |
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Construction of Runway Approach Lights and Marker Buoys3 |
§ Crane Barge § Flat-top Barge § Derrick Lighter |
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General Activities § Material storage and delivery of other site materials including sand and construction equipment § Exportation of surplus fill or waste § Manoeuvring and Anchoring of Working Barges or Vessels § Transportation of Site Staff § Marine S.I. Works as quality control activities during construction phase
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§ Flat-top Barge § Pelican Barge § Crane Barge § Hopper Barge § Tug Boats § Anchor Boats § Transportation Boats / Ferry § Small Tug Boats § Guard Boat § Jack-up Barge § Roro Barge |
Notes:
1 The working vessels involved in the aforesaid
construction methods and activities will be subject to change and the
availability of construction plant.
2 This may involve transshipment
operation of sand fill materials from ocean going vessels to derrick lighters
or pelican barges at off-site anchorage areas before transporting the sand fill
materials to the Works Area.
3 The working vessels involved in
construction of Marker Buoys are subject to change based on the construction
development.
The construction and associated
vessels are divided into three categories:
2.4.1 Non-self-propelled Vessels
This category includes crane barges,
derrick barge, floating platforms, spreader pontoons, hopper barges, DCM
barges, water jetting barge and flat-top barges etc. These types of vessel will
be stationary within the Works Area most of the time and the positioning /
re-positioning of these vessel types by tug boats and anchor boats will be
carried out at slow speed.
2.4.2 Self-propelled Vessels
This category includes TSHD, pelican
barges, tug boats, anchor boats, transportation boats, and transportation
boats. When moving to and from the Works Area, these vessels may be able to
travel at slow to intermediate speed (up to around 20 knots). However, in the
vicinity of the project area they mainly operate at slow moving speed (around 5
knots up to maximum 10 knots). These vessels generally have high
maneuverability. For the transportation boats, the travelling speed shall
be less than 10 knots.
2.4.3 Vessels Delivering Materials to and
from the Project Site
This category includes TSHD, pelican barges, derrick
barges, hopper barges and flat-top barges, etc. These are large, slow moving vessels while the last three types of barges
are non-self-propelled vessels that rely on tug boats for manoeuvring.
2.5
Structure of the Plan
The following sections outline the control measures and restrictions
proposed for Contractors intending to operate construction and associated
vessels in undertaking their 3RS works activities. Section 3 details the
technical guidelines for preventing water quality impacts from vessel
operation, Section 4 details the practices and measures for keeping the
number of construction-related vessels to a minimum, Section 5 includes
further detail on predefined and regular routes for construction vessels with Section
6 providing detail on skipper training and guidelines for vessel operations
in the presence of dolphins. Thereafter, Section 7 provides further
details on construction vessel speed limits in CWD hotspot areas and Section
8 provides new information on how the measures are to be implemented and
monitored.
3. Technical Guidelines to Avoid Water Quality Impacts
during Operation of Barges and Construction Vessels
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3.1
Introduction
Potential water quality impacts associated with the operation of
construction-related vessels include sediment plumes, wastewater discharge and
accidental spillage of chemicals and fuel / oil into the marine environment. To
control and minimise the identified water quality
impacts, the Contractors must ensure compliance with relevant environmental
legislation and regulations as well as implementation of appropriate mitigation
and precautionary measures. The relevant requirements are summarised in the sections below.
3.2
Local and International Standards and Regulations
3.2.1
Water
Pollution Control Ordinance (Cap. 358)
All discharges into any drainage or sewerage systems, or inland or
coastal waters, or into the ground, within a Water Control Zone are controlled
under the Water Pollution Control Ordinance (WPCO), except the discharge of
domestic sewage into foul sewers or the discharge of unpolluted water into
storm drains or into the waters of Hong Kong. Construction site discharges are
controlled under the WPCO. As such, all construction-related discharges for the
Project must comply with the WPCO, and the terms and conditions of a valid WPCO
licence.
No construction vessel or construction-related vessel is permitted to
discharge any wastewater into the marine environment without a valid WPCO licence.
Each Contractor shall be responsible for the application of any licences
required for the construction vessels and construction activities under that
contract.
3.2.2
The Technical
Memorandum - Standards for Effluents Discharged into Drainage and Sewerage
Systems, Inland and Coastal Waters (TM-DSS) (Cap. 358AK)
This memorandum specifies the water quality standards for different
types of discharges and discharge locations. All wastewater generated by the
Project shall be treated to meet the standards specified in the TM-DSS.
3.2.3
International
Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL 73/78)
All Hong Kong ships wherever they are and all ships within Hong Kong
waters are required to follow the MARPOL 73/78 regulations for prevention and minimisation of pollution to the environment due to ship
operations. The Convention specifies requirements for addressing pollution to
the environment in respect of (i) oil; (ii) noxious liquid substances; (iii)
harmful substances in packaged form; (iv) sewage; (v) garbage and (vi) air
pollution from ships. In all cases where the equivalent local regulation is not
available, the MARPOL 73/78 regulations shall be applied.
3.2.4
Others
Relevant Legislation and Requirements
Other relevant legislation and requirements that are related to the prevention
of water quality impact include the following:
§ Waste Disposal Ordinance (Cap. 354);
§ Waste Disposal (Chemical Waste) (General) Regulation (Cap. 354C);
§ Dumping at Sea Ordinance (Cap. 466);
§ Public Cleansing and Prevention of Nuisances Regulation (Cap. 132BK);
and
§ Marine Parks Ordinance (Cap. 476).
3.3
Guidelines for Preventing Water Quality Impacts
To prevent and minimise the risk of water
quality impacts, the following measures shall be implemented when applicable/
necessary for all marine vessel-related activities during construction phase of
the Project.
3.3.1
General
§ Decks and exposed fittings of barges and hoppers shall be cleaned of
excess materials before moving the vessels.
§ Pipes and
fittings connecting the barges with the spreaders shall be properly fitted and checked for
leakages before operation, and any identified leaking pipes shall be repaired
immediately.
§ Adequate freeboard shall be maintained on barges to minimise
the likelihood of decks being washed by wave action.
§ All vessels shall not be permitted to release any foam, oil, grease,
litter or other objectionable matter into the waters within and surrounding the
Works Area.
§ Regular inspection for objectionable matter (e.g. foam, oil, grease,
scum and floating refuse) in the waters within and surrounding the Works Area
shall be conducted. Such objectionable matter, if present, shall be regularly
collected and removed to an appropriate off-site disposal facility.
§ All vessels shall follow the International Convention for the Control
and Management of Ship's Ballast Water and Sediments to minimise
the release of exotic species or pollutants through ballast water.
3.3.2
Avoidance
of Sediment Plumes
§ Avoid filling barges and hoppers to a level which may cause overflow of
materials or water pollution during loading and/ or transportation.
§ All vessels stationed or manoeuvring outside
the boundary of the silt curtains surrounding the construction Works Area shall
maintain adequate clearance between the vessel and the seabed at all states of
the tide to prevent undue turbidity generated by turbulence from vessel
movement or propeller wash. Vessel captains will be reminded during the Skipper
Training Workshops to regularly check the Sound Navigation and Ranging System
(SONAR) or marine map of Hong Kong showing the water depth, in order to remain
alert to shallow water areas when navigating to the Works Area with sufficient
clearance between the vessel draft and the seabed.
§ Anchors shall only be deployed when vessels required for station at
designated location for long period or for other valid safety reasons to avoid
frequent anchoring and de-anchoring activities. Anchoring and de-anchoring
activities shall be avoided when the vessels are still moving to minimise disturbance to seabed.
3.3.3
Wastewater
§ Any wash water from cleaning of decks and equipment shall be treated to
meet WPCO / TM-DSS requirements before discharge. The Contractors shall obtain the
licence(s) required for discharge of treated
wastewater.
§ No direct discharge of contaminated water is permitted.
3.3.4
Spillage
/ Leakages
§ Bottom opening of barges shall be fitted with tight fitting seals to
prevent leakage of material.
§ All fuel tanks / fuel storage containers (excluding fuels stored as part
of vessel bunkers) shall be secured (within an enclosed area if possible) and
contained within a sealed and bunded area. The bunded area shall have capacity
to contain at least 110% of the storage capacity of the largest tank /
container held within the bunded area.
§ All fuel tanks / fuel storage containers shall be inspected daily to ensure the
containers are in good condition and there are no openings which oil / chemical
can possibly leak out. Any damage / openings to the storage area and drip trays
shall be repaired or replaced immediately.
§ Where chemicals are temporarily taken outside the sheltered chemical
storage area, the chemicals including the drip trays / bund shall be covered by
waterproof tarpaulins and kept free of rainwater.
3.4
Specific
Requirements for Managing Marine Construction Activities
Potential cumulative water quality impacts associated with concurrent
operation of a large number of construction vessels shall be controlled and minimised as follows:
§ Construction activities shall be programmed and coordinated to minimise the number of vessels required. A 3-month rolling programme for construction vessel activity for each
construction Works Area shall be prepared by each Contractor and updated
monthly to demonstrate the required number of vessels are necessary with
AAHK/Project Manager (PM) endorsement.
§ Vessel movements shall be kept to a minimum. The practices to keep
construction-related vessels to a minimum are presented in Section 4.
§ All vessels shall not exceed 10 knots within the boundary of the
construction Works Area as shown in Figures 6-1a and
6-1b.
§ Vessels shall follow the pre-defined routes and prescribed marine
traffic arrangements to minimise the risk of
collision. Details of the predefined routes are presented in Section 5.
§ Construction and associated vessels shall not enter
the Dolphin Protection Areas as shown in Figures 5-1a
and 5-1b and described in Section 7.2
under normal circumstances.
The above items will fall under the
control of the marine traffic monitoring system arrangements detailed in Section
8 and these arrangements will be monitored by the staff of the associated
on-shore control room.
4.1
Rolling
Vessel Plan
The vessels mentioned in Table 2‑1 are not expected to be present all at the same
time due to phasing of construction activities. Good planning of construction
vessel activities can contribute to effective management of the number of
vessels on site to a minimal level. All works Contractors will be required to
submit a monthly construction vessel activities programme
to report the actual construction vessels deployed and marine movements
together with the planned vessel movements on a 3-month rolling basis, so as to
identify the anticipated construction vessels movements for the coming 3 months
for optimum control and effective monitoring. The number and types of
construction vessels proposed by the Contractors will be checked by AAHK/PM to
ensure the proposed deployment is necessary and minimal. Such rolling vessel
plans provide a means of actively managing vessel activities during the 3RS
project. Staff in the on-shore control room will coordinate between multiple
Contractors making reference to respective vessel plans to ensure the vessel
activities follow the rolling vessel plan, the marine travel routes prior to
entrance to the Works Area as well as the movements inside and outside the
Works Area. The on-shore control room staff will also communicate with
Contractors frequently to check if they have minimised
the number of vessels in accordance with their rolling plans and mooring
activities of vessel outside the Works Area especially at dolphin hotspots will
also be monitored. The Contractor shall submit updated contact list to AAHK /
on-shore control room staff regularly to ensure that all the construction
vessels skippers could be efficiently contacted by on-shore control room staff.
Any idling barges and barges being for overhaul maintenance work shall be
demobilized off site as early as practical.
4.2
Marine
Traffic Control
To minimise the potential temporary
disturbance due to the delivery barges and stationary construction vessels at
north of the airport platform during construction, marine construction traffic
including construction plant, construction vessels and barges shall be kept to
a practical minimum. Idle vessels in the Works Area shall be avoided as far as
practicable, and this can be achieved through good construction programme planning that seeks to maximise
productivity and storage capacity from each plant/ vessel, minimise
the number of plant/ vessels required along with minimising
required occupancy within the Works Area. The overall objective is to keep the
number of working or stationary vessels present on-site to the minimum at anytime. AAHK has established a Marine Traffic Monitoring
System and associated on-shore control room to monitor, manage and communicate
with construction vessels. Arrangements for overall management of the
system and details on the on-shore control room are detailed in Section 8.1.
4.3
Reduction
of Waste Materials
For land formation activities during the 3RS project, every effort will
be taken to minimise the export of surplus
construction and demolition (C&D) waste to landfill, hence reducing the
vessel movements for C&D waste exportation. For example, where possible the
extent of excavation will be minimized. Construction materials will also be
planned and stocked carefully to avoid unnecessary generation of waste and this
will be facilitated through the preparation and implementation of
contract-specific Waste Management Plans.
4.4
Provision
of Regular Trips of Passenger Vessels
Services
In order to keep the number of passenger vessels for staff to a minimum
and to ensure efficient transportation of staff between Works Area and
piers, relevant contractors will be required to provide regular passenger
vessels on a scheduled basis, in particular during peak working hours. Staff
shall travel to and from Works Area from designated landing points with high utilisation of each passenger vessel to be safeguarded
(e.g. ad hoc transportation of a few staff by large vessels shall be avoided as
far as practicable). Scheduled ferry service between Tuen
Mun / Tung Chung / Tsuen Wan / project site offices on existing airport island
to and from the reclaimed land are provided. Relevant contractors are required
to monitor the numbers of passengers and passenger vessels in operation as
works progress and shall ensure that the operations of passenger vessels for
staff are kept to a practicable minimum.
5.1
Considerations
of Setting Marine Travel Route
The predefined and regular routes for construction vessels travelling to
and from the construction area were determined by the Marine Traffic Impact
Assessments (MTIA) conducted for contract P281-Third Runway Reclamation Design
Consultancy Services (BMT, 2014) and this MTIA was also referred in the
approved 3RS EIA report. The following sub-sections describe the key factors
which have already been considered for the travel routes of construction
vessels.
5.1.1
Existing Navigation Channel and Marine Traffic
Vessels and barges have been routed
into water-spaces where they would have the least impact on existing marine
traffic during the construction period. The MTIA has identified the areas of
concern with relatively higher density of average daily marine traffic, which
included the water-spaces and channels within the Western Harbour,
around Tsing Yi and through Ma Wan and Urmston Road.
Although Urmston Road does not encounter particularly
high incident rates given its traffic density, operationally it is a critical
channel for the navigation of ocean going vessels (OGVs).
5.1.2
Restricted
Areas, Height Restriction and Speed Limit
Construction and associated vessels’
operating license conditions have been taken into account as these may prohibit
entry into certain areas. There are restricted areas in the vicinity of HKIA (i.e. HKIAAA for the 3RS, the existing Sha Chau and Lung Kwu Chau Marine Park, the BMP, and the Southwest Lantau Marine Park (SWLMP)) where
vessels are not allowed to enter without authorization except for those circumstances as detailed in Section
5.2.1. The airport height restriction (AHR) limit is another consideration
and if a vessel exceeds the AHR requirement, the Marine Department, Civil
Aviation Department and AAHK must collectively agree on practical route
realignment that does not compromise the safety requirements of aviation and
airport operations. In addition, it is vital for all vessel deployments to
comply with other navigational restrictions, for example various bridge area
restrictions (i.e. Tsing Ma, Kap Shui Mun, Tung
Chung, Tsing Yi, etc.) and speed restrictions, for example within the Harbour, etc..
5.1.3 Water Depth
Adequate water depth is a key issue
for the determination of marine travel routes. Larger draught marine vessels
would be limited from approaching the Works Area from the northwest due to
relatively shallow water depth (5.1 – 10 m above Chart Datum). For the
construction and associated vessels that require to take the west gate for
entry into the works area, the vessel captains shall remain alert the
relatively shallow water depth at the western waters when travelling from the
east and northeastern waters to the south of the Sha Chau and Lung Kwu Chau Marine Park. Vessel captains will be informed of
shallow water depth areas along the marine travel routes during the skipper
training workshops. Vessel captains will be reminded to regularly check the
SONAR or marine map of Hong Kong showing the water depth, in order to remain alert
to shallow water areas when navigating to the Works Area with sufficient
clearance between the vessel draft and the seabed. In addition, it is noted
that regular hydrographic surveys will be undertaken within the marine Works
Area during the project and information on seabed levels will be provided to
the on-shore control room (see Section 8.1.1) to ensure appropriate
information is relayed to vessel operators on changing water depths during the
marine works phase.
5.1.4 Other Marine Facilities
The construction vessels are of the
types commonly found navigating in Hong Kong waters. The construction vessels
are free to navigate through large areas of Hong Kong waters via existing
common Hong Kong’s navigation channels. The uncommon navigation channel
including channel to the north and to the west of the Works Area will be
introduced. In-depth examination of critical issues within these navigation
channels in Hong Kong have been undertaken during the design of marine travel
routes for construction vessels. The local constraints imposed by the Works
Area of adjacent projects and other marine facilities, such as anchorage and
bunkering areas (Figures 5-1a and 5-1b),
have also been considered in designing the marine travel routes for
construction vessels. Based on the discussion with the
Advisory Council on the Environment (ACE) during the EIA stage, AAHK has also
proposed to implement additional Dolphin Protection Areas that linked to
existing Sha Chau and Lung Kwu Chau
Marine Park (Figures 5-1a and 5-1b). The Dolphin Protection Areas are implemented
during the construction phase with restriction of entry by construction and
associated vessels under normal circumstances prior to the designation of the proposed
Marine Park for 3RS project.
In view of the marine vessels and oil barges that may anchor in
anchoring and bunkering areas respectively, the design of the construction
vessel travel routes has avoided crossing through these areas due to safety
concerns and potential operational impacts.
Figure 5‑1a Existing and Future Marine Facilities and Dolphin
Protection Areas before the Operation of Interim 2RS
Figure 5‑1b Existing and Future Marine Facilities
and Dolphin Protection Areas after the Operation of Interim 2RS
5.2
Design of Marine Travel Route for Construction Vessels
5.2.1
General Arrangements for Construction
Vessels
The marine travel route for construction vessels
was proposed based on best available information. Nevertheless, the use of
marine travel routes by construction vessels inside and outside the Works Area
would be monitored by the proposed on-shore control room (it will be operated
for 24 hours if night time works are required) with the use of tracking system
to be installed on all construction and associated vessels (details to be
discussed in Section 8 of this Plan). In addition, the Contractor would
prepare rolling vessel plans for the effective management of the numbers and
the movements of the construction vessels. The risk of any marine accidents
within the construction Works Area would be minimised with these measures.
Most of the non-self-propelled vessels expected to be deployed during
the construction works are barges associated with ground improvement works (Section
2.4.1) and seawall construction. Most of these vessels and associated tug
boats will enter the Works Area during mobilization periods before commencement
of the relevant phases of the construction works. They will then stay and work
within the construction Works Area. The associated tug-boats will be required
to use the predefined and regular routes to maneuver all non-self-propelled
vessels when they travel outside the Works Area.
Self-propelled vessels (Section 2.4.2) and vessels delivering
materials to and from the project site (Section 2.4.3) shall be required
to use predefined and regular routes to reduce disturbance to cetaceans due to
vessel movements. Specific marine travel routes covering waters outside the
Works Area, designed based on the key factors mentioned in Section 5.1.1 to
Section 5.1.4, are shown in Figures 5.2, 5.3 and 5.4. The indicative
marine travel routes of construction vessels for delivery of fill materials
have been implemented since the commencement of reclamation, from which time
the number of construction vessels were kept to a practical minimum.
Restrictions on marine travel routes were not applicable to vessels working on
HDD pipeline and CLP cable laying, and ground investigation. HDD works involved
drilling activity well below the seabed in the bedrock level and only
positioning barge was temporarily mobilized (few hours a day) to assist the
detection of HDD pipeline alignment. In addition, floating platform was
set up just off the Sha Chau Island to support the HDD daylighting and
pipelines connection works on land. For the cable laying works, the route of
the water jetting barge followed the replacement cable alignment (See Appendix A) and works was done at a slow
speed along the alignment. As a high volume of construction vessel traffic was
not anticipated for these works, no additional restrictions were defined for
this marine work effort.
5.2.2
Construction
Vessels Transit Route
The guiding principle for the development of barge transit routes was to
route barges into water-spaces where they would have the least impact on
existing marine traffic during the construction period. Areas of particularly
busy marine traffic include the navigable waters and channels within the
Western Harbour, around Tsing Yi and up through Ma
Wan and the Urmston Road area. Urmston
Road is a busy operational channel used by broad ranging vessel types including
OGV. To avoid interfacing with the existing marine traffic in the aforesaid
areas of concern, the bulk of barging volume associated with this project will
be directed to arrive at the works site principally from the west and east of
the Works Area. This includes those barges entering Hong Kong Waters from the
north, which have been routed south of the SCLKCMP. Construction marine traffic
is to be minimised through the Urmston
Road as far as practicable.
As illustrated in Figures 5-2, 5-3
and 5-4, the only transits which have been routed through
Hong Kong’s busiest waters are those public fill barges (i.e. pelican barges
and flat-top barges) to and from Tseung Kwan O/Tuen
Mun and marine fill barges (i.e. hopper barges and pelican barges) to and from
the South China Sea during the peak period. For the public fill barges,
diverting them south of Lantau to access the Works Area from the west would
increase the transit time by over 50%, therefore this traffic volume is
accepted to travel through the Western Harbour and Ma
Wan areas. As the construction materials and fills may be shipped from the
Pearl River Delta, South China Sea, remote provinces of the mainland and other
Asian Countries by barge, construction vessels are routed to enter the Works
Area through designated site entrances on either side of the land formation
footprint primarily to minimise crossing traffic
within the narrowed channel north of the HKIA (Figures 5-2,
5-3 and 5-4).
The construction materials and fills imported from locations outside Hong Kong may be
transported to Hong Kong using OGVs. These OGVs will anchor at suitable
anchorage areas for transshipment of the materials
from the OGVs to feeder vessels (e.g. pelican barges, derrick lighters) before
transport to the Works Area. During peak period, it will be necessary to
maximise the use of all suitable gazetted anchorage areas in the waters around
the Lantau Island including Sham Shui Kok Anchorage
No. 2 (SSKA 2) within the BMP. Using SSKA 2 for transshipment
operations would only be considered after other suitable gazetted anchorage
areas were exhausted. AAHK has expressed to Marine Department that the use of
SSKA 2 would only be the last resort when other suitable gazetted anchorages
were not available or unfavourable for transhipment operations through the
monthly Marine Management Liaison Group (MMLG) meeting. Environmental Team (ET)
will keep the minutes of the MMLG meeting for record. When transshipment
operation is to be carried out in SSKA 2, the Contractor is required to
implement additional precautionary measures. These include 10-knot speed
limit for all feeder vessels within the BMP; avoidance of anchoring (except for
emergency purposes) for feeder vessels; using the shortest marine route for
entering/leaving the BMP (Figures 6-1a and 6-1b); mooring close to the
bulk carrier to minimize the gap in between vessels; using closed grab to
transfer sand and maintain at a low position for release of sand for OGVs without
conveyor; in-situ water quality monitoring; and implementation of Dolphin
Exclusion Zone during the transshipment
operation. Details on the implementation of these additional
precautionary measures will be prepared by the Contractor for review and approval
by the ET, Independent Environmental Checker (IEC) and AAHK prior to any transshipment operation at SSKA 2. In addition to the
EM&A programme, the ET will also carry out ad-hoc environmental inspections
of the transshipment operation within SSKA 2.
5.2.3
General
Arrangements for Existing and Future Marine Facilities
Construction vessel routes have mostly avoided the existing and future
marine facilities shown in Figures 5-1a and 5-1b. They have also avoided the existing Marine Parks (i.e. the SCLKCMP, the
BMP (except during transshipment operation) and
SWLMP) and proposed Marine Parks (i.e. South Lantau Marine Park (SLMP) and 3RS
Marine Park) as well as the
Dolphin Protection Areas at the construction stage. The route along Urmston Road passes close to the SCLKCMP and this area is a
key CWD habitat (Hung, 2015) and a 10-knot speed restriction will be applied in
regions with high CWD abundance, as determined by referring to a Dolphin Habitat
Index that has been established for waters in this area (see Section 7.3
for details). The
marine travel route shall not be changed once approved. Reasonable
justifications shall be provided if any changes of the proposed routes are
required.
The Pilotage Advisory Committee Paper No. 4/2016 recommended that an
inshore traffic zone of about 300m to 400m in width shall be maintained between
the boundary of the proposed marine parks (SLMP and Soko
Islands Marine Park) and the nearby Lantau Channel Traffic Separation Scheme
(LCTSS) / Traffic Separation Scheme at South of Lantau (SLTSS) to allow an
unrestricted and safe channel for navigation and to minimize potential impacts
to marine users. Taking into consideration marine safety, an inshore traffic zone
of about 400m in width is proposed between the Hong Kong water boundary and the
western part of the Dolphin Protection Areas to allow the 3RS construction
vessels coming / leaving from the southwest to the Works Area. The construction
vessels passing through this inshore traffic zone shall be kept not more than
10 knots.
It was noted that existing submarine aviation fuel pipelines were
diverted as part of this Project by using HDD method to drill through bedrock
from a launching site located at the west of the airport island to a
daylighting point on Sheung Sha Chau Island. Construction and associated
vessels had to enter the SCLKCMP. As good practice, the construction vessels
travelling to and from the work site within the SCLKCMP was minimised
their travelling route within the Marine Park as well as adhering to the
10-knot speed limit applicable inside the Marine Park.
5.2.4
Guidelines
for Safe Vessel Operations Travelling Outside and Within the Works Area
Apart from transportation boats and
those vessels involved in materials delivery, many of the working vessels (e.g.
crane barges, derrick barges, tug boats, DCM & PVD barges, spreader
pontoons, etc.) will mostly stay within the Works Area. Guidelines for safe
vessel operations in the presence of CWDs (Section 6.3), including
keeping to 10-knot speed limit within the construction Works Area, will be
implemented to minimise any disturbance from such
vessels to CWDs.
Vessel captains shall strictly
follow all navigation safety requirements and international practices with the
help of navigation instruments. Marker buoys and navigation buoys will be used
as marine based indicators to help the vessel captains in locating the proper
traffic routes under actual situations and during any unexpected incidents.
Marine travel routes may be attuned locally for safety reasons, taking into
account other marine vessels that may be encountered by construction and
associated vessels. The navigation routes may also be affected by natural
factors including wind, currents, waves, poor visibility and periodic closure
of certain routes (e.g. due to other unusual events). A key commitment is that
there shall be no transportation of oversize materials or easily spillable materials such
as marine fill during inclement weather.
Construction and associated vessels will not
enter the Dolphin Protection Areas as shown in Figures 5-1a and 5-1b under normal circumstances. The Dolphin Protection Areas have
been implemented during the construction phase, within which there will be
effective management controls on construction vessels of the 3RS project.
Within the Works Area, it is expected that
different marine travel routes will be required for accessing different Works
Area from various piers for each construction Contracts. Material
trucks/vehicles will use available piers or landing points offsite e.g. Tuen Mun Public Cargo Working Area, Tuen
Mun Area 40 and River Trade Terminal etc. for accessing the Works Area by roro
barges from time to time. In order to reduce disturbance to cetaceans due
to vessel movements, construction vessel shall adhere to the following
principles for the general routes for construction vessels travelling within
the Works Area:
§ All construction and associated vessels shall only access the Works Area
through the west gate or east gate;
§ All construction and associated vessels shall follow the routes with
practicable minimum distance from the entrance of the Works Area to the
designated works site;
§ Main routes shall be used after entering the Works Area. Branches routes
shall be minimised as far as practicable;
§ Sudden course changes shall be avoided to reduce disturbance to
cetaceans; and
§ All vessels shall adhere to the speed limit of 10 knots or below within
Works Area.
Vessel captains will be informed
of the above principles for the general routes for construction vessels within
the Works Area during the Skipper Training Workshops.
Figure 5‑2 Indicative Marine Travel
Route with Forecast Construction Traffic Movements during Peak Period per Day
after Commencement of Reclamation before the Operation of Interim 2RS (modified
from BMT, 2014)
Figure 5‑3
Indicative Marine Travel Route with Forecast Construction Traffic Movements on
Average per Day after Commencement of Reclamation before the Operation of
Interim 2RS (modified from BMT, 2014)
Figure 5‑4
Indicative Marine Travel Route after the Operation of Interim 2RS
5.2.5
Contingency Arrangements
Contingency plans have been
developed for periods of disruption, such as typhoons, strong monsoon signals,
thunderstorms, black rain alerts, and accident incidents upon commencement of
land formation works. Respective plans will need to be developed by relevant
parties, but those operating construction and associated vessels may be
expected to adhere to the general principles outlined below.
The typhoon arrangements will require all work barges/craft to leave the
Works Area on or before Typhoon Signal no. 3 is hoisted.
It is anticipated that the main designated typhoon shelters for works
vessels will be the Tuen Mun Typhoon Shelter and the
Hei Ling Chau Typhoon Shelter. Tug & tow / crane barge will leave from the
Works Area and travel via Ma Wan Fairway to the Hei Ling Chau Typhoon Shelters on or before the Typhoon Signal 3 is
raised. However, due to
the large numbers of works vessels involved in the construction of the
reclamation, it is possible that typhoon shelters within Hong Kong waters will
not be able to cater for this level of demand. Works vessels will also have to
shelter within deep water space within Mainland China providing the nearest
sheltered site.
Procedures have been developed by all marine works contractors to allow
for a phased departure of works craft from the site in the event of a typhoon,
so that navigation channels do not become overcrowded and to avoid obstructing
the passage of other vessels on or before the Typhoon Signal no. 3 is hoisted.
Figure 5-5 presents potential routes to be taken by
works vessels during typhoons.
For example:
§ Deep draught / high airdraft vessels shall be
first to leave the site when the Typhoon Signal no. 3 is anticipated to be
hoisted by the Hong Kong Observatory within 2-4 hours.
§ Tug & Tow vessels shall then leave the site after these deep draft
vessels have left.
§ Smaller, more maneuverable support vessels shall then leave the site
when the Typhoon Signal no. 3 is hoisted.
In case of marine accidents (e.g. collision, grounding, search and
rescue including aeronautical incident) that may occur during the construction
stage, actions will be required to manage vessels during these events and
re-routing, control and regulation of marine traffic may be required. It
is anticipated that this response will be similar in manner to the response to
such incidences elsewhere within Hong Kong waters. The precautionary /
mitigation measures of potential oil spill can be referred to in the Spill
Response Plan (SRP) which provides the guidelines for setup of contract-specific SRPs by
Contractors.
Further to Fire Services Department’s comment, emergency access points
shall be allowed from the north side to the Works Area. These access points are
only allowed for marine police and fire boat for marine rescue purposes only.
Figure 5‑5
Potential Routes to Typhoon Shelters
6. Skipper Training
and Guidelines for Safe Vessel Operations in the Presence of the CWDs
6.1
Impacts on CWDs and Precautionary Measures
As assessed in the approved EIA
report, construction
vessels will be largely slow-moving, however the activities
they will be undertaking
may cause physical disturbance and can cause noise disturbance to CWDs. Noise
from the slow moving vessels themselves is not
expected to have a serious impact on CWD behavior and
was considered of low impact significance in the EIA. Also, the risk of construction vessel collisions with CWDs was also considered to represent a
low impact significance
in the EIA.
Even so, skipper training and vessel
controls have been recommended as precautionary measures in the approved EIA
report to further minimize any potential impacts. A speed limit of 10 knots
shall be strictly observed for construction vessels within the areas with high
CWD density.
6.2
Skipper
Training
The ET shall provide training to vessel skippers to ensure vessel
operations pose minimal risks to CWDs. The training shall include briefings on
predefined routes, general education on local cetaceans, guidelines for
avoiding adverse water quality impact, the required environmental practices /
measures while operating construction and associated vessels under the Project,
and guidelines for operating vessels safely in the presence of CWDs (Section
6.3). The ET shall schedule the training with individual Contractors and
shall ensure all marine vessel skippers working on the Project are adequately
briefed and trained prior to
marine construction or
prior to skippers commencing work operating vessels in Project Works Area. The overall principles for
construction vessels travel within / outside the Works Area are shown in Figures 6-1a and 6-1b.The training materials will be
prepared by ET and endorsed by the CWD specialist, and all material used shall
be updated time to time during the construction of the project. The ET will
conduct the training and refresher courses as and when required (e.g. in the
event that the regular travel route is updated along as work progresses), to
ensure that the vessels shall be used in a dolphin-friendly manner. The vessel
captains training record will be reported in the Monthly EM&A Report. All relevant training records
and training materials shall be kept by the ET and made available to IEC, AAHK and EPD
upon request.
6.3
Guidelines for Safe Vessel Operations in the Presence
of the CWDs
One of the major human-caused threats to CWDs is injury
/ death due to marine vessel
collision. Locations with
frequent CWD sightings near the proposed vessel routes shall be traversed with
more caution to avoid impact on CWDs. Reference may be made to the “Code of
Conduct for Dolphin Watching Activities” published by Agriculture, Fisheries
and Conservation Department (AFCD) and other relevant sources. A code of
conduct for construction and associated vessels in the presence of CWDs is
provided in
Appendix C. The following measures are also
considered to be helpful to minimise the chance of a
vessel striking CWDs and will be covered in training sessions:
§ All vessels will enter the Works Area through
designated site entrances, as shown in Figures 6-1a and 6-1b;
§ All vessels will travel at a speed no greater than 10 knots in the Works
Area, which will be demarcated by floating booms and yellow marker buoys;
§ The vessel captain shall always remain a vigilant for the presence of
CWDs and make sure they slow down prior to passing known CWD hotspots, and take
actions to avoid disturbance to or collisions with CWDs;
§ The construction and associated vessels shall strictly observe a speed
limit of 10 knots within CWD hotspot areas (also known as ‘highly critical’ dolphin habitats’
in Figures 7-5a
and 7-5b);
§ Construction and associated vessels
shall avoid traversing through existing Marine Parks (including the SCLKCMP,
the BMP, SWLMP) and proposed Marine Parks (including SLMP and 3RS Marine Park)
in the western waters, except for the case of the SCLKCMP in association with
works on the diversion of aviation fuel pipeline and the temporary works such
as setting up the generator at the Sha Chau, Sheung Sha Chau and Lung Kwu Chau for the cable diversion work and during transshipment operation at SSKA 2;
§ Construction and associated vessels
shall not anchor or stopover within the existing Marine Parks (including the
SCLKCMP, the BMP, SWLMP) and proposed Marine Parks (including SLMP and 3RS
Marine Park) in the western waters, except for the case of the SCLKCMP in
association with works on the diversion of aviation fuel pipeline with AFCD’s
authorization and the temporary works such as setting up the generator at the
Sha Chau, Sheung Sha Chau and Lung Kwu Chau for the
cable diversion work and during transshipment
operation at SSKA 2; and
§ Construction and
associated vessels shall not enter the Dolphin Protection Areas (see Figures 5-1a and 5-1b) under
normal circumstances.
Figure 6‑1a Overall Principles for Construction Vessels
Travel Within / Outside the Works Area before the Operation of Interim 2RS
Figure 6‑1b Overall
Principles for Construction Vessels Travel Within / Outside the Works Area
after the Operation of Interim 2RS
7. Speed Limit
of 10 Knots for Construction Vessels within Works Area & CWD Hotspots
7.1
Works
Area
Apart from transportation boats and those vessels involved in materials
delivery, many of the working vessels (e.g. crane barges, derrick barges, tug
boats, DCM & PVD barges, spreader pontoons, etc.) will mostly stay within
the Works Area. However, all vessels shall adhere to the speed limit of 10
knots or below within Works Area as shown in Figures 6-1a
and 6-1b. The construction and associated
vessels shall adhere to the 10-knot speed limit within the Works Area, to minimise any disturbance from such vessels to CWDs.
7.2
Dolphin
Protection Areas
According to the approved EIA report, construction vessel impacts were
evaluated as of low impact significance to CWDs. However, mitigation measures
including speed limits of 10 knots in CWD hotspots (this section) and skipper
trainings (refer to Section 6.2) are recommended as precautionary
measures. Speed limit of 10 knots for construction vessels appears to be
effective in protecting CWDs from vessel collisions and acoustic disturbance.
In addition, the
Dolphin Protection Areas (see Figures 7-5a and 7-5b) have been proposed during the construction phase
in response to ACE comments during the EIA approval process, within which there
will be effective management controls on construction vessels of the 3RS
project. The proposed
routes of construction vessels have been designed to avoid construction vessels
travelling across existing Marine Parks (i.e. the SCLKCMP, the BMP (except
during transshipment operation), SWLMP) and proposed
Marine Parks (i.e. SLMP and 3RS Marine Park) in order to avoid disturbance to
the marine parks.
7.3
Chinese White Dolphin “Hotspot” Areas
As discussed in Section 5.2, the proposed marine travel routes
for construction vessels have mostly avoided the proposed SLMP in the western waters as well as the Dolphin Protection Areas. The
proposed marine travel routes have also avoided the Dolphin Protection Areas
(see Figures 7-5a and 7-5b)
proposed by AAHK in response to ACE comments during the EIA approval process.
However, given that the route along Urmston Road to
the northeast of SCLKCMP is a CWD key habitat, a 10-knot speed restriction will
be imposed on the construction and associated vessels traversing areas with
high CWD abundance (i.e. ‘highly critical’ dolphin habitats in Figures 7-5a and 7-5b).
In order to determine the area to which speed limits of construction and
associated vessels shall be applied for reducing impacts on CWDs, data from the
AFCD long-term surveys (see Hung 2014 for a description of these data) have
been evaluated to make the best possible determination of the relative value of
each 1 x 1 km grid for use in this exercise. The latest available data
including the recent marine mammal monitoring report (Hung, 2021) has been
taken into account for developing the dolphin habitat index.
It was decided that, in order to avoid potential biases from any single
measure, a matrix of four measures of dolphin use of each grid would be used.
For each 1 x 1 km grid in the potential HSF route area, four factors have been
considered:
1) Current density by DPSE, i.e. the number of CWDs per 100 units of survey
effort in the 1 x 1 km grid (Figure 7‑1;
from Hung, 2021)
2) Historical density by DPSE (Figure 7‑2;
from Hung, 2014)
3) Habitat rating (Figure 7‑3; from
Hung, 2014)
4) 50% core area usage by CWDs (Figure 7‑4;
from Hung, 2014)
All of these four factors are based on dolphin numbers per unit effort,
but including data on the four factors helps to ensure the analysis has broad
temporal and biological relevance, and minimizes impacts of potential data
anomalies from using just a single factor. A matrix of the relevant data was
compiled. For each 1 x 1 km grid, there are four values presented, corresponding
to the four factors listed above, and for each one evaluated as “Low”, “Medium”
or “High” (note that these are subjective descriptive terms, though objective
quantitative values for building the matrix were used). For densities (both
current and historical), the corresponding values for “Low” were 0.0-20.0,
20.1-40.0 for “Medium”, and 40.1 or above for “High”. For habitat ratings, the
corresponding values for “Low” were 0-10, 11-20 for “Medium”, and 21 or above
for “High”. For 50% core areas, the corresponding values for “Low” were
0-10, 11-30 for “Medium”, and 31 or above for “High”. Relevant raw data are
presented in detail in Hung (2014) and Hung (2021). The dolphin habitat index
is then developed for each grid as shown in Figures 7-5a
and 7-5b.
Table 7‑1
Criteria for each 1 km2 grid in defining the dolphin habitat index,
based on the ranking of four factors (i.e. current density by DPSE, historical
density by DPSE, habitat rating and 50% core area usage by CWDs)
|
Dolphin habitat index |
Criteria |
|
Least Critical |
· 3 “Low”; or · 4 “Low” |
|
Less Critical |
· 2 “Medium” and 2 “Low”; or · 1 “High” and 1 “Medium and ” 2 “Low” |
|
Moderately Critical |
· 2 “High” and 1 “Medium”; or · 2 “High” and 2 “Low”; or · 1 “High” and 2 “Medium”; or · 3 “Medium” |
|
Highly Critical |
· 3 “High”; or · 4 “High” |
The resulting matrix (see Figures
7-5a and 7-5b) identifies highly critical
areas of CWD habitat to the northeast of SCLKCMP which are delineated by
boundary points A – J with GPS coordinates. Speed limits within these areas
will be limited to 10 knots or less and this will be communicated to construction
vessel captains during the skipper trainings. However, there may be exceptional
cases that the 10-knot speed limit could be relaxed for contingency
arrangements (e.g. during typhoon, adverse weather conditions) and for safety
or emergency purposes.
The CWD “Hotspot” areas will be reviewed annually based
on the AFCD Marine Mammal Monitoring Report.
Figure 7‑1 Current density of Chinese White
Dolphins with corrected survey effort per km2 in waters around Lantau
Island between January – December 2020 (number within grids represent “DPSE” =
no. of dolphins per 100 units of survey effort; from Hung, 2021). In the
dolphin habitat index developed for this plan, DPSE of 0.0 – 20.0 is rated as
“Low”, 20.1 – 40.0 as “Medium” and 40.1 or above as “High”.
Figure 7‑2
Historical density of Chinese White Dolphins with correct survey effort per km2
in waters around Lantau Island during 2001 – 2012 (numbers within grids
represent “DPSE” = no. of dolphins per 100 units of survey effort; from Hung,
2014). In the dolphin habitat index developed for this plan, DPSE of 0.0 – 20.0
is rated as “Low”, 20.1 – 40.0 as “Medium” and 40.1 or above as “High”
Figure 7‑3
Habitat rating of Chinese White Dolphins in Hong Kong using quantitative
habitat use information collected during 2001 – 2012 (number with grids
represents the sum of scores totalled from 10 selection criteria; from Hung,
2014). In the dolphin habitat index developed for this plan, habitat rating of
0 – 10 is rated as “Low”, 11 – 20 as “Medium”, and 21 or above as “High”
Figure 7‑4
Number of individual Chinese White Dolphins with their 50% utilization
distribution (UD) core areas overlapped with each 1 km2 grid in
waters around Lantau Island from 2001 – 2012 (Hung, 2014). In the dolphin
habitat index developed for this plan, 50% core area of 0-10 is rated as “Low”,
11-30 as “Medium”, and 31 or above as “High”
Figure 7-5a Dolphin Habitat Index and Marine
Travel Routes before the Operation of Interim 2RS
Figure 7‑5b Dolphin Habitat Index and
Marine Travel Routes after
the Operation of Interim 2RS
8. Implementation
and Monitoring
8.1
Method of Implementation and Monitoring
8.1.1
Marine
Traffic Monitoring Systems
Construction
vessel routes for land formation works have been developed to keep the majority
of transits out of Urmston Road and other key channels within Hong Kong Waters.
It is recommended that construction vessels access the works site via the west
and east site entrances to avoid using the busy channel north of the Works
Area.
To monitor and
manage 3RS vessel activities, a Marine Traffic Monitoring System (Figure 8‑1) has been established to ensure that
works vessels:
§ Travel to/from the Works Area via designated transit routes;
§ Access/depart works site via designated site entrances;
§ Obey speed limits and any other navigation controls that are prescribed;
and
§ Neither anchor nor stopover within the existing and proposed marine
parks area without authorization.
Key elements of
the Marine Traffic Monitoring System will include:
§ A requirement for a tracking system (e.g. Automatic Identification
System (AIS) Transponders) to be installed on all construction and associated
vessels;
§ An on-shore control room (with 24-hour operation if night time works is
required) to monitor, manage and communicate via Very High Frequency (VHF) or
mobile phone and other practical communication system with construction
vessels; and
§ A clearly defined set of warnings for non-compliance with prescribed
navigation controls.
Vessels which deliver materials including for example sandfill, rockfill
and prefabricated units are expected to pass through the Urmston
Road Fairway and some CWD hotspots. If temporary material delivery vessels that
have not been registered with AIS will require a guard boat with AIS installed
to lead the way within the Works Area until the vessels station within the
Works Area, otherwise, the vessels will not be allowed to enter the Works Area.
In order to keep
the construction-related vessels to a practical minimum, the site staff transportation vessel
could be act as the guard boat during the transitional period. The contractor shall ensure that the
material delivery schedule is arranged where the site staff transportation
vessel is able to lead the temporary material delivery vessel to the designated
construction Works Area. A
tight control on the marine travel routes will be implemented to minimise traveling routes within CWD hotspots.
Site investigation (S.I.) vessels which mainly deployed for preparing
the construction works and stationary at specific S.I. monitoring locations at
most of the time, are not classified as construction and associated vessels.
However, S.I. vessels will also travel to/from the Works Area via designated
transit routes and access / depart works site via designated site entrances
with speed limit same as other construction vessels. For this kind of S.I.
vessel which may not equipped with an AIS tracking system, the contractor
shall provide alternative tracking records (e.g. global positioning system
(GPS) log) to the on-shore control room for auditing. The tracking records
shall include the time, date, coordinates, travelling route and travelling
speed.
For the newly awarded contractor onboard, ET will work with the Contractor
to review and get familiarised with the requirements
of this Updated Plan in the first month
including predefined and regular routes for construction vessels covering
waters both within and outside the Works Area, speed control within the Works
Area, CWDs hotspot areas and Dolphin Protection Areas, as well as providing
skipper training to the captains.
8.1.2
Record
of Travel Route
Tracking systems (e.g. AIS) will be used in all construction and
associated vessels to record use of the marine travel routes for track logging.
All daily records of marine travel routes used (including details,
times, dates and purpose of journeys) will be maintained by the supervising
staff. The records shall be submitted for inspection by Contractor’s
representatives upon request. The captains of construction vessels and their
companies or material suppliers will receive formal warning notice if records
show the approved marine travel route was not followed.
During the construction phase the ET will be required to audit the
implementation of the requirements detailed in this Updated Plan (e.g. marine
travel routes to / from the 3RS works area, speed etc.). Travel route logs, including
coordinate points logging of individual tracks and graphical plots of all
vessel tracks overlaid on the base map of Hong Kong, shall be provided to the
ET, IEC and AAHK at regular intervals after commencement of the marine
construction works.
8.1.3
Water
Quality and Vessel Movement
During water quality monitoring, observations of the surrounding
activities will be recorded. Should exceedance of water quality be recorded,
inspection will be carried out including checking of the observation log, the
AIS data showing the construction traffic route and volume of construction
traffic at the time of exceedance. The available records on number of
construction vessels within the work site shall also be reviewed. Actions will
be taken if exceedance of water quality is recorded according to the Event and
Action Plan recommended for the water quality monitoring as presented in the
EM&A Manual. In particular, the ET shall discuss any required mitigation
measures with the Contractor, IEC, and AAHK/PM. In the event that frequent
water quality Action or Limit Level exceedances happen without apparent
reasons, efforts shall be made to analyze if such exceedances are attributable
to the number of construction vessels in the works site for consideration of
possible remediation actions, such as limiting the number / movement /
anchoring or de-anchoring of construction and associated vessels on site.
All construction and associated vessels shall comply with the relevant
international conventions, and local regulations and requirements of the Marine
Department where applicable, including:
§ The Shipping and Port Control Ordinance (Cap. 313);
§ The Shipping and Port Control Regulations (Cap. 313A);
§ The Merchant Shipping (Miscellaneous Craft) Regulations (Cap. 313F);
§ The Merchant Shipping (Safety) Regulations (Cap. 369);
§ The Merchant Shipping (Safety) (Signals of Distress and Prevention of
Collisions) Regulations (Cap. 369N);
§ The Dangerous Goods Ordinance (Cap. 295);
§ The Dangerous Goods (Shipping) Regulations (Cap. 295C);
§ The Merchant Shipping (Launches and Ferry Vessels) Regulations (Cap.
313E);
§ The Merchant Shipping Ordinance and Regulations (Cap. 281);
§ The Merchant Shipping (Local Vessels) Ordinances (Cap. 548);
§ The Shipping and Port Control (Works) Ordinance (Cap. 313X); and
§ The International Regulations for
Preventing Collisions at Sea 1972.
Figure 8‑1 Typical Marine Traffic
Monitoring System
8.2
Supervision
Staff
Implementation would be enforced by AAHK and implemented by the
Contractors and will apply to all vessels engaging in construction works under
3RS contract agreements. However, AAHK has ultimate responsibility for
overseeing marine traffic control measures as described in Section 8.1.
Construction related marine vessel traffic management including the
implementation of all of the precautionary and mitigation measures as approved
by the Statutory Authority will be coordinated by the AAHK established Marine Traffic
Monitoring System / on-shore control room using suitable AAHK or specialist
consultant staff along with Contractor’s representatives if necessary. The ET
will monitor and audit the implementation and effectiveness of the
precautionary and mitigation measures as stipulated in this Updated Plan.
This Updated Plan presents a summary of major construction works and
details of the types of vessels and marine plant expected to be involved.
Technical guidelines to avoid adverse water quality impacts during vessel
operations, as well as practices to keep construction-related vessels and
marine plant to a practical minimum have been provided. The different factors considered in determining
construction vessel travel routes in the MTIA are summarized and both general and contingency
arrangements are provided in the design of the marine travel routes.
Specifications for skipper training as well as guidelines for safe
vessel operations in the presence of CWD are covered in this Updated Plan. A
10-knot speed restriction is designated within the Works Area and in ‘highly
critical’ dolphin habitats that have been determined by Dolphin Habitat Index
making reference to the AFCD monitoring reports of marine mammals in Hong Kong
waters. In addition, methods of implementing and monitoring the effectiveness
of the proposed mitigation and precautionary measures through the use of an
AAHK established and managed Marine Traffic Monitoring System / on-shore
control room are detailed. This facility will be managed by AAHK and
overseen by the ET to ensure compliance to this Updated Plan by all 3RS vessel
operators. The predefined and regular routes for construction vessels are subject to further review during detailed design and
construction stages and this Updated Plan shall be updated as
necessary.
BMT. (2014). Marine Traffic Impact Assessment for Hong Kong
International Airport Contract P281 – Third Runway Reclamation Design
Consultancy Services – Scheme Design Report.
Hung, S. K. 2008. Habitat use of Indo-Pacific humpback dolphins
(Sousa chinensis) in Hong Kong. Ph.D. dissertation. University of Hong
Kong, Hong Kong, 266 p.
Hung, S. K.
Y. (2014). Monitoring of marine mammals in Hong Kong waters (2013-14):
Final report (1 April 2013 to 31 March 2014). Submitted to the Agriculture,
Fisheries and Conservation Department of the Hong Kong SAR Government.
Retrieved from http://www.afcd.gov.hk
Hung, S.K.Y. (2015) Monitoring of marine mammals in Hong Kong waters
(2014-15): Final report (1 April 2014 to 31 March 2015). Submitted to the
Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department for the Hong Kong SAR
Government. Available from http://www.afcd.gov.hk.
Hung, S.K.Y. (2021) Monitoring
of marine mammals in Hong Kong waters (2020-21): Final report (1 April 2020
to 31 March 2021). Submitted to the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation
Department for the Hong Kong SAR Government. Available from http://www.afcd.gov.hk.
[1] Note that DCM refers to a ground improvement method /
soil mixing technique in which cement slurry is mixed with soft soil to produce
a cemented soil compound with higher strength and stiffness than the original
soil. Different variants of this method have been widely adopted in other
countries and exist under different terms such as Cement Deep Mixing (CDM),
Cutter Soil Mixing (CSM), Cement Deep Soil Mixing (CDSM), Deep Soil Mixing
(DSM) or Deep Jet Mixing (DJM) (all based on the same operating principals).