Efforts of the Beihai Rescue Bureau to improve its capabilities
have paid off.
With more rescue ships and helicopters, the bureau is capable of
covering a larger area of the Bohai Sea in a shorter time, said Hou
Jinghua, director of the Beihai Rescue Bureau based in Yantai in
east China's Shandong
Province.
The current average time to get to accident spots has been cut
to 2 hours and 27 minutes from the former 4 hours and 41 minutes
during the January-July period, when the bureau was
established.
"The shortened rescue time has greatly improved our working
efficiency, and ensures more safety," said Hou.
The rescue bureau is one of the three professional rescue
bureaux set up by the Ministry of Communications in 2003. The other
two are in Shanghai and Guangzhou. They cover China's northern,
eastern and southern sea areas respectively, with the central
government financing all their costs.
The Beihai Rescue Bureau covers mainly the Bohai Bay, which
links the Liaodong Peninsula and the Shandong Peninsula and also
the Yangtze River Delta. More than 300 ships travel through the bay
every day.
Starting from July, the bureau added three salvage ships to
patrol on the Bohai Bay, Changdao area and Lushun Port area in
Liaoning Province.
"The three spots are essential for the Bohai Bay," Hou
emphasized.
For example, Beihai No 1 salvation ship is located 45 sea miles
to Dalian, Yantai and Weihai respectively, and is less than 10 sea
miles to the nearby busy navigation routs linking the three cities.
In anticipation of more bad weather in winter, the bureau has
placed another two rescue ships in the Qinhuangdao and Qingdao sea
areas.
Hou said by the end of September, the bureau had more than 100
times of setouts and salvaged 600 people in danger, and the
salvation success rate reached 100 percent.
In April, China Beihai First Aviation Rescue Team was set up,
greatly strengthening Bohai Sea area's salvation power.
(China Daily November 25, 2004)