Reducing navigational risk in one of Hong Kong's busiest waterways

Requirement

The Ma Wan Channel provides critical deepwater access to the Pearl River Delta and carries a complex mix of ocean-going vessels, river trade traffic, fast ferries and bulk carriers.

With high currents and significant traffic volumes, navigational safety was a major concern.

A proposed one-way traffic system needed to be assessed to understand whether it would genuinely reduce vessel encounters and improve safety.

Solution

We developed a DYMITRI simulation incorporating five principal vessel classes and available traffic survey data.

Approximately 1,350 vessel movements were simulated over a 15-hour period, allowing existing traffic conditions to be compared with the proposed one-way arrangement.

Benefits

The modelling provided quantitative evidence that the proposed system could significantly improve safety.

Total vessel encounters were predicted to reduce by 20%, with encounter rates in the Kap Shui Mun approaches and channel halved and incident levels anticipated to reduce by at least 50%.

It also identified areas where risk could increase, allowing appropriate monitoring and mitigation to be considered.