LEGISLATORS will meet the Government today in an effort to settle the ongoing dispute over the relocation of the Tsing Yi shipyards - a move which shipyard owners claim will bring the Hong Kong shipping and construction industries to a standstill.
The issue is destined for the courts after the shipyard owners lodged an appeal against a noise prohibition order from the Environmental Protection Department to cease all hammering in the course of their work.
The shipyard owners say the order is ridiculous because even the most basic maintenance and inspection duties carried out at the yard require some hammering.
A spokesman for the shipyard owners, Danny Lee Ying-kuen, said the department's order may force the closure of the shipyards.
Along with the total ban on hammering, the use of grinders on ships hulls has also been banned between the hours of 6.30 pm and 8.30 am.
A noise limit of 67 decibels has been imposed between 7 am and 11 pm, dropping to 57 decibels during the night.
The Environmental Protection Department (EPD) issued the order in response to residents' complaints about the noise.
