This would enable the Marine Police to rush to the scene of crime much quicker to make arrest, Mr Kong added.

In an exercise held on January 16, four armed men "robbed" the crew of an oil barge off Kwun Tong ferry pier. The Police were immediately alerted after the barge operator saw the men in a motorised sampan boarding his vessel.

One Police launch and two Small Boat Unit fast pursuit craft were deployed to intercept the fleeing sampan. The Marine and Fire Services Departments also assisted in the operation resulting in the "arrest" of the four men, two of whom were rescued after falling overboard.

"Many victims could not report incidents of robbery quickly because of logistics, and in quite a lot of cases, the culprits often manage to escape before the arrival of the Police," Mr Kong said.

"By installing a private alarm system, a victim can alert the alarm system company which in turn will forward the message to the Police in 30 seconds. With the aid of a global positioning system, we will be able to locate and rush to the scene of crime much quicker."

Only a small percentage of about 200 oil barges in Hong Kong had installed an alarm system on their vessels, Mr Kong added.

On January 22, the Marine North Division, Marine and Fire Services Departments jointly held a winter precaution campaign at Sam Mun Tsai aimed at arousing awareness among fishermen on the need to take precaution against theft and fire incidents during the Chinese New Year period.

Officers from the three departments distributed crime prevention leaflets. The Marine Police and fire services officers also held a fire drill.

Officiating at the ceremony were Acting Marine Outer Waters District Commander Liu Ho-yee; Marine Officer Licensing and Port Formalities (2) Li Tai-fai; FSD North Division/New Territories Divisional Commander Yu Kam-keung and Vice-Chairman of the New Territories Fishermen Fraternity Association Leung Kwong-yung.