Hong Kong restricts ship access in battle against swine flu

The move came after a Mexican visitor to the territory was diagnosed with the virus which led to the quarantining of about 300 residents and staff at a local hotel.

Modern Terminals, which operates four terminals at Kwai Chung container port, said it had introduced several measures in response to the outbreak.

Corporate affairs manager Joel Cheung said these included the postponement of terminal visits and non-urgent meetings.

Shipping lines have been asked to provide health declarations for crew upon berthing, she said.

Other measures include health checks and the creation of a contingency plan.

We will not stop authorised personnel from boarding vessels alongside our berths, Ms Cheung said.

However, in the face of the threat of an international outbreak of swine flu, we have implemented preventive measures in line with the recommendations from the department of health and we will continue to monitor the situation and review the measures.

DP World, which operates container terminals 3 and 8 West and the ATL Logistics Centre, has also halted unnecessary visits.

Company spokeswoman Yvonne Chu said that DP World was taking all necessary precautions "while allowing our customers and ourselves to conduct our business.

Hutchison Port Holdings, which has five terminals in Hong Kong, including a joint venture with Cosco Pacific along with 48 ports in the rest of the world, said it was monitoring the situation globally.