Guangdong maritime authorities launch joint patrol on Beijiang River

(ECNS) -- The Guangdong Maritime Safety Administration launched a three-day joint law enforcement patrol on the Beijiang River in Qingyuan, south China's Guangdong Province, on Wednesday.

The river runs from northern Guangdong to the Pearl River Delta. 

The patrol focuses on bridge navigation areas, passenger ferries, sand and gravel mining zones, hydro-junctions and anchorage areas. Priorities include flood control, vessel-bridge collision prevention and merchant-fishing vessel collision prevention.

Vessels, drones and shore-based monitoring were used in the operation.

On the first day, the patrol fleet set out from the Lianjiangkou waters in Yingde, Qingyuan. Officers boarded a cargo vessel to check its certificates, crew and AIS (Automatic Identification System) equipment.

Drones provided aerial surveillance of bridge areas, construction zones and anchorages, transmitting real-time images to the joint command center.

(By Tang Yuxian)