Ship
Management and Maritime Operations
Endowed
with a deep-water, silt-free natural harbour
strategically located along a major sea route
and with the Chinese mainland providing a huge
cargo base, Hong Kong has become a sea transport
hub in Asia.
Advanced
port facilities and efficient port services
are complemented by excellent trade, financial
and other services which underpin Hong Kong's
status as the 10th largest trading entity in
the world. The port handles 80% of Hong Kong's
total external cargo volume. The shipping sector
employs more than 25,000 people, and generates
more than US$5bn in revenues annually.
Hong
Kong is the world's busiest container port,
and strong expansion of the southern China cargo
base is expected to provide long-term growth
of port traffic in Hong Kong, despite some diversion
of ocean-going transhipment cargo and the competition
from new ports in southern China.
Hong
Kong's port facilities are financed, built,
owned and operated by private firms. It is the
only major port not run by a port authority.
Hong
Kong is a major ship owning and management centre.
As at September 2007, there were 1,009 ships
(35 million gross registered tons) on the Hong
Kong Shipping Register. In terms of tonnage,
Hong Kong shipowners control more than 34 million
tonnes (6%) of the merchant ships in the world,
ranking 6th after Greece, Japan, Norway, the
US and China. According to the Hong Kong Shipowners'
Association, the total tonnage of ships owned
or managed by its members is more than 60 million
deadweight tonnes.
An
increasing number of countries are seeking to
privatise their port operation and/or develop
new ports to be run on a commercial basis. An
exportable sea transport service from Hong Kong
is thus the development and management of ports
in the Chinese mainland and the wider region.
Hong Kong port operators are already active
in this field. For example, Hutchison Port Holdings
Group now owns, manages and operates container
terminals in the Chinese mainland, the UK, Netherlands,
Panama, Bahamas, Indonesia, Myanmar etc. It
is the biggest independent port operator in
the world, handling around 10% of the global
container traffic.
In
order to strengthen Hong Kong's position as
an international shipping centre,the government
has reduced merchant shipping registration fees
and annual tonnage charges by 50%. Other improvements
include simplifying the ship survey requirements,
computerising ship registration procedures,
negotiating double-tax agreements with major
trading partners and reducing the tax burden
on Hong Kong shipping companies. These measures
not only aim at building up Hong Kong's register
tonnage, but also to attract shipping companies
to set up operations in Hong Kong to manage
their ships. After 28 January 2000, Hong Kong-registered
ships paid lower dues when they call at mainland
ports.
Total
port cargo throughput in the third quarter 2007,
recorded virtually no change over a year earlier,
at 61.7 million tonnes, the Census & Statistics
Department announced. Within this total, inward
port cargo fell 1% to 34.9 million tonnes, while
outward port cargo rose 1% to 26.7 million tonnes.
The port handled 6.2 million containers in the
third quarter, a rise of 2% over a year earlier.
.
The
tendering exercise for Hong Kong's Kai Tak cruise
terminal project started in the fourth quarter
of 2007, the Tourism Commission has said, adding
that it has proposed development parameters
for the project.
According
to a Commission document submitted to the Legislative
Council on August 9, bidders must have at least
three years' immediate experience in operating
a cruise terminal with a minimum annual throughput
of 200,000 homeport passengers. They will be
required to propose a design that can provide
flexible services to different cruise operators.
The
terminal's first berth is slated to open in
February 2012. The successful bidder will be
required to provide a bond of 5% of the estimated
construction cost of the facilities to the Government,
as a financial disincentive against any delays.
The
second berth should be commissioned within three
years upon a demand letter being issued by the
Director of Lands. The target date is beyond
2015.
The
successful bidder can also commission the second
berth earlier to handle smaller cruise vessels,
subject to Government approval, which would
take into account various implications such
as traffic conditions and marine safety.
The
successful bidder will be given the flexibility
to complete the commercial area in phases by
2020, and it will be required to build a landscaped
deck on the roof of the cruise terminal building
to allow the public to enjoy the waterfront.
