Port of Hong Kong

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Port of Hong Kong 香港港口
Container terminals in Kwai Chung, Hong Kong, crossed by Stonecutters Bridge
Click on the map for a fullscreen view
Location
Country	China
Location	Hong Kong
Coordinates	22°20′N 114°8′E / 22.333°N 114.133°E / 22.333; 114.133
UN/LOCODE	HK KCO
Details
Operated by	Hong Kong Maritime and Port Board
Owned by	Government of Hong Kong
Type of harbour	Natural deepwater seaport
Land area	279 hectares
No. of berths	24
Statistics
Annual TEU	18 million (2020)
Website Official website

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The Port of Hong Kong located by the

Administration

Responsibility for administering the port is vested in the Director of Marine. The Port Operations Committee advises him on all matters affecting the efficient operations of the port, except those matters that are the responsibility of the Pilotage Advisory Committee and the Provisional Local Vessels Advisory Committee. The

Secretary for Transport and Housing

, as they both were.

The

.

Shipping

Hong Kong is one of several hub ports serving the South-East and East Asia region, and is an economic gateway to mainland China. The port is part of the Maritime Silk Road that runs from the Chinese coast via the Suez Canal to the Mediterranean, there to the Upper Adriatic region of Trieste with its rail connections to Central and Eastern Europe.^[2][3][4][5]

Hong Kong set a record in its container throughput in 2007 by handling 23.9 million TEUs (20-foot equivalent units of containers), maintaining its status as the largest container port serving southern China and one of the busiest ports in the world. Some 456,000 vessels arrived in and departed from Hong Kong during the year, carrying 243 million tonnes of cargo and about 25 million passengers.

, it is 42 and 52 hours respectively.

Container Port traffic

The port has been one of the busiest container ports in the world for many years, and at times the busiest. It was the

container port from 1987 to 1989, from 1992 to 1997, and from 1999 to 2004. The amount of container ships that went through Hong Kong's container port was 25,869 in 2016, with a net register tonnage of 386,853 tonnes in 2016.^[7][8]

Container terminals

There are currently nine container terminals situated at Kwai Chung, Stonecutters Island and Tsing Yi (the last one completed in 2004). Substantial container throughput is handled by the River Trade Terminal at Tuen Mun and by mid-stream.

Kwai Tsing Container Terminals

The

 (TEU).

These terminals are operated by five companies, namely:

• Modern Terminals Ltd.
  (MTL)
• Hongkong International Terminals Ltd.
  (HIT)
• COSCO Information & Technology (H.K.) Ltd.
  (COSCO)
• Dubai Port International Terminals Ltd.
  (DPI)
• Asia Container Terminals Ltd. (ACT)

The existing 9 terminals occupy 2.17 square kilometres of land, providing 18 berths and 6,592 metres deep water frontage. These terminals handle about 60% of total container traffic handled in Hong Kong.

In July, 2020, The Port of Hong Kong welcomed HMM Gdansk, the world's largest container vessel, on its maiden call to Hong Kong at Kwai Tsing Container Terminal 7.^[9]

Planning is underway for a potential Container Terminal 10 (CT10), with possible sites narrowed down to either southwest Tsing Yi or northwest

, to the west of the airport.

Container terminals

Terminal	Operator	Depth (m)	Berths	Quay length (m)	Quay cranes	Area (m2)	Capacity (kTEUs)
Terminal 1 (CT1)	MTL	14	1		4
Terminal 2 (CT2)	MTL	14	1		5
Terminal 3 (CT3)	DPI	14	1	305	6	167,000	>1,200
Terminal 4 (CT4)	HIT	12.5	3		8
Terminal 5 (CT5)	MTL	14	1		4
Terminal 6 (CT6)	HIT	12.5–15.5	3		11
Terminal 7 (CT7)	HIT	15.5	4		15
Terminal 8 East (CT8E)	HIT/COSCO	15.5	2	640	9	300,000	1,800
Terminal 8 West (CT8W)	ACT	15.5	2	740	8	285,000	>2,000
Terminal 9 North (CT9N)	HIT	15.5	2	700	9	190,000	>2,600 (N&S)
Terminal 9 South (CT9S)	MTL	15.5	4	1,240	13	490,000

River Trade Terminal at Tuen Mun

The River Trade Terminal at Tuen Mun involves the consolidation of containers, break bulk and bulk cargo shipped between the Hong Kong port and ports in the Pearl River Delta. The terminal is located near

in Tuen Mun, New Territories, and is operated by River Trade Terminal Company Ltd. The 65-hectare terminal, completed in November 1999, has about 3,000 metres of quay, according to Hong Kong Port Development Council data.

Mid-stream

Mid-stream operation involves loading and unloading containers to and from ships while at sea, with barges or dumb steel lighters performing the transfer, and then distributing or landing the containers to piers nearby. Due to high handling fees at the container terminals, Hong Kong has become the only place in the world with at-sea loading and unloading operations.

Currently, there are 11 different yard sites solely for mid-stream operations, occupying a total land area of 27.5 hectares and waterfrontage of 3,197 metres.

Ferry services

The

, operate from these terminals. In 2001, over 17 million passengers passed through the terminals, comprising approximately 11.2 million passenger trips to/from Macau and 6.5 million passenger trips to/from mainland ports.

Government fleet

There are over 600 vessels of different types and sizes in the government fleet. About 152 vessels are major mechanised vessels serving under 16 government departments such as the

tonnes

. An on-line computerised information system is employed to co-ordinate the maintenance activities and support services to maximise maintenance efficiency and vessel availability.

Drydocks and slipways

The port has extensive facilities for repairing, maintaining, drydocking and slipping of all types of vessels. Two floating drydocks are located off the west coast of Tsing Yi Island and two northeast of Lantau Island. The largest is capable of docking vessels up to 150,000 tonnes

shipyards

, which carry out repairs to vessels and build specialised craft, including sophisticated patrol craft and pleasure vessels for overseas markets.

Port facilities and services

Moorings and anchorages

The Marine Department operates and maintains 58 mooring buoys for seagoing vessels. Of these 31 are suitable for ships up to 183 metres in length and 27 for ships up to 137 metres. There are 44 special typhoon mooring buoys to which ships can remain secured during typhoons. This improves efficiency and reduces operational costs of vessels through elimination of unnecessary movements. In addition to the three Immigration and Quarantine Anchorages designated for visiting vessels to complete port formalities, there are eight dangerous goods and eight general-purpose anchorages providing temporary berthing spaces for vessels.

The areas and water depths of the anchorages are diversified to accommodate different sizes and draughts of ships calling at Hong Kong. There are over 460 modern marine

throughout Hong Kong waters to guide mariners to and from their berths.

Navigation safety

All

operations within the Hong Kong search and rescue region in the South China Sea.

A comprehensive

Kwai Chung Container Port

. The VTC is thus able to promptly initiate and co-ordinate actions required to facilitate safe navigation in the port.

The Hydrographic Office of the Marine Department surveys Hong Kong waters and produces nautical charts to facilitate safe navigation within the port. It functions with reference to the standards laid down by the International

Pilotage is compulsory for ships of 3,000 gross tons and above and gas carriers of any tonnage. Quarantine and immigration facilities are available on a 24-hour basis. Advance immigration clearance and radio pratique may be obtained by certain vessels on application.

Dangerous goods

Dangerous goods are moved in the waters of Hong Kong strictly in accordance with the International Maritime Dangerous Goods Code. Their movements must be recorded in Marine Department's Dangerous Goods Information System. Fire-fighting vessels operated by the Fire Services Department are kept in a state of readiness at all times. The Marine Department's pollution control vessels are on 24-hour standby to deal with

oil spills

.

Other working facilities

To facilitate transfer of cargo between vessels and the shore, and cargo to and from

.

Hong Kong Shipping Register

Hong Kong is a major centre of ship ownership and management. Ships owned or managed in Hong Kong amount to 100 million gross tons. Hong Kong has been recognised by the international shipping sector as a first-rate ship registration centre, where registration of ships is entirely voluntary. At the end of 2001, 653 ships were registered in Hong Kong, with a total gross tonnage of 13.7 million tons – a 32 per cent growth over the previous year.

(IMO). As an associate member of the IMO, the Government ensures that ships registered in Hong Kong are maintained to the highest international safety and marine environmental protection standards.

A Flag State Quality Control (FSQC) System was introduced in 1999

, cargo-handling on ships and safety afloat.

Seafarers

Hong Kong is a centre for employment of

. The mercantile marine office registers seafarers, regulates their employment on board ships of all flags and supervises the employment and discharge of seafarers on Hong Kong ships and foreign ships not represented in Hong Kong by a consulate office.

See also

• Container transport
• Economy of Hong Kong
• List of East Asian ports
• List of harbours in Hong Kong
• Transportation in Hong Kong

References

External links

• Hong Kong Port Development Council
• Arrival/Departures in Hong Kong's port – Real-time
• Port and Maritime Statistics
• Asia Container Terminals Ltd
• COSCO Information & Technology (H.K.) Ltd
• Dubai Port International Ltd
• Hongkong International Terminals Ltd
• Modern Terminals Ltd
• Statistics on Vessels, Port Cargo and Containers – Census and Statistics Department