TNAG-0272-FCO40-308-Scheme-for-development-of-container-terminal-at-Hong-Kong-1970 — Page 75

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inaugurated last month to the United States has been fully

booked from the start, and the Company anticipates that

additional capacity for Hong Kong cargo as it becomes

available over the next few months will also be fully booked.

If container facilities are available in Hong

7.

Kong, the port is likely to build up a substantially

increased transhipment business. At least two shipping

lines have already indicated that, if sufficient container-

handling facilities are available they would wish to make

Hong Kong their transhipment centre for South East Asia.

Honourable Members might also wish to note the advantages

which Hong Kong possesses in this regard with respect te

her traditional entrepot trade in Chinese goods. For

political reasons, Taiwan would be unable to handle this

traffic and Singapore, which is reported to be making a

bid to become the containerisation centre for the Far East,

is too distant. It may, therefore, be expected that

shipping companies will be keen to ensure that adequate

facilities will be available in Hong Kong at an early date.

Honourable Members will, however, wish to note that,

should U.S. carriers undertake to operate services to

non-U.S. ports, because of embargo restrictions they would

be unable to carry Chinese transhipment cargoes.

8.

Honourable Members may wish to note that in the

last few weeks several shipping lines have made known to

Government representatives their plans for investing in

specialised container-ships for service on trade routes to the

Far East, and have enquired into the possible availability

of container-terminal facilities here. Among the more

significant of these approaches have been the following:-

(a) Sea-Land Services Inc.

Sea-Land Services Inc., a U.S. company, have

expressed a strong interest in developing

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