ENG-1946 — Page 129

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The Port.

Chapter 11.

COMMUNICATIONS.

The fortunes of a major port and commercial entrepôt are to a great extent dependent on the efficiency of its communications, both internal and external, and in particular on its shipping. Before the war frequent scheduled passenger and cargo services connected Hong Kong with Europe, Africa, Australia, America and the Middle East. Ships of many nations were to be seen in the harbour, the most frequent callers, apart from the British P. & O., Blue Funnel, Ben Line, Bank Line, Ellerman's and Canadian Pacific Lines, being American, Scandinavian and French ships. In addition to the ocean-going tonnage there was a considerable traffic in cargo and passengers between Hong Kong and the neighbouring provinces of China; this was largely carried on by sailing and motor junks, but river steamers, British and foreign, also accounted for a fair proportion. A large number of steam launches and junks served the port as ancillary craft for the larger shipping.

The port facilities were seriously impaired both as a direct result of hostilities and also through neglect during the Japanese occupation. Government engaged the services of an adviser on salvage work and chartered three salvage craft to deal with wrecked and sunken vessels. Three out of eleven major wrecks within the harbour limits were cleared before the end of 1946, and the removal of the remainder was in hand. Of seventy-two small craft sunk in the harbour twenty-one of the most dangerous were lifted. It was estimated that the cost of removing the wrecks would amount to HK$1,000,000 and that a proportion of this sum would be recovered from the sale of salvage material.

A further obstacle to the restoration of the port was the lack of lighterage and of storage space. In 1941 there were approximately 2,000 craft in use as lighters or short-distance cargo boats in the harbour: in 1945 only about 500 could be mustered. The difficulties were to some extent eased by the allocation of surplus craft to the Colony by the Ministry of Transport which not only facilitated the satisfactory disposal of sewage and waste matter, but also provided both for Government and for commercial interests a supply of powered craft otherwise unobtainable. At the end of the year there were 900 lighters in commission. In order to ensure that the craft available were used to the best advantage of the Colony as a whole, all lighters were requisitioned in 1945 and allotted to users by the Government. Storage space was in equal demand; 170,000 tons of the 860,000 operated in 1941 by the three principal warehouse and wharf operators were destroy- ed during the course of hostilities and no new construction was possible during the year under review.