ENG-2005 — Page 318

272 Transport

Cross-boundary Ferries

Cross-boundary ferry services to about 18 Mainland ports and Macao are provided by seven operators at the Hong Kong-Macao Ferry Terminal in Sheung Wan and the China Ferry Terminal in Tsim Sha Tsui. The number of cross-boundary travellers using these services to travel to and from Mainland ports totalled 6.6 million and the number to and from Macao 12.6 million.

The Port

Hong Kong set a record in its container throughput in 2005 by handling 22.6 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 463 700 vessels arrived in and departed from Hong Kong during the year. These vessels carried 230 million tonnes of cargo and about 21 million passengers. Most of these passengers commuted on the world's largest fleet of high-speed ferries, including jetfoils and jet catamarans, to and from Macao and ports in the Mainland.

Hong Kong is a modern, well equipped deep-water port and, as the home of two different forms of maritime transport the large ocean-going vessels from all parts of the world and the smaller, coastal and river trade vessels from the Pearl River it is the focal point of all maritime trading activities in the region. On an average day there are around 110 ocean-going vessels working in the port; nearly 530 river trade vessels entering or leaving the port; and many river ferries and local craft working in or passing through the harbour. Ship turnaround performance is among the best in Asia: container ships at terminals are routinely turned around in 10 hours or less, and vessels working cargo at buoys take only one day on average.

A series of measures to enhance the competitiveness of Hong Kong port and the maritime industry were proposed during the year. These included introduction of a multiple entry permit for river trade vessels to streamline port formality procedures and to reduce permit costs, reduced port fees and charges, provision of more service anchorages to increase mid-stream cargo handling capacity, and a six-month annual tonnage fee reduction for Hong Kong registered vessels. The measures will be implemented in early 2006 on completion of the necessary legislative procedures.

Port Development

Container handling facilities are a key part of the infrastructure in the logistics sector, one of the four pillar industries of Hong Kong. The nine container terminals at Kwai Chung-Tsing Yi area have 24 berths with a total handling capacity of over 18 million TEUs per year

Competition between the container terminals and alternative modes of container handling motivates the operators to improve their efficiency and quality of service. The investment in upgrading equipment and systems in the terminals at Kwai