Hong Kong Government News

More than two dozen crew on an engineering [reportedly an offshore wind] vessel [Fujing 001] with 30 people on board were missing after it snapped in two in waters off Hong Kong as tropical storm Chaba passed through, authorities said.Three crew members were rescued, and search and rescue operations were continuing for others about 300 km (200 miles) southwest of the city, the Hong Kong Government Flying Service said.

The number of Indo-Pacific humpback dolphins seen around Hong Kong has jumped as the pause in high-speed ferry traffic due to the coronavirus allows the threatened species to make something of a comeback, scientists said.Marine scientist Lindsay Porter of the University of St. Andrews said the mammals - also known as Chinese white dolphins and pink dolphins - were moving back into parts of the Pearl River Delta that they typically avoided due to the ferries that connect Hong Kong and Macau.Dolphin numbers in the area had jumped by up to 30% since March when the ferry traffic was suspended…

Hong Kong has suspended cross-border ferry service to and from mainland China as it seeks to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus.All cross-boundary ferry services to and from the China Ferry Terminal and the Tuen Mun Ferry Terminal have been suspended, Hong Kong's government announced on Wednesday,The government said other modes of transport, including rail and airline service, have also been suspended or restricted as part of its plans to reduce the flow of people between the Mainland and Hong Kong.As of Wednesday morning…

Law firm Mayer Brown advised CLP Power Hong Kong on the Hong Kong offshore LNG terminal project, which involves the use of floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) technology for the first time in Hong Kong. The FSRU will receive, store, and regasify LNG into two separate subsea gas pipelines to supply natural gas to Castle Peak Power Company Limited and Hongkong Electric Co., Ltd., generating power for Hong Kong residents.Mayer Brown advised CLP Power Hong Kong Limited on the FSRU charter and regasification agreements and operation and maintenance services to be provided to the offshore LNG terminal with Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL), one of the world's largest shipping operators.

China on Friday denied reports it has been illicitly selling oil products to North Korea after U.S. President Donald Trump said he was not happy that China had allowed oil to reach the isolated nation. Trump said on Twitter the previous day that China had been "caught" allowing oil into North Korea and that would prevent "a friendly solution" to the crisis over North Korea's nuclear and missile programmes that it conducts in defiance of heavy U.N. Security Council sanctions. "I have been soft on China because the only thing more important to me than trade is war…

Representatives of the British and Hong Kong maritime business sectors have agreed to forge a closer working relationship. Under the terms of a new Memorandum of Understanding, Maritime London and the Hong Kong Maritime & Port Board (HKMPB) will cooperate in a range of areas including promotional activity, training and sharing of best practice for maritime business services. The agreement was signed in London during London International Shipping Week by Chan Fan, Frank, JP, Secretary for Transport & Housing…

The owners of Five Stars Fujian have at last paid for much-needed supplies to the Hong Kong vessel, which has been detained by the Australian Maritime Safety Authority since August 12, reports local media. The Five Stars Fujian has been detained off the port of Gladstone in  by the Australian Maritime Safety Authority after inspectors found the company had breached the Maritime Labour Convention over the insufficient food and unpaid wages for the Chinese crew. Local Australian media and Great Britain's Guardian newspaper reported earlier this week that the capsesize class coal carrier, has been sitting in the middle of the Great Barrier Reef for the past month with supplies diminishing and salaries going unpaid.

The Hong Kong Shipowners Association (HKSOA) on Thursday called on the city's authorities to provide assistance to the crew of a Hong Kong-flagged coal ship off the east coast of Australia that is running out of food and fuel. Local Australian media and Great Britain's Guardian newspaper reported this week that the Five Stars Fujian, a 180,000 deadweight tonne capsesize class coal carrier, has been sitting in the middle of the Great Barrier Reef for the past month with supplies diminishing and salaries going unpaid. The HKSOA said in a statement that the ship was under detention by the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA), off the port of Gladstone, for breaches of the Maritime Labour Convention relating to lack of provisions and unpaid wages.

Global trade enabler DP World Group Chairman and CEO Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem spoke at China’s Belt and Road Summit in Hong Kong this week highlighting the need for better international cross-sector connectivity in order to realise the significant trade potential. Speaking on a panel entitled ‘Enhancing cross-sector connectivity along the Belt and Road’ he stressed the impact on global trade that economic cooperation can bring, with more than 60 countries involved in the One Belt One Road (OBOR) initiative. The OBOR includes 30% of the world’s countries home to 70% of its population, 55% of global GNP and 75% of total energy reserves.

DNV GL, the technical advisor to the oil and gas industry, has been awarded a framework agreement by CLP Hong Kong to deliver risk management advisory services for its Asia Pacific operations. Projects are already underway, with several more projects expected within 2015. The term of the contract is two years, with an option for further extensions. The frame agreement covers all CLP operations in Hong Kong, mainland China, Taiwan, India, South East Asia and Australia. CLP provides electricity to 80% of Hong Kong’s population through its three local power stations. It plans to increase its reliance on natural gas in line with a Hong Kong government environmental target to double generation to 50% in 2020.

BMT Group subsidiaries BMT Asia Pacific and BMT Nigel Gee have been appointed to provide vessel design consultancy services to the Hong Kong government. The contract, awarded by the Hong Kong Marine Department following a competitive tender, includes provision for the design and specification of up to seven new composite patrol vessels for the Harbor Patrol Section. BMT said its experience in the design and specification of a wide variety of craft (GRP/steel/aluminum alloy) and hullforms (monohull/catamaran) delivered over the last decade was key in securing the contract…

A study says Hong Kong will eventually have to move its container terminals out of Kwai Tsing to remain competitive. A study by think tank SD Advocates, the Chinese University and BMT Asia Pacific says that Hong Kong needs to relocate the container terminals from Kwai Tsing to another part of the city, if it wants to remain a competitive global logistics hub in the long term. The terminals, opened more than 40 years ago, were outdated because they were designed for direct cargo to and from the city. They were built to handle direct South China export containers that have all but disappeared. Around 70 percent of the containers handled by the 24 berths are transshipment cargo and require thousands of inter-terminal trucking moves.

BMT Asia Pacific, a subsidiary of BMT Group Ltd, is pleased to announce the completion of The Strategic Development Plan for Hong Kong Port 2030 (HKP2030) on behalf of the Hong Kong Government. The Study is a key element in guiding local port development policy and planning investment for the future. Following an in-depth review of the containerised cargo market in Hong Kong, BMT developed a plan to enhance the competitiveness of Hong Kong’s port sector via a series of staged improvements to the existing container terminals and facilities, through the allocation of more berths, barging sites and back-up land. “We want to make sure we spend money wisely.

BMT Asia Pacific, a subsidiary of BMT Group has appointed Joanne Tse as Head of Risk Management based in Hong Kong. The new appointment will help support the regional growth of risk consultancy services - principally in the transportation and construction sectors. Joanne will be actively involved in developing and managing risk projects for our growing client base. She brings more than 15 years of experience in the rail industry specialising in risk assessment and management, safety assurance, and corporate/enterprise risk management. Rejoining BMT after three years at Willis Insurance Brokers, Joanne’s previous tenure focussed on rail engineering projects involving operational and construction project risks.

The U.S. Navy's forward-deployed aircraft carrier USS George Washington (CVN 73) hosted Hong Kong government officials and media for a daylight embark, Nov. The 20 representatives visited the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier to gain a general orientation of the ship's mission in the U.S. 7th Fleet area of operations. "We greatly value this visit and hope we can continue to work together as partners," said Rear Adm. Mark Montgomery, commander, Battle Force U.S. 7th Fleet, as he welcomed the guests aboard the ship. Tom Cooney, acting consul general, U.S. Consulate General; and Maj. Gen.

Search is ongoing in the South China Sea amid strong gales for 74 crew missing after three fishing boats sank in Typhoon 'Wutip'. The three boats, all from south China's Guangdong Province with 88 fishermen aboard, were lost on Sunday afternoon near Shanhu Island of the Xisha Islands, about 330 km from China's island province of Hainan, sources with the Hainan maritime search and rescue center informed Xinhua. Of these, 14 survivors had been rescued. The Chinese Navy's Nanhai Fleet has sent 7 warships, a helicopter and ten rescue teams to search the waters around the scene of the accident. Currently, a total of 277 fishermen trapped in the typhoon have been sheltered by the army at Chenhang Island as of Monday evening.

A new OECD report, The Competitiveness of Global Port-Cities; Synthesis Report, outlines the role of ports in urban and national economies. The report, to be released in Rotterdam on 9, September 2013, provides policy recommendations to increase the positive economic impacts and mitigate negative impacts related to environment, land use and traffic congestion. OECD Deputy Secretary General Yves LETERME and Mr. -          Mrs. -          Mr. -          Mr. -          Mrs. -          Mrs. -          Mrs. -          Mr. -          Mr. -          Mr. -          Mr. -          Mr. Patrick DAHER (President Supervisory Board, Port of Marseille). The conference takes place in Rotterdam, the Netherlands (LantarenVenster, Otto Reuchlinweg 996, Rotterdam), on Monday 9 September, from 9:15 to 17:30.

TEAM Ports & Maritime, an Adelte Group company , is transporting by sea three of its five mega PBBs contracted by the Hong Kong Government. TEAM, a company in the design, manufacture and installation of Passenger Boarding Bridges (PBBs) for cruise and ferry terminals, has completed the assembly, implementation and loading of its first three mega boarding bridges, which are on their way to the new Kai Tak terminal in Hong Kong. These five-tunnel HYDRA PBBs, each weighing 170 tons…

Ship onshore power alternative provision to take several years, but clean fuel requirement by 2014. It will take several years for the government to introduce onshore electricity power facilities at the Kai Tak cruise terminal but a law requiring ocean-going vessels berthing at the city to use cleaner fuel can be in place next year at the earliest, reports the South China Morning Post. According to the think tank Civic Exchange, vessels visiting Ocean Terminal emitted 252 tonnes of sulphur dioxide in 2007 - comparable to the 286 tonnes of vehicle emissions in Hong Kong in 2010. Hong Kong Government's Undersecretary for the Environment…

Despite having the world's largest and most advanced air cargo facilities and one of the busiest container ports, Hong Kong lags behind Singapore in providing sophisticated third party logistics (3PL) services, a study says. The study, "Economic Impacts of Logistics Center Development in Hong Kong", urged the Hong Kong government to help the private sector in developing Hong Kong's logistics industry to catch up with logistics hubs in the region. The study said an investment of $603 million per year over five years to develop 3PL services would be necessary for Hong Kong to catch up with hubs such as Singapore. The Singapore government actively supported the logistics industry with land premium concessions…

Pacific Century CyberWorks Ltd. said its PCCW-HKT telecommunications unit on Wednesday signed an agreement to provide advanced vessel traffic monitoring systems for the Hong Kong Marine Department. PCCW said the agreement was signed with Holland Institute of Traffic Technology (HITT), to which the Hong Kong government has awarded a HK$158 million surveillance equipment contract with PCCW-HKT as its sub-contractor. The marine project is due for completion by the end of 2001. HITT will be responsible for the project's overall design and software applications development. PCCW-HKT will operate and maintain the system once it is up and running.

The Hong Kong government said on Thursday, it and the Netherlands had signed an agreement to exempt ship owners in the two places from paying double tax. "The agreement is beneficial to ship owners in Hong Kong and the Netherlands as it exempts owners of Hong Kong ships from paying tax levied on cargo loaded in the Netherlands, and vice versa," Secretary for Economic Services Sandra Lee said. Lee said Hong Kong already had similar agreements with the United States, mainland China and Britain and was discussing the issue with about 20 other countries, including Germany, Greece, Australia and Denmark. -(Reuters)

Hutchison Whampoa Ltd. rejected allegations made by a U.S. senator that it controlled both ends of the Panama Canal, saying it had no influence over the canal’s operation or shipping traffic. “What has been alleged about is totally untrue and unfounded,” said Nora Yong, spokeswoman for Hutchison Port Holdings. The Hong Kong-based company also denied the senator’s allegations it was connected to China’s military. Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott, a Mississippi Republican, last week released a letter sent Aug. 1 to U.S. Defense Secretary William Cohen complaining that Hutchison’s operation of container ports at each end of the canal was a security threat and a sign of China’s growing influence over the strategically important waterway.