The Marine Department of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region governs the Port of Hong Kong, which does not have a formal port authority that provides and controls port infrastructure. Most of the facilities in the Port of Hong Kong are privately-owned and -operated.
The Marine Department is responsible for navigational and safety matters in the Port of Hong Kong. They facilitate the safe movement of vessels and passengers, ensure compliance with local and international standards, administer the Shipping Register, coordinate maritime research and rescue operations, combat oil pollution and floating refuse in Port of Hong Kong waters, and provide and maintain government vessels.
In 2010, over 211.8 thousand vessels arrived at the Port of Hong Kong, including 30.3 thousand ocean-going cargo vessels and 2.3 thousand ocean-going passenger vessels. More than 91 thousand river cargo vessels and 88.1 thousand river passenger vessels arrived in the Port of Hong Kong in 2010. Cruise and ferry vessels accounted for 42.6%, and fully cellular container vessels accounted for 40% of all vessels using the Port of Hong Kong in 2010.
Of the 90.2 thousand cruise and ferry vessels using the Port of Hong Kong in 2010, 2.1 thousand were ocean-going vessels, and 88.1 thousand were river vessels. Of the total 84.8 thousand container vessels, 21.7 thousand were ocean-going vessels, and 63.1 thousand were river vessels.
In terms of TEUs of containerized cargo moving through the Port of Hong Kong, ocean-going vessels carried 16.2 thousand TEUs, and river vessels carried 7.5 thousand TEUs. Container terminals handled 17.1 thousand (72% of all) TEUs of containerized cargo, and non-container terminals handled 6.6 thousand (28% of all) TEUs.
Over 13 thousand passengers arrived at the Port of Hong Kong in 2010. Of these, 11.5 thousand arrived at the marine ferry terminals and 1551 arrived at the SkyPier (at the Hong Kong International Airport). Of all passengers, 9.7 thousand arrived from Macau, 3.2 thousand arrived from river trade ports, and 109 arrived by conventional ferry.
Passengers departing the Port of Hong Kong totaled 13.7 thousand people, 13 thousand departing from the marine ferry terminals and 690 departing from SkyPier. Of all Port of Hong Kong departures, 10.9 thousand people were traveling to Macau, and 2.7 thousand departed for river trade ports.
In 2010, the Port of Hong Kong handled almost 510.9 million tons of cargo. Of that total, 380.6 million tons (74% of all cargo) was carried on 84.8 thousand fully cellular container vessels.
Ocean-going vessels, representing 15.4% of all vessels using the Port of Hong Kong, carried 401.8 million tons (78.7% of all cargo). Just over 63 river container vessels, representing 29.8% of all vessels using the port of Hong Kong, carried 109 million tons (21.3% of all cargo).
After containers, 4.1 thousand dry bulk cargo vessels carried 40.7 million tons (8% of all cargo) through the Port of Hong Kong, 1.9 thousand oil tankers carried 16.6 million tons (3.2% of all cargo), and 15 thousand conventional cargo vessels carried 15.5 million tons (3% of all cargo).
River vessels accounted for 84.6% of all vessels and 21.3% of all cargo volume in 2010. River vessels accounted for 74.4% of all container vessels but just 16.1% of container cargo volume in the Port of Hong Kong. River vessels accounted for 74.2% of all passenger vessels, 67.1% of all dry bulk carriers (but 28.3% of all dry bulk cargo volume), and 38.2% of all oil tankers (but 14.8% of all oil tanker volume).
Ocean-going vessels represented 15.4% of all vessels using the Port of Hong Kong in 2010 but 78% of all cargo volume. In terms of cargo volume, ocean-going vessels carried 85.2% of all oil tanker cargo volume, 83.9% of all container cargo volume, 71.7% of all dry bulk cargo volume, and 56.9% of all conventional cargo volume.
Lying at the mouth of the Pearl River Delta, the Port of Hong Kong is in the center of the Asian Pacific Rim, a fast-growing economic region. The Port of Hong Kong is the crossroads for both large ocean-going vessels and smaller coastal and river craft that travel the Pearl River. The Port of Hong Kong is the only fully-developed deep-water harbor between the ports of Shanghai and Singapore. Pilotage is required for vessels of and over three thousand gross tons and for all gas carriers regardless of tonnage.
The Port of Hong Kong contains almost 7.7 thousand meters of quays at the Kwai Chung and Stonecutters terminals, about 7.0 thousand meters (22.9 thousand feet) of quays at public cargo working areas. Three public passenger ferry terminals serve over 20 million passengers per year traveling to and from mainland China and Macau.
Container Terminals
Kwai Tsing Container Terminals in the northwestern area of the Port of Hong Kong harbor contain nine container terminals with 24 berths that total about 8.5 thousand meters (27.9 thousand feet) in length. The Port of Hong Kong container terminal area of 217 hectares includes container yards and container freight stations. Planning is ongoing for a new Container Terminal 10 which would likely be located Tsing Yi or Lantau.
The nine Port of Hong Kong container terminals have capacity to handle more than 18 million TEUs. In addition, container throughput is handled by the River Trade Terminal located at Tuen Mun and by mid-stream mooring stations. Five companies operate the Kwai Tsing Container Terminals in the Port of Hong Kong.
Hongkong International Terminals is owned by Hutchison Port Holdings, the Port of Hong Kong's biggest port operator and the leading operator in the world. HIT manages 12 berths in Terminals 4, 6, 7, and 9 (North) of the Kwai Tsing Container Terminals. It is also involved in a joint venture with COSCO Pacific (COSCO-HIT) that operates two berths in the Port of Hong Kong's Terminal 8 (East).
HIT operates three berths alongside depth of 12.5 meters (41 feet) in Port of Hong Kong Terminal 4, which is equipped with eight quay cranes. Equipped with 11 quay cranes, HIT operates three berths at Terminal 6 with alongside depths ranging from 12.5 meters to 15.5 meters (50.8 feet).
HIT operates four berths alongside depth of 15.5 meters in the Port of Hong Kong's Terminal 7, where the berths are equipped with a total of 15 quay cranes. At Terminal 8 East in the Port of Hong Kong, HIT operates jointly with COSCO two berths with total quay length of 640 meters (2.1 thousand feet).
Terminal 8 in the Port of Hong Kong covers 30 hectares and is equipped with nine quay cranes. At Terminal 9 North, HIT operates two berths with total quay length of 700 meters (2.3 thousand feet) alongside depth of 15.5 meters. HIT operates nine quay cranes at the Port of Hong Kong's Terminal 9 North, which covers 19 hectares.
- Modern Terminals Limited (MTL)
The second biggest container terminal operator in the Port of Hong Kong is Modern Terminals Limited. MTL operates terminals 1, 2, 5, and 9 (South) in the Kwai Tsing Container Terminals group. MTL operates one berth with alongside depth of 14 meters (45.9 feet) each in the Port of Hong Kong's Terminal 1, Terminal 2, and Terminal 5.
MTL operates four berths with berthing space of 1240 meters (4.1 thousand feet) with alongside depth of 15.5 meters (50.8 feet) at the Port of Hong Kong's Terminal 9 South, which covers 49 hectares and is equipped with 13 quay cranes. MTL operates four quay cranes each at Terminal 1 and Terminal 5 in the Port of Hong Kong. It operates five quay cranes at Terminal 2. It is also involved in joint ventures for container terminals in Mainland China.
The China Ocean Shipping Company, known as COSCO or COSCO Group, is one of the world's biggest shipping companies. Owned by the People's Republic of China, its headquarters are located in Beijing. The company visits more than a thousand ports around the world each year. They own and operate a 550-vessel fleet that has capacity to carry as much as 30 million metric tons DWT.
COSCO Group has six listed companies and over 300 local and international subsidiaries. These companies offer freight forwarding, ship-building and -repair, terminal operation, trade, real estate, financial, and services information management. COSCO companies also manufacture containers. COSCO Group is the biggest carrier of dry bulk cargoes in China and one of the biggest in the world. They are also China's biggest liner carrier.
A leading operator of marine ports across 31 countries, DP World operates 49 terminals today and has nine under development. DP World owns the majority of DPI. DPI operates one berth at the Port of Hong Kong's Terminal 3 with berthing space of 305 meters (one thousand feet) with alongside depth of 14 meters (45.9 feet). Terminal 3 in the Port of Hong Kong's Kwai Tsing Container Terminals covers an area of 16.7 hectares, and the berth is equipped with six quay cranes.
ACT is the main stakeholder in Container Terminal 9 (CT9) at Kwai Tsing Container Terminals in the Port of Hong Kong. ACT operates two container berths Terminal 9, and it has operated two berths at Container Terminal 8 since 2004. The two berths have total berthing space of 740 meters (2.4 thousand feet) with alongside depth of 15.5 meters (50.8 feet). This Port of Hong Kong terminal covers 28.5 hectares and is equipped with eight quay cranes.
Ferry Terminals
The combined Port of Hong Kong ferry services at the Macau Ferry Terminal, the China Ferry Terminal, and the Tuen Mun Ferry Terminal serve 24 ports in mainland China and Macau. The Marine Department manages the ferry terminals in the Port of Hong Kong.
In 2010, almost 24.3 million passengers traveled through the ferry terminals in the Port of Hong Kong, with over 81% of those passengers traveling to and from Macau. In addition to the ferries, about 100 high-speed passenger craft (like jetfoils, hoverferries, and catamarans) use those Port of Hong Kong terminals.
Public Cargo-Working Areas
To help the movement of cargo between the sea and vessels and to help move cargo to/from the Pearl River ports, the Port of Hong Kong manages 7.8 thousand meters (25.4 thousand feet) of public sea frontage in various Port of Hong Kong locations.
Facilities for handing coal and oil are located at power-generating stations in the Port of Hong Kong at Po Lo Tsui on Lamma Island and at Tap Shek Kok in Castle Peak.
Government Fleet
The Port of Hong Kong?s government fleet includes more than 600 vessels of all types and sizes that serve 16 government departments like maritime police and fire services and customs. The Marine Department has around 100 vessels that include patrol launches, pontoons, barges, personnel carriers, and specialized vessels that support Port of Hong Kong operations and other government departments.
The Government Dockyard on Stonecutters Island in the Port of Hong Kong also has an 8.3 hectare protected water basin that is used as a base for the Department's vessels. The dockyard is equipped with a ship-lift system and three ship hoists that can dry dock vessels of as much as 750 tons. It also has 12 covered docking sheds and more than 22 open-yard docking spaces for vessel repair and maintenance. Maintenance and support activities are coordinated by the Port of Hong Kong's online information system to achieve the highest possible availability of vessels and operational efficiency.
Port Services
- The Pilotage Authority for the Port of Hong Kong is the Director of the Marine Department. Pilotage is required for ships of three thousand gross tons and above. In addition, immigration and quarantine facilities are available 24 hours a day.
- The Port of Hong Kong contains ample facilities for the repair, maintenance, dry-dock, and slipping of vessels. There are two floating dry docks off Tsing Yi Island, the largest with capacity to dock vessels to 150 thousand metric tons DWT. There are many smaller shipyards throughout the Port of Hong Kong that repair vessels and build specialized craft.
- The Marine Department operates 58 mooring buoys in the Port of Hong Kong dedicated to ocean-going vessels. Of these Port of Hong Kong buoys, 31can accommodate ships to 183 meters (600 feet) long, and the remaining 26 buoys can serve vessels to 137 meters (449.5 feet) long. Forty-four special mooring buoys are typhoon moorings where ships can safely moor during tropical cyclones.
- The Marine Department maintains three immigration and quarantine anchorages, eight dangerous goods anchorages, and eight general purpose anchorages to provide temporary berthing space. Supporting the transfer of cargoes between vessels and shore and to and from Pearl River ports, the Marine Department manages about 6.7 thousand meters of public cargo working areas throughout the Port of Hong Kong.
- The Port of Hong Kong maintains more than 460 marine navigation aids throughout the port. The Port of Hong Kong provides navigation aids through the Navigation and Mooring Unit. The Unit maintains 540 aids that include 120 lighted buoys and 420 lighted beacons. To use more renewable energy in the Port of Hong Kong, about 90% of the battery-operated navigation aids are powered by solar energy.
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