Interest Increases for Mainland Vessels Visiting Hong Kong

One month after Hong Kong’s Marine Department introduced new measures making it easier for mainland-based vessels to enter the Special Administrative Region, interest north of the boundary has been steadily growing.

With mainland skippers now able to sit a test locally that qualifies them to navigate Hong Kong waters, nearly 100 have taken up the challenge, with 77 passing. Nine individual accounts have also been successfully registered on the Department’s revamped electronic business system (eBS), which enables yachts visiting Hong Kong to submit their arrival details and pay the relevant fees without the need for a local agent.

The Marine Department has also opened five anchorages for mainland vessels to moor in free of charge, although none have taken up the offer yet.

These numbers may not seem too impressive at this early stage, but authorities have high hopes for the yacht economy’s potential. In an interview with the state-backed Ta Kung Wen Wei Media Group, Director of Marine Wong Sai-fat (王世發) predicts that, once the yachting economy matures, it could generate between $4.4 billion and $22.5 billion for the local economy each year.