Merge Ferry Terminals to Increase Cruise, Yacht Berths: Legislator

Hong Kong should merge its two cross-boundary ferry terminals to provide more facilities for cruise ships and megayachts, a legislator representing the Transport functional constituency has suggested.

At a meeting of the Legislative Council on May 27, independent lawmaker Lothair Lam (林銘鋒) raised the possibility of concentrating ferry routes at the Hong Kong-Macau Ferry Terminal in Sheung Wan, freeing up the China Ferry Terminal in Tsim Sha Tsui for small to medium-sized cruise ships and pleasure vessels.

Passenger numbers at both terminals have dipped in recent years, Lam said, following the opening of the West Kowloon high-speed rail station and the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge in 2018. However, staff allocations have remained static — suggesting that the Government has not yet adjusted resource allocation in response to changes in demand. Running the remaining routes out of Sheung Wan would save government resources that could then be used to improve facilities at the aging ferry terminal. The China Ferry Terminal, which can accommodate large vessels at the heart of the city and comes equipped with immigration clearance and customs facilities, could then provide berths for smaller cruise ships and megayachts arriving from outside the territory.

In response to Lam’s inquiry, Secretary for Transport and Logistics Mable Chan (陳美寶) said that staffing at the ferry terminals was essential to keep the facilities operational, and could not be trimmed due to lowered demand.

“The Government will continue to closely monitor the long-term operation of the two [cross-boundary ferry terminals] and be open-minded in exploring various options that can promote their sustainable development, including the feasibility of the aforementioned proposal of merging the two,” Chan said.