HKBIA  participated and raised the need for more accessible moorings in Hong Kong at the Legco subcommittee public consultation on 24 October 2023.

Agenda and details of the meeting can be accessed via the following link: 

https://www.legco.gov.hk/yr2022/english/hc/sub_com/hs104/agenda/hs10420231024.htm

Please use the following link to view the recording of the meeting:

https://webcast.legco.gov.hk/public/en-us?meetingid=M23100026

Please use the following link to access HKBIA's submitted paper:

https://www.legco.gov.hk/yr2022/english/hc/sub_com/hs104/papers/hs10420231024cb4-900-2-e.pdf

Contents of what was raised by HKBIA:

"HK is a pleasure boat haven - with over 200 unique islands and a beautiful coastline - making recreational boating very popular and accessible. We are one of the leading pleasure boat markets in Asia as we have developed a mature pleasure boating culture that many other countries/markets in the region are trying to achieve.

The pleasure boat industry in HK is growing fast as reflected in the number of registered pleasure vessels - over the past 20 years, the number of vessels have almost tripled from around 4,515 to 12,378 in 2022. In addition to the various sectors of our industry, our industry also creates jobs for hundreds of captains and crew.

However, our industry has faced significant challenges to grow over the past decade - as there have not been any marina developments or significant increase of accessible moorings. The lack of sheltered mooring spaces in relation to the increased number of pleasure vessels is one of the reasons why some of the typhoon shelters are so crowded today.

Although there is plenty of mooring space in Hei Ling Chau (HLC) - it is not ideal for pleasure vessels to moor there. The reasons are :

1. HLC is too far away from the city with no ferry

2. No security in the area making it easy for theft

3. No fresh water supply for drinking or washing boats

4. No sewage disposal

5. No shops or catering establishments

6. No infrastructure 

For these reasons, it is extremely difficult to incentivize vessels to moor in HLC or to find boat crew in this area…

Therefore, we applaud the government’s move in expanding the Aberdeen typhoon shelter as it will create more space for accessible moorings and open up the fairways for better safety. And we believe designated mooring areas for Pleasure, Fishing and Commercial vessels should be adopted to improve the shelter.

We also appreciate the Marine Department’s Pilot Scheme of exclusive mooring of vessels at Kwun Tong Typhoon shelter as the layout is haphazard like the Kowloon Walled City -

We agree that commercial and pleasure vessels must be kept separate as mooring a pleasure vessel made of Fibre Glass so close to a steel commercial vessel would soon lead to damage.

By allowing moorings to be laid:

1. it could increase government revenue.

2. regulate the position and size of vessels using the shelter.

3. create safe fairways for all users.

We believe this scheme should be enforced and developed further with moorings for pleasure vessels included.

Although the Aberdeen and Kwun Tong TS crowding issues are being addressed.

We believe there may still be other opportunities to provide more sheltered mooring spaces in various locations in HK. Just to name a few:

Hebe Haven could benefit from a new break water to protect the area from Typhoons as we have seen many pleasure vessels that were damaged during typhoon mangkhut.

This could:

1. Potentially increase the number of moorings in the area

2. Protect the waterfront

3. and help regulate the speed of boats entering Hebe Haven.

Another area is the SK Typhoon Shelter - which has overcrowded over the past few years. It could benefit from an expansion of the typhoon shelter to alleviate the overcrowding and protect the waterfront as it was also heavily impacted by typhoon Manghkut.

Overall, it is important to allocate more sheltered mooring spaces for pleasure vessels that are separate from commercial vessels to avoid overcrowding – which could lead to fire outbreaks or damage from typhoons. Break waters, waterfront and marina developments could also act as buffers to protect our coastline whilst providing more sheltered water mooring spaces. "