Hong Kong Ferries & Boats

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澳洲兩巡防艦訪港
18/09/2007






澳洲帕拉馬塔號及柏斯號澳紐軍團級巡防艦今日雙雙抵港，兩艘澳洲巡防艦於上午九時半至十時間駛進維多利亞港，在維港入口處出現，再停泊在灣仔碼頭以西。近四百名海軍及軍官包括五十七名女海軍，將在港逗留三日，估計每名海軍平均每日花七百八十元，合共九十三萬元推動本港經濟。

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Ferry firm threatens to reduce services
Hong Kong Standard
Tuesday, October 23, 2007

Pansy Ho Chiu-king, managing director of Shun Tak Holdings, yesterday warned that the company will reduce the service of its subsidiary TurboJET if the Hong Kong government allows The Venetian's Cotai Jet ferries to use the ferry terminal at Sheung Wan.

The Venetian has teamed up with Chu Kong Passenger Transport to provide services between Hong Kong and Macau, and has requested to use the Hong Kong-Macau ferry pier.

Ho warned that if more operators use the pier TurboJET would have to reduce services to maintain safety and quality.

TurboJET carried over 10 million passengers last year on all routes and is the sole operator using the pier at the Shun Tak Centre.

Although the company does not have a monopoly over the pier, it helped design it, Ho said.

"We know its capacity. We are using it very efficiently right now. If more operators come along it might go over the optimal capacity," she said.

The government, she said, is free to decide which operator can use the pier. "We are not trying to keep Sheung Wan pier all to ourselves," Ho said.

TurboJET's competitor First Ferry operates at the Tsim Sha Tsui-Hong Kong-China ferry terminal.

Ho said that arrangement was decided after in-depth studies and discussions. "It is the best way for both companies to operate efficiently," she said.

Ho said she welcomed competition, but urged the government to give current operators more time to prepare for changes.

TurboJET is also awaiting Macau government approval for it to use the new Taipa Pier in Macau.

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Shun Tak tips increase in ferry sailings
Hong Kong Standard
Wednesday, October 24, 2007

Shun Tak Holdings (0242), which operates jetfoil services between Hong Kong and Macau, has pledged to step up frequency to meet rising patronage demands between the two cities.

The company said yesterday it had no intention of meddling in the government's decision on whether to introduce competitors to the ferry terminal in Sheung Wan as its managing director Pansy Ho Chiu-king on Monday expressed concern over possible effects on the operation.

"We reiterate that it requires a vast amount of technical skills and support, as well as the cooperation from and co- ordination with various parties, to operate a highly efficient ferry terminal," the company said.

"We have no intention to intervene in the SAR government's decision in relation to the introduction of additional operators to the terminal."

But Shun Tak said current usage of the ferry terminal is strained, and expressed concern that the arrival of new operators under the current situation may disturb the existing order of the terminal.

"This may in turn reduce its efficiency and handling capacity," the company said in its statement.

It added it would not reduce its services.

"To the contrary, we could introduce additional sailings to provide further convenience to our passengers, under the circumstances that the additional services would not pose any adverse effect to the efficiency and capacity of the terminal."

TurboJET, Shun Tak's subsidiary, carried more than 10 million passengers on all routes last year. TurboJET is also awaiting Macau government approval for it to use the new Taipa Pier.

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By costalam from a Hong Kong transport forum :

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Photo Link from HKiTalk for Hydrofoil Nansha 28, posted by costalam

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Source : http://lunsmarineworld.com/

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LCQ7: Cross-boundary ferry services
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Government Press Release

Following is a question by Hon Wong Ting-kwong and a written reply by the Secretary for Transport and Housing, Ms Eva Cheng, at the Legislative Council meeting today (November 14):

Question:

Regarding the cross-boundary ferry services in Hong Kong, will the Government inform this Council:

(a) of the total number of shipping companies currently providing cross-boundary ferry services between Hong Kong and Macau or the Mainland, and the respective numbers of ferry routes involved;

(b) whether there was an increase in the number of shipping companies applying for the use of the berths of local ferry terminals to provide cross-boundary ferry services last year; if so, of the details;

(c) whether it has received any application from the Las Vegas Sands Corp. for the operation of ferry services from Macau to the Hong Kong International Airport and the Macau Ferry Terminal at the Shun Tak Centre in Sheung Wan; if so, of the outcome of the applications, and whether it has assessed the impact of such ferry services on Hong Kong; and

(d) whether the existing cross-boundary ferry terminals in Hong Kong can provide sufficient berths for such ferries; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?

Reply:

Madam President,

(a) At present, there are seven operators providing cross-boundary ferry services between Hong Kong and Macau and between Hong Kong and 13 ports in the Mainland at the four cross-boundary ferry terminals.

(b) and (c)

From time to time, Marine Department (MD) receives applications from operators for use of berthing slots and terminal facilities at the Hong Kong - Macau Ferry Terminal and the China Ferry Terminal for the provision of cross-boundary ferry services to Macau and the Mainland. As the applications involve the operators' commercial plans and decisions, we do not disclose details concerning the applications.

(d) In the light of the rising trend of cross-boundary ferry passengers, the Government will embark on a review on the use of cross-boundary ferry terminals. The purpose of the review is to further improve the operation of the cross-boundary ferry terminals, enhance the existing mechanism for allocating berthing slots and terminal facilities to ensure fair and efficient allocation of public resources, as well as to assess the future demands for berthing and terminal facilities for services to ports in the Mainland and to Macau, having particular regard to the need to maintain a high standard of passenger safety and comfort. Our objective is to enhance our connectivity with the Pearl River Delta region to maintain Hong Kong's position as a transport and maritime hub. We will consult ferry service operators when conducting the review.

We expect to complete the review in the first quarter of 2008. MD is now processing applications for berthing slots for services to be provided within this quarter (i.e. October to December 2007). As regards future applications for berthing slots by operators, other than those for the provision of existing services, MD will process applications for berthing slots for additional or new services upon completion of the review.

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Stanley Ho flapping mad as Macau sinks ferry monopoly
23 November 2007
South China Morning Post

Stanley Ho flapping mad as Macau sinks ferry monopoly

Spare a thought for King Stanley for having too many fingers in the casino pie.

On Wednesday, Stanley Ho Hung-sun bared his teeth on television over the loss of another monopoly - his ferry franchise. He slammed the Macau government for lacking a "fair, just and open" process in granting ferry licences to two rivals, including the Venetian Macao.

An hour before calling a media conference to air his grievance, his fourth wife Angela Leong On-kei, a Macau legislator, fired shots at Secretary for the Economy and Finance Francis Tam Pak-yuen for his favouritism towards foreign operators.

Worsening the Ho family's plight was Macau's new law banning slot machine halls in residential areas, threatening Prince Lawrence's Mocha Club, the city's largest one-armed bandit operator. (Maybe Mocha could contemplate becoming a coffee franchise!)

As much as we like what Mr Ho has been doing for the Las Vegas of the East, we sincerely hope for more competition in the ferry business.

Lai See and friends can recall how difficult it was to get two tickets from the Shun Tak terminal a few weekends ago. We had no way but to pay double, if not more, for something akin to scalpers' tickets.

Returning to Hong Kong was also a big problem. Only a lucky few attending a Black Eyed Peas concert that ended at midnight could come back before sunrise. It must have been worse last weekend with the Macau Grand Prix on. And brace for tomorrow when the match between tennis aces Roger Ferderer and Pete Sampras is held.

One of Macau's friendliest public relation veterans once told Lai See he had to entertain media guests overnight after a night function as most hotels were full and they could not get the ferry back home.

It seems he would have to suffer many more sleepless nights before a second ferry line starts to operate from Macau.

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Casino developer Adelson launches new ferry service to serve Macau's Cotai strip
30 November 2007

HONG KONG (AP) - Casino mogul Sheldon Adelson is upping the ante against Macau competitors Friday by launching a ferry service from Hong Kong to the outlying strip of reclaimed land he hopes to transform into a massive gambling and vacation resort.

Macau's current ferry terminal is located on its mainland peninsula linked to China. That's where the casinos of many of Adelson's rivals are located, including Steve Wynn's Wynn Macau and Stanley Ho's Lisboa and Grand Lisboa.

The new CotaiJet service is based at a temporary terminal located near the reclaimed Cotai strip linking the outlying Taipa and Coloane islands. Billionaire Adelson -- who also runs Las Vegas Sands Corp. -- recently opened The Venetian Macao casino-resort at Cotai and is building other hotels nearby. Competitor Melco PBL is also building the City of Dreams resort on Cotai.

The new ferry service will start off running 20 daily rides on high-speed catamaran vessels to and from Macau, with the first ship leaving Hong Kong at 7 a.m. and the last ship leaving Macau at 5 p.m., according to its Web site.

The Venetian Macao currently runs free shuttle bus services across a bridge from the resort to the old ferry terminal on the mainland, a trip that takes about 15 minutes. The new ferry terminal will shorten that trip.

The CotaiJet service also plans to expand to rides from the Hong Kong airport to the pier near Cotai.

The new ferry services pose a double threat to Ho, who held a monopoly on casinos in Macau until 2002. The businessman's Shun Tak Group also runs the popular Turbojet ferry service from Hong Kong to the old Macau ferry pier.

The Shun Tak service has seen a visible increase in passenger traffic with the opening of new casinos in Macau, and the new ferry will likely take away some of that boost in business.

"There's clearly a very strong demand here that isn't being met," Las Vegas Sands Asia president Stephen Weaver was quoted as saying by the South China Morning Post Friday.

A one-way economy class ticket from Hong Kong to Macau on the CotaiJet service on a weekday costs HK$134 (US$17; €12) for the one-hour trip -- about the same fare charged by Turbojet.

Adelson said earlier this month initial results showed guests at the new Venetian Macao are staying longer than the market's average stay of 1.2 nights, boding well for his ambition of transforming Macau from a one-day gambling trip to a multi-day vacation destination.

The opening costs for The Venetian Macao helped contribute to a US$48.5 million (€32.9 million) loss in the third quarter for Adelson's Las Vegas Sands Corp. despite a 19.5 percent rise in revenue to US$661.0 million (€448.5 million).

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Setback for Sands as Macau court suspends 10-day-old ferry service
11 December 2007
South China Morning Post

A 10-day-old ferry service between Hong Kong and Macau will be suspended from this morning after Macau's Intermediate Court issued a prohibition order - overriding objections from the city's government.

Ferry operator Hong Kong North West Express applied for the prohibition order on November 13 on the grounds that the Macau government had not conducted an open tendering process.

The Macau government awarded a ferry operating licence to Cotai Waterjets, a firm controlled by Venetian Macau parent company Las Vegas Sands Corp, and Giant Dragon, a firm controlled by Macau businessman Ng Fok, to run a route between the new Pac On terminal, on Taipa, and Sheung Wan.

Its three 408-seat catamarans had been sailing 20 times a day.

Hong Kong North West Express had been hoping to start a twice-an-hour service from Tuen Mun to Macau, but the project was dashed in October last year when the Macau government turned down its docking application.

The Macau government opposed the court action, saying the ban would seriously compromise public interest. But the office of the secretary for transport and public works said in a statement yesterday that the court had rejected the administration's rationale and upheld the temporary suspension of the ferry services.

The government had contacted Cotai Waterjets after receiving notice from the court. The office said the court was handling the case and it would wait for the court's judgment in the business dispute and take action accordingly.

Stanley Ho Hung-sun, chairman of Shun Tak Holdings - the dominant ferry operator - has urged the government to withdraw or terminate the licence, saying the decision was unfair and lacked transparency.

Macau Legislator Au Kam-san said the court decision to suspend public services was unprecedented.

"There has never a case like this in Macau's history {hellip} it's possible that more business disputes will be taken to court as more large enterprises enter and invest in the city."

He said the problem lay in the faulty tendering process.

Camoes Tam Chi-keung, an assistant professor at Macau Inter-University Institute, said the case reflected the fierce competition for control of new berths.

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每日僅開兩班航班40人當值秃資源
屯門碼頭官多過客
18/12/2007



【專案組記者馮溢華報道】屯門客運碼頭在取消往來珠海的渡輪服務後，目前每日只提供來回蛇口各一班的渡輪服務，但政府多個部門，包括入境處、海關、警方卻要動用四十人處理每天只有三十多名的旅客，「一對一」服務旅客，人手分配嚴重失衡。

航線營運商西北航運快線有限公司總經理廖皓怡表示，該公司原本營運往來屯門至珠海及蛇口的兩條航線，但自今年十月珠海航線取消後，碼頭每日只有往來蛇口的航班各一班，兩班船合共只有約三十多名旅客出入境。

但政府用以應付旅客的人手卻和使用人次不成比例，其中入境事務處每日在航班到港及離港期間，便有至少三十人到碼頭，負責出入境櫃位檢查旅客身份及審批他們入境的申請。而海關和警方亦要派人在場檢查旅客行李及維持秩序等工作，合共人數超過四十人，令政府人員和旅客比例低於一比一，官多過客。

珠海線取消 旅客驟減
運輸及房屋局發言人回應指，在碼頭提供服務的政府部門，均按照渡輪班次靈活調配現時屯門客運碼頭的人手，在處理旅客出入境手續過後就會將相關人員轉移到其他出入境關卡當值。海關則表示，在珠海航線取消後已即時將部分人員調往其他管制站工作以善用資源。立法會議員陳偉業批評政府部門未能妥善運用人手，嚴重浪費公帑。

屯門客運碼頭原本只是一個本地航線碼頭，○二年政府租出部分地方予私人營運。西北航運於去年起開始營辦往來中港航線，先開辦往來珠海的航線，之後才開展蛇口航班。該碼頭全盛期每日處理近六百人次的出入境旅客，營辦商原計劃開辦往來澳門的航線，可惜到目前仍未成功。

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Star Ferry granted new franchise
Friday, December 21, 2007
Government Press Release

The Chief Executive-in-Council has approved the granting of a new franchise to the Star Ferry Company Limited to continue operating the existing franchised ferry services from Central to Tsim Sha Tsui and from Wan Chai to Tsim Sha Tsui for a term of 10 years effective from April 1, 2008, to March 31, 2018.

In renewing the current franchise, which will expire on March 31, 2008, the Government has taken into account the company's past record of providing a proper and efficient service to the public and its agreement to the inclusion of new franchise conditions that would enhance service standards and enable better regulation of its operation.

A spokesman for the Transport and Housing Bureau said, "A number of new clauses have been introduced in the new franchise. These include adopting the latest commercially available and proven technologies in maritime trade to reduce exhaust emissions when acquiring new vessels and on its existing vessels as far as reasonably practicable and conducting regular passenger satisfaction surveys.

"The company will enhance its operational transparency such as strengthening the procurement guidelines. It has also pledged to install closed circuit televisions at the navigation and engine rooms of all its existing vessels for monitoring safety performance. In addition, the company’s existing fare concessions will be maintained during the period of the new franchise."

The Chief Executive-in-Council has taken into account the Transport Advisory Committee's advice in considering the application.

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By hkcnbus from a Hong Kong transport forum :

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Tourism in Macau a cash bonanza for ticket touts
23 December 2007
South China Morning Post

Ticket touts are increasingly working the ferry terminals between Hong Kong and Macau, cashing in on the tourism boom in the former Portuguese enclave that has revealed the inadequacy of ferry services.

Two recent major events in Macau - exhibition matches between tennis greats Pete Sampras and Roger Federer and basketball games involving Cleveland Cavaliers, Orlando Magic and Team China All-Stars - raised many public complaints about both the lack of ferries and associated ticket scalpers.

Shun Tak-China Travel Ship Management, whose TurboJet fleet operates most of the Hong Kong-Macau sailings, said it was worried about scalping and vowed to protect passengers from rip-offs.

A handful of scalpers can often be seen hanging about near ticket windows at the Hong Kong-Macau Ferry Terminal in Macau and the Shun Tak Centre in Hong Kong, especially on weekends and holidays.

It is easy to recognise them as they shout to passers-by and urge travellers to abandon queues.

They become more active when tickets for imminent sailings are sold out and passengers face a wait of up to three hours before the next sailing. That is when touts sell an economy class ticket with a face value of HK$134 to HK$176 for HK$200 to HK$300, depending on demand.

On sluggish days, when ferries are not full, scalpers might sell tickets for up to HK$10 below their face value.

Shun Tak-China Travel said "the company is very concerned about such illegal activities" and was taking measures to stop it.

"We are consistently working with law enforcement departments, including the Marine Department and the police, to seek their assistance in deterring such activities, especially during holiday seasons."

A police officer patrolling at the Hong Kong-Macau Ferry Terminal in Macau said it was difficult to arrest and charge touts. Much of the difficulty lay in finding a passenger willing to testify, he said.

"People are reluctant to serve as witnesses against scalpers," he said.

Some scalpers appear to be working for travel agencies at ferry terminals because they lead passengers to agencies' offices for tickets.

Advance bookings, with passenger co-operation, could be an effective way to combat scalping, Shun Tak-China Travel said.

"Customers can play a part in combating ticket touts by planning their trips early."

To encourage early booking, the company has launched online and wireless ticketing systems.

TurboJet plans on supplying 145,000 passenger seats for Christmas day and Boxing Day, up 17 per cent on the same period last year.

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