📋 Tender Overview
Following is a question by the Hon Lothair Lam and a written reply by the Secretary for Transport and Logistics Ms Mable Chan in the Legislative Council today November 4
Question
According to figures from the Census and Statistics Department the laden container movement between Hong Kong and the Mainland accounts for more than 40 per cent of the annual laden container throughput of Hong Kong ports As international terminals in Guangzhou and Shenzhen continue to develop the Mainland is providing many incentives to encourage river trade vessels RTVs carrying goods to the terminals including financial subsidies and exemption from compulsory pilotage requirements for RTVs of Chinese nationality carrying general cargoes In Hong Kong it is learnt that the only incentive currently provided to alleviate the operating burden of vessels frequently plying between Guangdong and Hong Kong is the buyfivegetfivefree discount on the Multiple Entry Permit In this connection will the Government inform this Council
1 of the number of RTVs that have transported containers to Hong Kong container terminals in the past three years up to September this year their tonnage and the number of containers carried as well as the respective yearonyear changes in these figures
2 of the specific facilitation measures currently provided by Hong Kong for RTVs and whether the Government has planned or studied the introduction of additional support measures to boost the motivation and carrying capacity of RTVs for cargo transport as the Government has clearly set out in the Action Plan on Maritime and Port Development Strategy that it will review port dues or permit fees imposed on ocean going vessels and inland river vessels of the findings and details of the review
3 given that in general except for exempted ships Hong Kong imposes compulsory pilotage requirements on all types of ships of 3 000 tonnage or over and on ships of 1 000 tonnage or over carrying certain dangerous goods entering Hong Kong waters of the number tonnage and type of ships subject to compulsory pilotage in the past three years
4 as there are views that the promotion of green shipping in Hong Kong needs to cover vessels entering local waters and that RTVs which have to berth at ports in the Pearl River Delta are all registered in the Mainland whether the Government will discuss with the relevant Mainland authorities how to promote the green transformation of RTVs and whether it will explore cooperation with the Mainland to accelerate the pace of RTVs green transformation if so of the details if not the reasons for that and
5 of the utilisation rate of the Tuen Mun River Trade Terminal TMRTT which is facing a change of use due to low utilisation and has been incorporated into the Governments Smart and Green Industrial Port SGIP in the past three years apart from berthing services whether any other valueadded processes such as vessel assembly have been carried out within TMRTT and whether a portion of SGIP will be retained for continued use by RTVs or for conducting valueadded processes and so on
Reply
President
Hong Kong is a worldleading international shipping centre home to one of the most efficient and busiest ports globally In the 2026 XinhuaBaltic International Shipping Centre Development Index Report Hong Kong ranks fourth worldwide standing at the forefront in overall strength across port conditions professional shipping services and the overall business environment
To further consolidate and enhance Hong Kongs status as an international shipping centre following the promulgation of the Action Plan on Maritime and Port Development Strategy in December 2023 the Transport and Logistics Bureau is fully advancing the measures announced in the First FiveYear Plan for Economic and Social Development of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region 20262030 Hong Kongs FiveYear Plan and the 2026 Policy Address These include promoting the development of a green and smart port collaborating with port operators to formulate a clear roadmap for the smart and green transformation of Kwai Tsing Container Terminals KTCT deepening participation in the establishment of the GuangdongHong KongMacao Greater Bay Area GBA port cluster and fostering efficient collaboration among ports in the region We will actively implement these measures following three directions smart transition green transformation and digitalisation to consolidate the leading position of the Hong Kong port
In consultation with the Environment and Ecology Bureau and the Development Bureau DEVB the reply to the question raised by the Member is as follows
1 Statistics on river cargo vessels visiting Hong Kong whose main berthing location is KTCT and their container throughput are listed as follows
Year
Vessel Arrivals
Changes compared with the same period last year
Net tonnage in thousand tonnes
Changes compared with the same period last year
2023
4 344
355
7 521
320
2024
3 644
161
7 289
31
2025
3 519
34
8 360
147
2026 January to July
2 101
01
5 599
120
Year
Container throughput
in thousand TEU
Changes compared with the same period last year
2023
1 627
171
2024
1 651
14
2025
1 517
81
2026 January to July
878
07
Note The numbers for July are provisional
Source Census and Statistics Department
2 To encourage more river trade vessels RTVs to use Hong Kong ports and promote inland river transshipment operations the Marine Department MD introduced the multiple entry permit MEP incentive in 2007 This allows users to pay a fee equivalent to five single entry permits and make up to ten port entries within a month effectively halving the cost
In the past three years the average monthly port entries by river cargo vessels and the annual usage of the MEP were as follows
Year
Average monthly number of river cargo vessel arrivals
Number of river cargo vessel MEPs issued throughout the year
