Marine Department, Hong Kong SAR - HKU Libraries - The ...

ferry terminals
Superb ferry services provide fast and
efficient transport links
An amazing 18 million travellers a
year visit nearby China and Macau by
ferry passing through the Port of
Hong Kong, taking advantage of the
regular sailings and state-of-the-art
terminal facilities.
FERRY services to mainland China
and the Portuguese enclave of Macau
account for 18 million passengers
a year passing through the Port of
Hong Kong.
Around seven million passengers
yearly visit Kowloon's China Ferry
Terminal as a host of ferry companies
operate services to nearly 30
destinations in mainland China
and Macau utilising a combination
of both conventional and
high-speed vessels.
Hong Kong Island's Macau Ferry
Terminal handles 11 million
passengers a year as a flotilla of jetfoils,
jet-cats, hover ferries and
catamarans provide around-the-clock
services to nearby Macau.
And 50,000 cruiseship
passengers a year visit the port's
state-of-the-art Ocean Terminal
which often welcomes such
prestigious visitors as the QE2
and the Canberra.
Both ferry terminals are managed by
the Marine Department while the
port's dedicated cruiseship terminal is
privately owned and operated by the
Kowloon Wharf Terminal &
Warehouse Ltd.
China Ferry Terminal
HONG Kong Port's modern China
Ferry Terminal is home to seven
companies operating daily services
to nearly 30 destinations in mainland
China and neighbouring Macau.
The Kowloon-located terminal —
part of a giant complex incorporating
two hotels, five office blocks and a
shopping arcade on podium levels —
handles an average of 18,500
passengers daily as a constant flow of
ferries dock at its 14 berths designed
to accommodate both conventional
ferries and high-speed craft.
The terminal features Arrivals and
Departure halls and a hi-tech baggage
handling system — comprising
mechanical conveyor belts, baggage
carousels, lifts, hoisting cranes and
tow tractors — for transporting
baggage between the passenger
complex and vessels at the quayside.
Up to 70 sailings daily connect Hong
Kong with 27 mainland ports including
15 daily departures to Macau,
principally for the convenience of
holidaymakers based in Kowloon.
Guangzhou, Shekou, Shanghai,
Taiping, Xiamen, Wuzhou, Shenzhen
and Jiangmen are just a few of the
cities in mainland China served from
the terminal, which currently handles
6.8 million passengers a year.
Operations at the terminal during
1997 peaked on 9 February when
45,348 passengers passed through the
facility.