Hong Kong has become only the fourth shipping register in the world to crack 100m gross tonnes on its books. The Hong Kong Shipping Register (HKSR) passed the 100m mark gross at the end of September with a total of 2,449 ships, the territory’s Marine Department said in a release yesterday.
The HKSR was set up on December 3, 1990, with a gross tonnage of 6m at the time. It slumped at around the time of the 1997 reunification with China but has steadily built itself up ever since.
Local owners, while applauding the landmark, have confided with Splash that the Marine Department needs to up its headcount and service quality to remain competitive among the biggest names in ship registry.
The future of the HKSR will form part of the analysis in an upcoming Hong Kong magazine produced by Splash sister title, SinoShip, due out next month.
