Five Guangdong-registered yachts have sailed into Hong Kong as the first vessels approved under a new scheme relaxing the requirements for leisure boats from the mainland Chinese province to visit the city.

Yacht moorings at the Royal Hong Kong Yacht Club on Middle Island. Photo: Ryan Ho Kilpatrick/HKFP.

The flotilla – consisting of three boats from Shenzhen, one from Zhuhai and one from Guangzhou – entered Hong Kong waters at around noon on Friday and berthed at Lantau Yacht Club in Discovery Bay, where they were welcomed by a horn salute from Marine Department vessels.

Deputy Director of Marine Shi Qiang shook the skippers’ hands as they stepped ashore, while Deputy Financial Secretary Michael Wong and Secretary for Transport and Logistics Mable Chan presided over a welcoming ceremony for the visiting sailors.

Southbound travel scheme

Hong Kong authorities began accepting applications from Guangdong yacht operators on Wednesday under a new scheme to facilitate cross-boundary marine traffic.

Southbound skippers are permitted to seek shelter in five designated anchorages in Hong Kong, which can accommodate a total of around 115 vessels measuring up to 40 metres long.

Speaking to public broadcaster RTHK on Thursday, Director of Marine Wong Sai-fat said the government considers these sufficient for yachts travelling from mainland China. He added that authorities will monitor visiting vessels and provide advice to their skippers.

“Once a yacht enters a restricted area, or if its Automatic Identification System fails, the [Marine] Department will issue a notification, and patrol staff will be sent to the scene upon receiving the report,” Wong said in Cantonese.

Hong Kong is home to the biggest fleet of pleasure craft in Southeast Asia, with over 12,500 locally registered yachts and boats. But these must compete for fewer than 5,000 moorings and dry berths in the territory, leaving a shortfall of around 7,500.

The government has unveiled plans to provide hundreds of new moorings by expanding the Aberdeen South Typhoon Shelter and building new marinas at the former Lamma Quarry at Sok Kwu Wan and the airport’s Skytopia development project.

Sok Kwu Wan, Lamma Island. Photo: Ryan Ho Kilpatrick/HKFP.

These projects, however, are expected to take at least five years to complete, and will still leave a large gap between local supply and demand.

Cross-border movement

In late September, Hong Kong and Guangdong authorities signed work arrangements to implement cross-boundary yacht travel between the two jurisdictions.

This came after China’s State Council approved measures in May exempting Hong Kong and Macau yachts from cross-border financial guarantees, significantly reducing economic burdens for boat owners and enabling yachts from the two Special Administrative Regions to travel freely within the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area.

Previously, yacht owners who intended to cross the maritime boundary had to make a mandatory deposit and apply for a licence – a process that could take months and cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.

The anchorages open to mainland vessels include Tai Tam Bay, Stanley Bay, Three Fathoms Cove, Repulse Bay, and Tai O – where the prospect of increased maritime traffic has caused renewed concerns for the area’s vulnerable pink dolphin population.

Tai Tam Bay on the south coast of Hong Kong Island. Photo: Ryan Ho Kilpatrick/HKFP.

Hong Kong’s Marine Department has also set up examination centres in Guangdong for yacht operators, and has approved seven institutions to provide accredited training courses for mainland Chinese skippers.

As of late September, nearly 300 have obtained qualifications to navigate Hong Kong waters, according to the state-run Xinhua News Agency.

The push for freer yacht travel follows similar initiatives for road traffic.

Since December last year, vehicles from Guangdong province have been able to drive into Hong Kong’s urban areas under the Southbound Travel Scheme, which allows up to 100 private cars per day to drive across the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge into Hong Kong.