Shenzhen Port was hit hard! Just now, Hong Kong officially implemented...

Recently, a piece of news has caused mainland shipping companies to panic: from January 1, 2020, Hong Kong will officially implement the new territorial waters regulations.

According to the new pilotage regulations, all ships sailing through the Hong Kong waters of Dapeng Bay entering and leaving the Shenzhen Eastern Port Area (including Shenzhen Yantian Port) must accept pilotage from Hong Kong while receiving pilotage services from the mainland. This is also called the "secondary pilotage regulations" by industry insiders.  

This regulation breaks the past 20-year-old rule that ships traveling between Hong Kong and Yantian Port only need to accept pilotage services from the mainland! It may also lead to a sharp drop in the number of cargo ships entering Shenzhen Yantian Port!

Why does this "Secondary Pilotage Regulation" cause panic among shipping companies? Because this regulation will lead to an increase in shipping costs and many risks!

First of all, pilotage means fees! The Hong Kong Marine Department has set up three new pilot stations within its waters, charging fees that are 1.5 times that of Shenzhen.

According to relevant data, there are more than 4,000 container ships calling at Yantian Port every year. So in a year, the ships calling at Yantian Port will need to pay an additional HK$280 million .

For a large shipping company, each voyage will increase the cost by nearly HK$80,000. Even for a small shipping company, each entry and exit will increase the cost by HK$60,000!

Half a month after the implementation of the pilotage regulations in Hong Kong, some internationally renowned shipping companies have stated that if this continues for a long time, they will no longer call at Shenzhen Yantian Port and Hong Kong Port.

For small shipping companies with less loading and unloading volume and thin profits, it is a disaster! At that time, shipping companies are likely to change their routes and turn to Guangzhou Nansha Port!

Secondly, secondary pilotage increases the risk of navigation! In fact, the distance from the Dapeng Bay to the ports in eastern Shenzhen is relatively short. Even to the farthest Yantian Port, it is only about 12 nautical miles.

The implementation of secondary pilotage will inevitably result in a hasty handover of pilots near the turning point. In addition, when the pilots get on and off the ship, the ship needs to slow down, turn and wait, which will increase the navigation risk.

In order to avoid pilotage fees, some small shipping companies may take risks and sail along the shallow waters close to the shore, which are under the jurisdiction of Shenzhen, all the way through the narrow waters near Tingzhou Island . At that time, the operational risks will increase dramatically and the consequences will be difficult to predict!

It is difficult to determine the purpose of Hong Kong's implementation of the secondary pilotage regulations, but there are currently two speculations in the industry!

As for which of these two speculations is right or wrong, you can judge for yourself!

The direct result of the implementation of the secondary pilotage regulations is the shrinkage of the throughput of Shenzhen Port , which even affects the throughput of the entire South China region.

But Hong Kong will not be any better! Because Hong Kong Port itself is not a "must-call port", ships will not call at Hong Kong. At that time, it will cause a lose-lose situation for Shenzhen Port and Hong Kong Port!

Moreover, Hong Kong capital also has significant investments in Shenzhen Yantian Port . Isn't this amendment to the law in Hong Kong a loss of one thousand to the enemy and eight hundred to itself?

In addition, the amendment will also have a negative impact internationally ! Because the embarrassing situation of two pilotages entering and leaving a port in the waters of the same sovereign state is not common internationally!

In short, the second pilotage in Shenzhen Dapeng Bay is a done deal, and the negative impact has already taken place! What we need to consider now is how to minimize the losses!

This requires all parties to put aside their own opinions, find common interests, and come up with practical solutions! Otherwise, it will not only be hard for Hong Kong, Shenzhen, shipping companies, but also for cargo owners!