Relocation of Dockyards to Kowloon West

Located on the western coast of Tsing Yi Island, Hongkong United Dockyards went into operation in November 1980. At that time, the dockyard had a wharf that could accommodate vessels with a draft of 12.5m and two floating docks named Taikoo and Whampoa (already sold). HUD later built the floating dock United, which is the largest of its kind in Hong Kong with a capacity of over 40,000 tons. They offered large and small vessels visiting Hong Kong conversion, repair and inspection services. Meanwhile, Yiu Lian Dockyards and Euroasia Shipyard opened for business in the early 1980s, operating floating docks and providing repair services for ocean-going vessels also off Tsing Yi’s western coast. The two companies were acquired by China Merchants Group Ltd. in 1997, and since then Hong Kong’s shipbuilding and repair industries have been dominated by two major players.

Hong Kong’s dockyards are concentrated in Tsing Yi primarily because the island offers deep water and is close to Kwai Tsing Container Terminals (then known as Kwai Chung Container Port), but also because they were able to lease the government land there at a discount, allowing them to expand more easily. In the 1970s, the ship repair industry introduced the floating dock – a low-cost, versatile and highly mobile ship repair facility – to meet the needs of ever larger container vessels. As part of planned land reclamation in Kowloon West, the Government Dockyard on Canton Road was closed and demolished in 1997, with the design, procurement, repair and maintenance of government vessels now undertaken at Stonecutters Island (Ngong Shuen Chau). Hong Kong’s dockyards have thus moved from the coasts of Hong Kong Island and Kowloon to the western part of Victoria Harbour, where they continue to serve the city’s shipping industry and economy today.