Speaking on RTHK Radio 3, Hong Kong Yachting Association chairman Tommy Ho called on the government to convert the under-used China Ferry Terminal in Tsim Sha Tsui into a dedicated customs, immigration and quarantine (CIQ) facility for visiting sailors. The proposal follows the Marine Department’s rollout of an upgraded online portal that lets yacht owners pre-file crew and vessel data directly—yet still obliges them to travel to an Immigration office in Central for final clearance.
![Yachting Industry Pushes for China Ferry Terminal to Become Full Customs-Immigration Checkpoint]()
At the paperwork level, yacht skippers and relocation managers can already take some of the bureaucracy off their plates by outsourcing visa and entry-permit formalities to VisaHQ. The agency’s Hong Kong platform (https://www.visahq.com/hong-kong/) offers real-time requirement checks, online submission tools and courier logistics, which can smooth Crew List visas or short-stay permits while policymakers figure out a one-stop CIQ solution.
Before the pandemic the terminal processed up to nine million passenger trips a year, but with most mainland ferry routes now permanently shifted to the Hong Kong Zhuhai-Macao Bridge, traffic has collapsed by 90 %. Ho argues the empty berths and spacious arrival hall make it “tailor-made” for a one-stop CIQ processing centre where high-value yacht tourists could berth, clear formalities and step straight into Kowloon’s tourism district. Business-mobility stakeholders say the benefits go well beyond the sailing community. Relocation firms increasingly handle “seagoing transferees”—senior executives who cruise in on private vessels and start regional assignments. A terminal-based CIQ would shave hours off the current process and reduce reliance on agents, aligning with the government’s ambition to attract global talent under the Top Talent Pass Scheme. Challenges remain. Ho noted the anchorage areas recently opened in Stanley Bay and Repulse Bay lack water and shore-power connections; without pontoons, yacht crews must still tender ashore. He urged a cross-departmental task force to coordinate immigration, customs and infrastructure upgrades so that Hong Kong can compete with Singapore’s ONE°15 Marina and Phuket’s Ao Po Grand Marina for super-yacht stopovers. If adopted, mobility experts expect knock-on effects for corporate travel. Regional HQs that move staff by company yacht—common in luxury retail and tech—could use Hong Kong as a convenient clearance and provisioning base before sailing to the Greater Bay Area. Legal counsel caution, however, that the city would need to amend Port Control regulations and issue new standing orders to frontline Immigration officers to authorise on-pier passport stamping and data capture.
At the paperwork level, yacht skippers and relocation managers can already take some of the bureaucracy off their plates by outsourcing visa and entry-permit formalities to VisaHQ. The agency’s Hong Kong platform (https://www.visahq.com/hong-kong/) offers real-time requirement checks, online submission tools and courier logistics, which can smooth Crew List visas or short-stay permits while policymakers figure out a one-stop CIQ solution.
Before the pandemic the terminal processed up to nine million passenger trips a year, but with most mainland ferry routes now permanently shifted to the Hong Kong Zhuhai-Macao Bridge, traffic has collapsed by 90 %. Ho argues the empty berths and spacious arrival hall make it “tailor-made” for a one-stop CIQ processing centre where high-value yacht tourists could berth, clear formalities and step straight into Kowloon’s tourism district. Business-mobility stakeholders say the benefits go well beyond the sailing community. Relocation firms increasingly handle “seagoing transferees”—senior executives who cruise in on private vessels and start regional assignments. A terminal-based CIQ would shave hours off the current process and reduce reliance on agents, aligning with the government’s ambition to attract global talent under the Top Talent Pass Scheme. Challenges remain. Ho noted the anchorage areas recently opened in Stanley Bay and Repulse Bay lack water and shore-power connections; without pontoons, yacht crews must still tender ashore. He urged a cross-departmental task force to coordinate immigration, customs and infrastructure upgrades so that Hong Kong can compete with Singapore’s ONE°15 Marina and Phuket’s Ao Po Grand Marina for super-yacht stopovers. If adopted, mobility experts expect knock-on effects for corporate travel. Regional HQs that move staff by company yacht—common in luxury retail and tech—could use Hong Kong as a convenient clearance and provisioning base before sailing to the Greater Bay Area. Legal counsel caution, however, that the city would need to amend Port Control regulations and issue new standing orders to frontline Immigration officers to authorise on-pier passport stamping and data capture.
