Quarantine Restrictions For Bunker-Only Calls Eases in Hong Kong, says an article on Safety4sea.
- To ease strict quarantine restrictions imposed on vessels
- Hong Kong’s bunkering industry significantly affected by the strict 14-day quarantine
To ease strict quarantine restrictions
Hong Kong authorities announced they would ease strict quarantine restrictions imposed on vessels calling at the Asian shipping hub.s Reuters reports, from June 15, the crew of non-cargo goods vessels visiting Hong Kong for shipping services, including bunkering and provision supplies, will be exempt from the curbs, subject to conditions.
More specifically, Frankie Yick, a transport sector legislator, told that “this is a long-overdue relaxation as the trade had already demonstrated to the health authority here in Hong Kong that there is no human contact throughout the process.”
Hong Kong’s bunkering industry was significantly affected by the strict 14-day quarantine requirement imposed on the crew of vessels calling for reasons other than to load or discharge cargo. In fact, ship operators chose to refuel in neighboring ports, such as China, Singapore, and Taiwan.
What is more, because of this situation, volumes fell by about 70% from levels before the pandemic. For comparison, before the restrictions, Hong Kong had typically supplied about 500,000 tonnes of bunkers each month.
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Source: Safety4sea
