The Hongkong and Yaumati Ferry Company Limited (HYF), is a ferry company founded in 1897 in
Hong Kong. It is commonly known as Yaumati Ferry. After restructuring the company in 1989, it became a subsidiary of
Hong Kong Ferry (Holdings) Company Limited ().
Its head office is in the northern
Tsing Yi.
History
The original company was founded by a Chinese business man named Lau Tak Po in 1897 during the
Colonial Hong Kong
Hong Kong was a colony and later a dependent territory of the British Empire from 1841 to 1997, apart from a period of occupation under the Japanese Empire from 1941 to 1945 during the Pacific War. The colonial period began with the British ...
era. At the time he purchased 5 wooden boats and provided services exclusively to
Kowloon
Kowloon () is an urban area in Hong Kong comprising the Kowloon Peninsula and New Kowloon. With a population of 2,019,533 and a population density of in 2006, it is the most populous area in Hong Kong, compared with Hong Kong Island and t ...
under the company name "Yaumati Ferry".
[Wiltshire, Trea. ]irst published 1987
An infrared search and track (IRST) system (sometimes known as infrared sighting and tracking) is a method for detecting and tracking objects which give off infrared radiation, such as the infrared signatures of jet aircraft and helicopters.
IR ...
(republished & reduced2003). Old Hong Kong - Volume One. Central, Hong Kong: Text Form Asia books Ltd. Page 71. ISBN Volume One 962-7283-59-2 Yaumati is the alternative transliteration of
Yau Ma Tei.
In 1924, Yaumati Ferry obtained the
franchise license for the rights to the transportation route, blocking off competition from
Star Ferry
The Star Ferry is a passenger ferry service operator and tourist attraction in Hong Kong. Its principal routes carry passengers across Victoria Harbour, between Hong Kong Island, and Kowloon. The service is operated by the Star Ferry Com ...
company.
The company later became "Hong Kong and Yaumati Ferry". This included the vehicular ferry which served to transport motor vehicles across
Victoria Harbour for many years (1933 to 1998) prior to the opening of the
Cross-Harbour Tunnel,
Eastern Harbour Tunnel
The Eastern Harbour Crossing, abbreviated as "EHC" (), is a combined road-rail tunnel that crosses beneath Victoria Harbour in Hong Kong. Opened on 21 September 1989, it connects Quarry Bay, Hong Kong Island and Cha Kwo Ling, Kowloon East.
H ...
and
Western Harbour Tunnel in 1972, 1989 and 1997. The company decided to give up the ferry licenses in 1999, and these licenses were transferred to the
New World First Ferry on 15 January 2000.
Ownership and control
According to official documents,
Henderson Investment Ltd. is the largest shareholder of Hongkong and Yaumati Ferry's parent company
Hong Kong Ferry. Henderson beneficially owning 31.33% of the share capital of the Company as at 31 December 2005. Henderson chairman
Dr. Lee Shau Kee and Vice Chairman Colin Lam are also Directors of the Company.
End of ferry service
Although it gave up its franchised ferry licences in 2000, the company retained the Dangerous Goods Vehicular Ferry Service routes between
North Point,
Kwun Tong
Kwun Tong is an area in the Kwun Tong District of Hong Kong, situated at the eastern part of the Kowloon Peninsula, and its boundary stretches from Lion Rock in the north to Lei Yue Mun in the south, and from the winding paths of Kowloon ...
, and
Mui Wo
Mui Wo is a rural town on the eastern coast of Lantau Island in Hong Kong. The 2011 Census recorded 5,485 people living in Mui Wo and its environs.
Mui Wo is located on Silvermine Bay, so named for the silver mines that were once worked along ...
, as these vehicles are not allowed to go through any one of the three cross harbour tunnels, while Mui Wo is situated on Lantau Island.
Fleet
References
External links
* {{dead link, date=December 2020
Transport companies established in 1897
Ferry transport in Hong Kong
Shipping companies of Hong Kong
Henderson Land Development
1897 establishments in Hong Kong
1989 mergers and acquisitions