The Hongkong and Yaumati Ferry Company Limited (HYF), is a ferry company founded in 1897 in

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

. It is commonly known as Yaumati Ferry. After restructuring the company in 1989, it became a subsidiary of

Hong Kong Ferry (Holdings) Company Limited Hong Kong Ferry (Holdings) Company Limited () is a holding company in Hong Kong involved in property development, ferry, shipyard, travel and hotel operations. It operated franchised ferry services in Hong Kong until 2000, when its ferry licen ...

(). Its head office is in the northern

Tsing Yi Tsing Yi, sometimes referred to as Tsing Yi Island, is an island in the urban area of Hong Kong, to the northwest of Hong Kong Island and south of Tsuen Wan. With an area of , the island has extended drastically by reclamation along almost all ...

History

The original company was founded by a Chinese business man named Lau Tak Po in 1897 during the Colonial Hong Kong 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(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 Yau Ma Tei is an area in the Yau Tsim Mong District in the south of the Kowloon Peninsula in Hong Kong. Name ''Yau Ma Tei'' is a phonetic transliteration of the name (originally written as ) in Cantonese. It can also be spelt as Yaumatei, ...

. In 1924, Yaumati Ferry obtained the

franchise Franchise may refer to: Business and law * Franchising, a business method that involves licensing of trademarks and methods of doing business to franchisees * Franchise, a privilege to operate a type of business such as a cable television p ...

license for the rights to the transportation route, blocking off competition from Star Ferry company. The company later became "Hong Kong and Yaumati Ferry". This included the vehicular ferry which served to transport motor vehicles across

Victoria Harbour Victoria Harbour is a natural landform harbour in Hong Kong separating Hong Kong Island in the south from the Kowloon Peninsula to the north. The harbour's deep, sheltered waters and strategic location on South China Sea were instrumental i ...

for many years (1933 to 1998) prior to the opening of the

Cross-Harbour Tunnel The Cross-Harbour Tunnel (abbreviated ''CHT'' or ''XHT'') is the first tunnel in Hong Kong built underwater. It consists of two steel road tunnels each with two lanes constructed using the single shell immersed tube method. It is the earl ...

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 The Western Harbour Crossing (WHC) is a dual 3-lane immersed tube tunnel in Hong Kong. It is the third road tunnel to cross Victoria Harbour, linking the newly reclaimed land in Yau Ma Tei on Kowloon West with Sai Ying Pun on Hong Kong Isla ...

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 Sun Ferry Services Company Limited, formerly New World First Ferry Services (in short New World First Ferry, First Ferry or NWFF), is a ferry service company in Hong Kong. The company was established in November 1999, when it took over the eig ...

on 15 January 2000.

Ownership and control

According to official documents,

Henderson Investment Ltd. Henderson Investment Limited () (), the subsidiary company of Henderson Land Development, involves the development, investment and leasing of the properties in Hong Kong and Mainland China. Other activities include operations and management ...

is the largest shareholder of Hongkong and Yaumati Ferry's parent company

Hong Kong Ferry Hong Kong Ferry (Holdings) Company Limited () is a holding company in Hong Kong involved in property development, ferry, shipyard, travel and hotel operations. It operated franchised ferry services in Hong Kong until 2000, when its 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 North Point is a mixed-use urban area in the Eastern District, Hong Kong, Eastern District of Hong Kong. Located in the northeastern part of Hong Kong Island, the area is named after a cape between Tin Hau, Hong Kong, Causeway Bay and Tsat Ts ...

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