Ferries between Macau and the center of Hong Kong are set to resume soon, as the ferry company awaits authorization to resume the service which has been shut down for nearly three years.
The ferry company, Shun Tak, originally established by legacy gaming mogul Stanley Ho, is now awaiting authorization to resume 16 daily drips between the SARs.
The daily operation is far-cry from Macau’s pre-pandemic ferry schedules, at just 10 percent of the previous offerings, but additional ferry services could be provided during the Chinese New Year holiday, the group’s divisional director told media.
The gradual recommencement of services between Hong Kong and the ferry terminal in the Macau peninsula would also resume, as well as nighttime services “depending on the situation”, he told the publication.
Services will also be limited depending on arrangements of staff, due to the wave of COVID currently affecting the territory.
The company’s four-year license to operate the maritime service between the SARs is still valid, carving the way for Macau’s legacy form of transport, prior to the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau bridge, to resume.
According to the company’s director, Alfred Ng, in statements to TDM, the company will “first restart the link between the Taipa ferry terminal and Hong Kong. There will initially be 16 daily trips (round-trip). The first trips are scheduled during the day, nighttime voyages will start in the future. To return to what we had been providing before the pandemic, I think we still need some time to prepare our human resources.”
The director further notes that the ticket pricing will remain the same as prior to the pandemic, despite large increases in fuel costs.
Four vessels are prepared to make the daily voyage, having been maintained by the company as it awaited approval to recommence the sailings. Expectations are for an increase in Chinese New Year visitation, for which the company has prepared more daily sailings.
Currently, ferry services between the SARs are limited to the Hong Kong airport, with only two return trips daily on Fridays and Sundays.
