Opinion

How Hong Kong can chart a course towards living with Covid-19

The government’s plan to exempt executives in the financial sector from quarantine measures is unfair to other key industries – like shipping

Hong Kong’s coronavirus quandary is not going to go away, but an approach that couples vaccination with a multiple testing regime should allow some opening up

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A cargo ship in the Hong Kong Container Terminal at Kwai Chung on April 19. Photo: Winson Wong

Captain Bjorn Hojgaard is the chairman of the Hong Kong Shipowners Association and the CEO of Anglo-Eastern Univan Group.

Published: 6:45am, 28 Jul 2021Updated: 6:45am, 28 Jul 2021

It has been over a month since the government announced an exemption of executives in Hong Kong’s financial sector from quarantine measures when returning to the city from overseas business trips, thus enabling the sector to resume normal operations to a certain degree, and maintain client relationships in the financial arena.

Members of Hong Kong’s maritime community looked on in dismay at this development, which left one of the most globally vital industries confined to Hong Kong in continued near isolation.

Like executives of banks and insurance companies, shipping executives must get back to normal operations and maintain relationships on a daily basis. More importantly, the nature of the shipping industry means physical assets require daily management and a physical presence is often obligatory.

Vessels under construction must be supervised and approved before delivery. Ship inspections and audits are a critical part of the maintenance cycle, essential to ensuring high safety standards to prevent accidents, casualties and environmental disasters. While remote inspections have come into their own because of Covid-19 restrictions, they are not a long-term solution.