The business of maritime excellence
Thanks to its background as a maritime hub and strategic location bridging China and the world, Hong Kong is home to some of the biggest maritime and ship management companies in the world
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Home to the fourth largest Shipping Registry, with more than 2,500 ships equating to a total gross tonnage of 109.2 million, Hong Kong punches way above its weight in the carriage of trade volumes and influence.
As Chairman of the Hong Kong Shipowners Association and Executive Chairman of Wah Kwong Maritime Transport Holdings Limited, Sabrina Chao is well placed to speak about the strength and global impact of Hong Kong’s maritime cluster.
“The shipowners in Hong Kong run ships that navigate the world. It is through the quality of the services that they provide to their customers that give Hong Kong shipping its good name.
“Hong Kong shipowners manage and own 9 per cent of the global fleet in terms of deadweight tonnage. That is a very significant percentage of world tonnage operating from the tiny place Hong Kong. So we have a duty and an entitlement to be outspoken when it comes to doing the best for Hong Kong’s shipping community,” says Chao, who is the first woman to chair the Hong Kong Shipowners Association, one of the largest shipowners associations in the world.
Hong Kong may also be called an originator. Third party ship management has its origins more than 40 years ago in Hong Kong. The pioneer was Captain Charles Vanderperre, a Belgian émigré who arrived in Hong Kong in 1969. He founded Univan Ship Management in 1973. Such was the esteem in which he was held, for years after his death in 2009, a replica of his personal office was reconstructed and preserved in Univan’s new premises.