Next Tuesday (5 July) marks the 50th anniversary of the container trade in Hong Kong. The Hong Kong Maritime Museum will commemorate the occasion.
When the SS San Juan berthed at Ocean Terminal in Kowloon on the evening of July 30th, 1969, it was the first scheduled service for a container ship in Hong Kong. It marked the start of container shipping in Hong Kong and it catalyzed an explosion in Hong Kong’s international trade.
These modular metal boxes revolutionized the way cargo was shipped. They shortened turnaround time, reduced shipping costs and meant that goods no longer went from port to port but from factory to customer. This new form of maritime trade allowed Hong Kong to expand to become the biggest port in the world and today, its port still handles more container cargo than Rotterdam and New York combined.
Today, roughly 90% of dry, non-bulk manufactured goods are shipped in ocean containers.
On Tuesday 30th July 2019, to mark the impact and contribution of container shipping on its 50th anniversary in Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Maritime Museum will offer complimentary heritage postcards (collectors’ version), featuring historic views of the port in the 1960s, for the first 50 visitors to the Museum on the day (while stock lasts).
A number of key shipping industry leaders and experts have remarked on the anniversary and the impact of container shipping on the city:
“Maritime activity has always defined Hong Kong and the advent of container shipping in Hong Kong is a major landmark which shaped the modern city and allowed Hong Kong and China to be connected to an increasing globalized world. The commercial port gradually moved out of Victoria Harbour to a purpose-built facility to the west at Kwai Chung, changing the local landscape, says, Richard Wesley, Museum director of the Hong Kong Maritime Museum.
“This anniversary marks a major milestone in the growth of the city’s economy which is based on trade and logistics. In addition to a world-class airport and road systems to support people flow, the smooth flow of goods is equally important. Hong Kong people are rightly proud of their airport but sometimes forget that 90% of all our cargo arrives by sea and less than 5% by air- without a successful container port the price of some local goods could increase 2-3 times.
“As a regional economic hub, the container port plays a vital role in serving businesses in Hong Kong and in the region. Our research at Hang Seng University shows that the port and logistics component contributed HK$ 75bn of value to the Hong Kong economy, representing 3.4% of its GDP and supporting 9,500 companies and 300,000 direct and indirect jobs which is 7.5% of Hong Kong’s employment total,” says Dr Collin Wong Wai-hung, associate professor of Department of Supply Chain and Information Management, Hang Seng University of Hong Kong.
“The decision to cater to this new system for cargo shipment made in the late 1960’s propelled Hong Kong from a quaint Fragrant Harbour into the world’s leading port in terms of volume. The following 50 years saw Hong Kong become one of the greatest success stories the world has known. Shipping became one of the three pillars of Hong Kong’s booming economy, supplying 25% of the local population with jobs, and stocking Hong Kong’s store shelves with goods from every corner of the earth. Container shipping opened up the door for the world to explore the goods and resources of China, the world’s most populous (but at the time mysterious) economy, say Roberto Giannetta, executive director of the Hong Kong Liner Shipping Association.
The shipping container was invented by Malcolm Mclean and the first voyage undertaken with 58 containers on board was undertaken by Ideal X from New Jersey to Houston in the US on 26 April 1956.
Source:
hongkongmaritimehub
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