HKSAR Government Welcomes State Council's Approval of Exemption of Requirement for Guarantee and Implementation of Temporarily Ship Nationality Registration Policies for Hong Kong and Macao Yachts Temporarily Entering and Exiting Chinese Mainland

HKSAR Government welcomes State Council's approval of exemption of requirement for guarantee and implementation of temporarily ship nationality registration policies for Hong Kong and Macao Yachts temporarily entering and exiting Chinese Mainland

The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government today (May 30) welcomes the State Council's announcement of its approval of exemption of the requirement of a guarantee and implementation of temporary ship nationality registration for Hong Kong and Macao yachts when temporarily entering and exiting the Chinese Mainland through designated ports in the nine cities of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (the GBA), and only navigating within these cities.

Central Government Offices, Photo source: reference image

A spokesman for the Transport and Logistics Bureau said, "Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Macao have been committed to promoting individual yacht travel. To this end, the Marine Department, the Guangdong Maritime Safety Administration, and the Macao Marine and Water Bureau have established the tripartite Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao individual yacht travel working group, which has been actively discussing facilitation measures to advance the development of the individual yacht travel system. Under the new policy, the exemption for the requirement for a guarantee will significantly reduce the financial burden on owners of Hong Kong and Macao yacht when handling cross-border procedures. Meanwhile, the temporarily ship nationality registration allows Hong Kong and Macao yachts to obtain temporarily ship nationality certificates issued by Chinese Mainland without affecting their original ship registration, enabling individual yacht travel within the waters of the nine Chinese Mainland cities in the GBA."

The Transport and Logistics Bureau, Photo source: reference image

Meanwhile, the Marine Department is actively co-ordinating with the Guangdong Maritime Safety Administration on facilitation measures for the southbound travel for yachts from the Chinese Mainland. Details will be announced in due course once finalised.

The Marine Department, Photo source: reference image

The spokesman added that the Marine Department will continue to maintain close communication with the relevant authorities of Guangdong Province and the Macao Maritime and Water Bureau, and continuously review and refine the facilitation measures for the northbound travel of yachts from Hong Kong and southbound travel for yachts from the Chinese Mainland to foster a healthy, sustainable and competitive environment for the development of the local yacht economy.

Companies fined $251,800 for contravening Employment Ordinance

Tai Pan Bread & Cakes Company Limited, Tai Pan Restaurant Company Limited and Vast Luck Limited were prosecuted by the Labour Department (LD) for violating the requirements under the Employment Ordinance (EO). The three companies pleaded guilty at the Kowloon City Magistrates' Courts today (June 1) and were fined a total sum of $251,800.

The three companies wilfully and without reasonable excuse contravened the requirements of the EO, failing to pay wages to a total of 47 employees within seven days after the expiry of the wage periods and the termination of employment contracts, totalling about $1,360,000. Vast Luck Limited failed to pay annual leave pay to one employee within the statutory time limit, amounting to around $7,600, and also failed to pay the awarded sum of about $81,000 to one employee within 14 days after the date set by the Labour Tribunal (LT).

"The ruling will disseminate a strong message to all employers that they have to pay wages to employees within the statutory time limit stipulated in the EO, as well as the sums awarded by the LT or the Minor Employment Claims Adjudication Board," a spokesman for the LD said.

"The LD will not tolerate these offences and will spare no effort in enforcing the law and safeguarding employees' statutory rights," the spokesman added.

Source: AI-found images