Hong Kong port lifts some quarantine requirements for vessels

Hong Kong port has lifted quarantine restrictions for vessels arriving in the port for cargo and bunker-only calls from today onwards.

PHOTO: Cargo ships in Victoria Harbour of Hong Kong, China. Getty Images

The new mandate exempts vessels arriving in Hong Kong within 14 days of port calls in a long list of previously designated A1, or "high-risk" Covid-19 countries, as well as from mainland China, Macao and Taiwan, from quarantine requirements.

All vessels arriving in Hong Kong for bunkering, re-provision or switching documents are exempted from the quarantine rules that applied previously. Vessels are no longer required to provide their port call history, a source from Hong Kong port said.

When the more transmissible Omicron Covid-19 variant caused a massive wave of infections across a host of countries around the world last December, Hong Kong implemented 21-day quarantine restrictions for vessels arriving from labelled "high-risk" countries within 21 days of arriving in Hong Kong for bunker-only calls.

These restrictions were updated in early February, to underline a 14-day quarantine requirement plus seven-day self-monitoring for crew on vessels arriving for bunker-only calls. This was regardless of the vaccination status of the crew. Crew on vessels that only called in Hong Kong for cargo operations, or arrived from mainland China, Macao or Taiwan, were exempt from quarantining.

These quarantine requirements have now been lifted for vessels calling for cargo operations and bunker-only calls, for all countries.

“Shipowners are not required to check if they are included in the A1 list or not,” a source said.

Meanwhile, Hong Kong authorities have kept certain conditions in place that vessels and crew need to comply with, regardless of where they arrive from:

• No crew change during bunker-only calls. Ship crew have to stay onboard the vessel at all times
• Local workers should wear protective gear if they go onboard vessels calling to bunker, and check their body temperature
• Documents should be exchanged by email, or through carrying baskets with protective plastic bags
• Crew should be double-vaccinated
• Hong Kong resident crew signing off ships arriving for cargo operations in the port need to do a PCR test and quarantine at a government-designated hotel

Bunker demand is expected to pick up now that restrictions are lifted, which could add pressure on bunker fuel availability and tighten supply in Hong Kong, sources say.

HSFO380 availability is currently tight in Hong Kong, while VLSFO and LSMGO grades are more readily available and require around 4-5 days of lead time. One supplier has limited availability for prompt dates, however, a source says.