Hong Kong's port - forward, back and feng shui

THE last of a week of conferences in Hong Kong set an example that its predecessors should have followed. The entry fee was affordable UK$550 (US$50), students were admitted free, and the organisers made a donation to the Hong Kong Sea School.

Aptly named "The Port of Hong Kong: past, present and future", the Hong Kong branch of the Nautical Institute's one day conference was, opened by branch chairman Duncan Telfer who made a point of welcoming Hong Kong' s future maritime professionals - the students, to the conference. Director of marine S Y Tsui gave the keynote address and spoke of the present day port and its enviable safety record in 1998 we had only 10 serious or very serious incidents, in 1999 it was 11 and in 2000 there was only one incident," said Mr Tsui.

Following his address Mr Tsui presented a donation on behalf of the Nautical Institute to the Hong Kong Sea School. "The money will be used for sea activities. to upgrade existing equipment and improve training," said Cowen Chin, chairman of the board of management.

The day's events continued with presentations on the port's history, its leading position in the world, ship management, law and arbitration. The final presentation examined the role of feng shui in port planning and was, surprisingly, presented by an expatriate assistant director of marine, Mr Roger Tupper. "Feng shui as an ancient art and philosophy surely should not be ignored. Many of its principles are based on common sense positioning to take advantage of a particular geographical, or physical environment," he said.

Excerpt from HKSNI no.215 - December 3,2001