HKSR introducing its $65 mln incentive fund at Posidonia

An e-certification system for all Hong Kong-registered ships and ships applying for registration was put in place in 2023 by the Hong Kong Shipping Registry (HKSR), the fourth largest register in the world in terms of gross tonnage with about 2,400 ships that aggregate some 129 million gross tonnage. 

And in another move designed to further improve its competitiveness, HKSR plans to provide financial incentives to increase the attractiveness of the registry, which is preparing for its fifth Posidonia participation this summer, taking place on June 3-7 at the conference park near the Athens airport. 

At the event, HKSR will promote a series of appeal-enhancing strategic initiatives such as a US$65 million fund to provide incentives for Hong Kong-registered ships that have attained high ratings under the international standards on decarbonization formulated by the International Maritime Organization. 

The incentive, targeted at ships with CII rating A or B, will be disbursed annually from 2024 to 2026, amounting to HK$20,000 per eligible ship per financial year, for a maximum duration of three years. Additionally, ship registration fee and the annual tonnage charge (ATC) for the first year of ship registration would be waived for the applicable ships newly registered with HKSR. 

“To enhance the competitiveness of HKSR and provide greater facilitation for shipowners, we will continue to enhance our ship registration services and suitably employ digitalization to facilitate the process of ship registration,” said S.F. Wong, director of marine. “Our policy as a special administrative region is not to seek any profit from ship registration fees and most services are provided on a cost-recovery basis. There is no requirement to have a Hong Kong-registered company, not indeed to maintain any presence in Hong Kong.”