Hong Kong’s first green ferry is in service! The Star Ferry Company has retrofitted one of its diesel-engine vessels “Morning Star (曉星)” with low-emission generators, significantly cutting emissions of black smoke and other harmful air pollutants. If you want to catch the green ferry, the vessel runs daily service on the Wan Chai – Tsim Sha Tsui and Central – Tsim Sha Tsui routes. The ferry name is marked on the sides. 

Clean Air Network’s CEO, Patrick Fung, is pleased by the change but believes that there is much more to be done. “It is cleaner than the traditional diesel engines, but if we look at the situation in Hong Kong, the distance that the in-harbour ferries travel is not that long. We should also look into electric ferries,” Fung tells RTHK’s Hong Kong Today. 

The Star Ferry Company plans to retrofit another vessel “Silver Star” with the new green generators soon. It is also studying the feasibility of electric ferries in the future. 

While the new green ferry is much welcomed, Fung says it is even more crucial for road transport to go green. “Road transport is in closer proximity to even more population in Hong Kong,” Fung says. “The transformation to electric or hydrogen buses is urgently needed in Hong Kong to achieve cleaner roadside air quality.”