thumb|right|Star Ferry routes as of 2010

thumb|A Star Ferry in the 1920s

thumb|right|A Star Ferry in [[Brand Hong Kong|Asia's World City livery carries passengers across Victoria Harbour]]

thumb|right|Crew using billhook to moor ferry at Central pier, a method in use since the 19th century|alt=A man at the front of a large boat throws a rope to another man on a nearby pier wearing a blue sailor uniform who is holding a long pole with a hook at the rear to catch it

thumb|Star Ferry Night Star

The Star Ferry () is a passenger ferry service operator and tourist attraction in Hong Kong. Its principal routes carry passengers across Victoria Harbour, between Hong Kong Island and Kowloon. The service is operated by the Star Ferry Company, which was founded in 1888 as the Kowloon Ferry Company, and which adopted its present name in 1898.

With a fleet of twelve ferries, the company operates two routes across the harbour, carrying over 70,000 passengers per day, or 26 million per year. Even though the harbour is crossed by railway and road tunnels, the Star Ferry continues to provide a scenic yet inexpensive mode of harbour crossing. The company's main route runs between Central and Tsim Sha Tsui.

History

Before the steam ferry service was first established, people crossed the harbour in flat-bottomed wooden boats known as sampans. In 1870, a man named Grant Smith brought a twin-screw wooden-hulled boat from England and started running it across the harbour at irregular intervals.

In July 1873, an attempt was made to run steam ferries between Hong Kong and Kowloon. This was stopped at the request of the British consul in Canton, who feared it would enable visits to gambling houses in Kowloon.

The company was founded by Parsee merchant Dorabjee Naorojee Mithaiwala as the "Kowloon Ferry Company" in 1888. Naorojee bought Smith's boat,

The popularity of this means of transport enabled him to increase his fleet to four vessels within 10 years: the Morning Star, Evening Star, Rising Star and Guiding Star. Each boat had a capacity of 100 passengers, and the boats averaged 147 crossings each day. However, it was destroyed by a typhoon in September 1906.

At the turn of the century, Hong Kong currency and Canton currency were both accepted as legal tender in Hong Kong. In the autumn of 1912, following a devaluation, the Star Ferry caused a controversy by insisting, together with the tramways, that payment had to be made in Hong Kong currency only. Canton coinage was no longer accepted.

In 1924, the Yaumati Ferry operated the route to Kowloon in a duopoly. In 1933, the Star Ferry made history by building the Electric Star, the first diesel electric passenger ferry of its kind. The structure was completed in 1957, concurrent with the Edinburgh Place Ferry Pier built on the island side.

The Star Ferry accepted the request by the government of operating the Hung Hom route in 1963. It almost failed to operate as the company thought it could not make profit from it. But with the reconsideration by the Star Ferry, the route was confirmed to be operating starting from March 1965.

Until the opening of the Cross-Harbour Tunnel in 1972, the Star Ferry remained the main means of public transportation between Hong Kong Island and the Kowloon side.

It was rated first in the "Top 10 Most Exciting Ferry Rides" poll by SATW (Society of American Travel Writers) in February 2009.

The Star Ferry operates on a franchise from the government, which was last renewed in March 2018.

Public protests

In 1966, a fare increase of 5 cents (or 25%) of the ferry was a political milestone, as it caused a 27-year-old student to go on hunger strike in protest at the Edinburgh Place terminal. His arrest sparked the 1966 Hong Kong riots.):

  • Central to Tsim Sha Tsui. For lower deck, it costs $4 on Mondays to Fridays; $5.60 on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays. For upper deck, $5 on Mondays to Fridays; $6.50 on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays.
  • Wan Chai to Tsim Sha Tsui for $5 on Mondays to Fridays; $6.50 on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays.
  • Harbour Tour: a tourist cruise, making an indirect, circular route to all the stops, namely Tsim Sha Tsui, Central and Wan Chai.

Passengers may use Octopus or tokens (Jeton) to pay for the ride. Tokens are available in the vending machines at the piers. Direct payment by coins at turnstile is no longer accepted.

The Tsim Sha Tsui – Central route does not accept cycles, but the Tsim Sha Tsui – Wan Chai route accepts cycles for an extra charge of $14, except during the evening peak hour from Wan Chai to Tsim Sha Tsui.

  • Wan Chai to Hung Hom for $6.30, terminated effective 1 April 2011. together with a tug.

Over the years, the fleet has included:

{| class="sortable wikitable"

|+ Star Ferry Fleet

|-

!Name

!IMO

!Reg

!Year<br /> Built

!Builder

!Seats

!width=250px|&nbsp;Notes&nbsp;

!class="unsortable" |Image<br />(green and white livery)

!class="unsortable" |Image<br />(other colors)

|- valign=top

| Morning Star<br />(曉星號)

|

|

| 1871

| English-built steamboat

| app 100

| The first "Star" Ferry,

| Likely Hong Kong & Whampoa Dock

|

| Featured in the film The World of Suzie Wong

|

|

|- valign=top

| Meridian Star<br />(午星號)

| 5232725

| A2671

| 1958

| Hong Kong & Whampoa Dock

| 484

| Modified in 2012 as back-up vessel for Star Ferry Harbour Tour; subsequently re-modified to ordinary ferry standard in 2013

| 150px|Meridian Star

|

|- valign=top

| Solar Star<br />(日星號)

| 5333335

| A2681

| 1958

| Hong Kong & Whampoa Dock

| 547

|

| 150px|Solar Star<br />frameless|150x150px

|

|- valign=top

| Northern Star<br />(北星號)

| 8951372

| A2971

| 1959

| Hong Kong & Whampoa Dock

| 547

|

| 150px|Northern Star

|

|- valign=top

| Night Star<br />(夜星號)

| 8891091

| A3136

| 1963

| Hong Kong & Whampoa Dock

| 576

| Named for original Kowloon Ferry Company's Night Star

| 150px|Night Star

| 150px|Night Star

|- valign=top

| Day Star<br />(晨星號)

| 8891120

| A4041

| 1964

| Hong Kong & Whampoa Dock

| 576

|

| 150px|Day Star<br />frameless|150x150px

| 150px|Day Star

|- valign=top

| Shining Star<br />(輝星號)

| 8891118

| A3841

| 1964

| Hong Kong & Whampoa Dock

| 576

| Now used for the Star Ferry Harbour Tour (top sections were opened up); reproduction of 3rd generation ferries c. 1920s

| 150px|Shining Star

|

|- valign=top

| Twinkling Star<br />(熒星號)

| 8891132

| A2961

| 1964

| Hong Kong & Whampoa Dock

| 576

|

| 150px|Twinkling Star

| 150px|Twinkling Star

|- valign=top

| Morning Star<br />(曉星號)

| 8891144

| A2801

| 1965

| Hong Kong & Whampoa Dock

| 399

| Named for original Kowloon Ferry Company's Morning Star; Retrofitted with Caterpillar diesel-electric propulsion system in 2020

| 150px|Morning Star

| 150px|Morning Star

|- valign=top

| Silver Star<br />(銀星號)

| 8891156

| A4241

| 1965

| Hong Kong & Whampoa Dock

| 399

| Retrofitted with Caterpillar diesel-electric propulsion system in 2021

| 150px|Silver Star

|

|- valign=top

| Golden Star<br />(金星號)

| 8951384

| A5153

| 1989–2011

| Wang Tak Engineering & Shipbuilding Ltd

| 762

| Sold to private owner in 2011

| 150px|Golden Star

|

|- valign=top

| World Star<br />(世星號)

| 8890968

| A5243

| 1989–2011

| Wang Tak Engineering & Shipbuilding Ltd

| 762

|

| 150px|World Star

|

|-

| Glowing Star<br />(耀星號)

|

|

|

| Hong Kong Shipyard

| 288

| ex-British Army vessel rented by Star Ferry between 2001 and 2005

|

|

|-

| Kowloon

|

|

|

|

|

| Tugboat

|

|

|- valign=top

| Pacific Princess

| 8624527

|

| 1971

|

|

| Bought from Australia as Temeraire II, and in fleet from 1988 to 1994 as Lady Star (后星號); subsequently modified to corporate yacht of Kowloon Wharf Group

|

| 150px|Pacific Princess (ex Lady Star)

|}

Piers

thumb|The [[Star Ferry Pier, Tsim Sha Tsui|Tsim Sha Tsui Ferry Pier for Star Ferry ]]

thumb|The [[facade|façade of the fourth-generation Star Ferry Pier in Central, Hong Kong]]

  • Star Ferry Pier, Central at Central District
  • First Generation (1890) Pedder Street and Chater Road
  • Third Generation (2014), in service since 30 August 2014.

Filmography

The Star Ferry appears in the 1960 film The World of Suzie Wong. In the beginning of the film, Robert Lomax (played by William Holden) disembarks from the SS President Wilson (an old American President Lines transpacific passenger vessel) and takes the Star Ferry to Hong Kong Island, and on the ferry meets Suzie Wong (played by Nancy Kwan), who scorns his attentions.

The port appears in the 1991 movie Double Impact.

Several brief scenes in the 1988 TV miniseries Noble House are set aboard the ferry. It also appears in the French films Les Anges gardiens (1995) and The Moustache (2005).

See also

  • Hong Kong & Kowloon Ferry
  • List of places in Hong Kong
  • Transport in Hong Kong

References

Further reading

  • Hong Kong: Epilogue to an Empire, Jan Morris
  • Official website