Five mainland yachts have been approved to visit Hong Kong for the first scheduled voyage of the cross-border yacht scheme on October 16, 2026. They can set off only after completing mainland departure procedures.
The five designated anchorage areas are Stanley Bay, Tai Tam Bay, Repulse Bay, Three Fathoms Cove in Sai Kung and Tai O. Director of Marine Wong Sai-fat said they can accommodate up to 115 yachts measuring 40 metres, and that there was currently no need for a daily quota.
Yacht masters can take accreditation assessments across the border without travelling to Hong Kong, and mainland organisations are authorised to conduct them. Yacht owners and masters can also submit pre-arrival vetting information online instead of visiting a district marine office. About 300 mainland yacht masters have completed training and passed the assessment to operate in Hong Kong waters.
The Marine Department’s monitoring system tracks visiting yachts and alerts them if they enter restricted waters or their automatic identification system fails. Wong said patrol staff would go to a yacht’s location to check whether it needed assistance.