The Hong Kong ferry company faces a punishing combination of US-China tariffs and an infrastructure project that has permanently reshaped passenger routes
A Hong Kong Ferry Company Caught in the Crossfire
Chu Kong Shipping Enterprises, one of Hong Kong’s established cross-border maritime operators, has announced that it anticipates a significant decline in its annual profit, a warning that reflects the compounding pressures facing companies whose business straddles the increasingly fraught boundary between Hong Kong’s economy and the mainland. The company, which operates cargo transportation and cross-border waterway passenger services in the Pearl River Delta region, reported in mid-2025 that its consolidated profit for the first half of the year was expected to fall between 55 and 70 per cent compared with the same period the previous year – a decline from HKD 67.1 million to somewhere between HKD 20 million and HKD 30 million. The full-year picture, now anticipated, looks no better. Chu Kong Shipping attributed the deterioration to two distinct forces: the resumption of serious trade friction between the United States and China, and the opening of the Shenzhen-Zhongshan Link bridge on June 30, 2024.
The Tariff Effect: When Trade War Reaches the Water
The US-China trade dispute under the Trump administration has reached into every corner of the regional economy, and the Pearl River Delta’s maritime sector is no exception. Reduced cargo volumes flowing through the cross-border supply chains that Chu Kong Shipping serves have translated directly into lower transportation and handling revenue. The company’s cargo business depends on the vitality of manufacturing and export activity in the broader Guangdong region – activity that has been disrupted by tariffs that, at various points in 2025, reached triple-digit levels on certain categories of Chinese goods.
The Bridge That Changed Everything
The Shenzhen-Zhongshan Link, a massive road and tunnel infrastructure project connecting two sides of the Pearl River estuary, opened in June 2024 after years of construction. It was immediately popular. And its popularity had a direct and measurable impact on Chu Kong Shipping’s passenger business, as travelers who previously relied on ferry crossings shifted to the faster, more convenient road route. This is precisely the kind of infrastructure-driven disruption that is very difficult to reverse. Unlike a tariff, which can in theory be negotiated away, a bridge does not disappear. The behavioral shift of passengers toward road travel is likely to be permanent, or at least very durable.
A Company Navigating Choppy Waters
Despite the profit warning, Chu Kong Shipping’s management has emphasized that the company maintains a healthy cash flow and sound financial position – language that signals resilience while acknowledging the severity of the headwinds. The company has been actively investing in newer, more efficient vessels, including electric hybrid ferries that reduce operating costs and meet increasingly stringent environmental standards on routes across the Pearl River Delta.
The Wider Story: Hong Kong’s Maritime Decline
Chu Kong Shipping’s difficulties are a microcosm of a longer trend in Hong Kong’s maritime sector. Baird Maritime, which covers the global ferry and passenger shipping industry in depth, has tracked the progressive squeeze on Hong Kong’s waterway operators as infrastructure investment on the mainland has systematically reduced the cost advantage of water-based transport. The once-unrivaled convenience of Hong Kong’s harbor network is now competing against bridges, tunnels, and high-speed rail links that have been built with extraordinary speed and scale over the past decade. Hong Kong Trade Development Council data on the city’s transportation sector illustrates how these structural shifts are reshaping the competitive landscape. For democracy advocates, there is a broader point to be made here. The infrastructure that is undercutting Hong Kong’s maritime sector is the same infrastructure that is deepening the economic integration of Hong Kong with the mainland – an integration that serves Beijing’s political interests regardless of whether it serves the interests of Hong Kong’s people. The bridges and tunnels are also, in a sense, bridges and tunnels of dependency. Chu Kong Shipping will survive. It has the balance sheet to adapt. But the city it serves is being remade around it, one infrastructure project at a time, and not every consequence of that remaking is visible in a shipping company’s profit warning.
What This Means for Workers and Communities
Behind every profit warning is a human story. Chu Kong Shipping’s declining revenues mean less work for the crews, dock workers, and support staff whose livelihoods depend on the company’s routes staying viable. The Pearl River Delta waterways have supported communities on both sides of the estuary for generations, and the economic logic that is currently squeezing the ferry sector affects real families. Pro-democracy advocates in Hong Kong have long argued that economic integration with the mainland, pursued at the speed and scale that Beijing demands, creates dependencies that are not easily reversed. The Shenzhen-Zhongshan Link is an impressive piece of engineering. It is also a reminder that infrastructure investment is never politically neutral – it reshapes economic geographies, reinforces dependencies, and alters the balance of power between localities and the central state that funds the construction. World Bank assessments of China’s infrastructure investment document the scale and pace of the Pearl River Delta development projects that are reshaping the competitive environment for cross-border transport operators. Baird Maritime ferry coverage provides the most comprehensive ongoing reporting on passenger shipping trends across Asia-Pacific.
Jessica Lam
Politics & Diaspora Affairs Journalist, Apple Daily UK
Contact: jessica.lam@appledaily.uk
Jessica Lam is a politics and diaspora affairs journalist with specialized expertise in Hong Kong governance, overseas Chinese communities, and democratic movements. Educated at a leading UK journalism institution, she received advanced training in political reporting, international law basics, and source protection, equipping her for complex cross-border coverage.
Jessica has worked with Apple Daily and other liberal Chinese publications, reporting on electoral systems, civic participation, protest movements, and policy developments affecting the Chinese diaspora. Her work demonstrates strong command of political context and an ability to translate complex issues into accessible, fact-driven journalism.
She brings real-world newsroom experience in covering time-sensitive political developments while maintaining strict verification standards. Jessica regularly works with primary documents, expert interviews, and multiple independent sources to ensure balanced and accurate reporting.
Her authority is reinforced by consistent publication within established news organizations and by adherence to editorial review processes. She is known for transparent attribution and for distinguishing clearly between reporting and analysis.
Jessica Lam’s journalism reflects professional experience, subject-matter expertise, and a strong ethical foundation. At Apple Daily UK, she contributes trusted political coverage that serves readers seeking independent and credible information.
