The Marine Department Youth Group (MDYG) collaborated with the Women's International Shipping & Trading Association Hong Kong (WISTA HK) to organise a company visit to the Wah Kwong Maritime Transport Holdings Limited today.

First, Wah Kwong's Abbie introduced to us the history, business and company structure of Wah Kwong. With a deeply rooted foundation in Hong Kong for over 70 years, Wah Kwong is a respected shipping company now managed by the third generation of the Chao family. As a shipowner, Wah Kwong owns a diversified fleet of ships, including bulkers, tankers and LNG bunkering vessels. Moreover, their extensive experience across the entire spectrum of shipping allows them to provide new building consultancy, ship management service and sale and purchase consultancy for their customers worldwide. Recently, Wah Kwong has developed a series of carbon reduction strategies to align with sustainability goals.

After that, they offered us a guided tour of their office. I was impressed by the interactive map installed in the office which could show the real-time locations of all vessels under Wah Kwong, the details of cargos and the weather information for the marine community all at once. It reflects that the maritime industry, which has generally been regarded as traditional, is willing to incorporate innovation and technology into their business.

Wah Kwong also invited Captain Kong, who had just travelled to Hong Kong from the Shenzhen office, to meet us. He explained in detail the Rightship Safety Score, which is a safety rating system of ocean-going vessels commonly adopted by the commercial sector, and emphasised that Wah Kwong values the quality of their fleet and the implicit trust from their partners.

At last, Brian and Karen from Wah Kwong shared with us how they had entered the field and their work at Wah Kwong. Brian brought out the message that onshore maritime professions, such as ship finance, marine insurance and maritime legal services, are all inseparable, while Karen depicted the challenges and the sense of accomplishment from maritime jobs through her experience in coordinating an emergency vessel repair. From our conversation, I felt their passion for the industry. When being asked for advice for young people, they said that youngsters should be more proactive in raising questions, and they can attend more seminars to pursue personal advancement and build their interpersonal networks.

Today's activity has corrected my impression that the maritime industry is all about seafaring. In fact, there are many professional services which I may consider. Let me keep an eye out for internship programmes and job vacancies of local shipping companies!