The Hongkong and Yaumati Ferry Co. Ltd.

Hongkong and Yaumati Ferry company logo
A HYF ferry in the 1960s (backside of the photo)
Company type	subsidiary
Industry	Transport
Founded	1897; 127 years ago (1897)
Headquarters	Tsing Yi, Hong Kong
Key people	Colin Lam Ko Yin, Chairman Dr David Ho, General Manager
Products	Ferry, Property
Number of employees	400[citation needed] ([when?])
Parent	Hong Kong Ferry (Holdings) Company Limited (Henderson Land Development's associate company)
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese	香港油蔴地小輪有限公司
Simplified Chinese	香港油麻地小轮有限公司
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Xiānggǎng Yóumádì Xiǎolún Yǒuxiàngōngsī Yue: Cantonese Yale Romanization Hēung góng yàuh màh deih síu lèuhn yáuh haahn gūng sī Jyutping Hoeng1 gong2 jau4 maa4 dei6 siu2 leon4 jau5 haan6 gung1 si1
Yaumati Ferry
Traditional Chinese	油蔴地小輪
Simplified Chinese	油麻地小轮
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Yóumádì Xiǎolún Yue: Cantonese Yale Romanization Yàuh màh deih síu lèuhn Jyutping Jau4 maa4 dei6 siu2 leon4
Website	www.hkf.com/en/ferry.html

The Hongkong and Yaumati Ferry Company Limited (HYF), is a ferry company founded in 1897 in Hong Kong. It is commonly known as Yaumati Ferry. After restructuring the company in 1989, it became a subsidiary of Hong Kong Ferry (Holdings) Company Limited (香港小輪(集團)有限公司).

Its head office is in the northern Tsing Yi.^[1]

The original company was founded by a Chinese business man named Lau Tak Po in 1897 during the Colonial Hong Kong era. At the time he purchased 5 wooden boats and provided services exclusively to Kowloon under the company name "Yaumati Ferry".^[2] Yaumati is the alternative transliteration of Yau Ma Tei.

Until the Ferries Ordinance of 1917, there was no regulation set by the government as to who can run a ferry service. After the Ordinance was enacted, no one can operate a ferry service without securing a license from the government through public tender.^{[3][Notes 1]} The first companies who obtained the license during 1919-1921 operated poorly, hence in April 1923, the government issued a call in the Gazette for a tender to operate the Yaumati ferry service. Lau Tak Po then started to recruit other Chinese Merchants to compete for the ferry license. Eventually, Lau Tak Po together with 13 other merchants secured the license in July 1923, and established "the Hong Kong and Yaumati Ferry Company Limited" with Lau Tak Po and Lau King Cho as the managing directors on 5 November 1923.^[4][5]

Hong Kong and Yaumati Ferry obtained the franchise license for the rights to the transportation route, blocking off competition from Star Ferry company. As a result, the Yaumati Ferry company became the largest Chinese-owned company in the world at that point in time, profiting from the transportation demand of Kowloon expansion.^{[citation needed]}

On 1 January 1924, Hong Kong and Yaumati Ferry commenced its ferry service. The routes included were: Victoria City/Yaumati; Victoria City/Mong Kok Tsui; Victoria City/Sham Shui Po. A fleet of 12 small Wooden hulled vessels were used.^[6] Due to warnings from the government as to the low quality of the vessels, the old fleet was eventually replaced by newly built wooden and steel ferries during the 1920s.^[7]

Subsequently, the Hong Kong and Yaumati Ferry expanded its services to include the vehicular ferry service in 1933.^[8] The service transported motor vehicles across Victoria Harbour for many years (from 1933 to 1998) prior to the opening of the Cross-Harbour Tunnel, Eastern Harbour Tunnel and Western Harbour Tunnel in 1972, 1989 and 1997. The company decided to give up the ferry licenses in 1999, and these licenses were transferred to the New World First Ferry on 15 January 2000.

According to official documents, Henderson Investment Ltd. is the largest shareholder of Hongkong and Yaumati Ferry's parent company Hong Kong Ferry. Henderson beneficially owning 31.33% of the share capital of the company as at 31 December 2005. Henderson chairman Dr. Lee Shau Kee and Vice Chairman Colin Lam are^[when?] also Directors of the company.

Although it gave up its franchised ferry licences in 2000, the company retained the Dangerous Goods Vehicular Ferry Service routes between North Point, Kwun Tong, and Mui Wo, as these vehicles are not allowed to go through any one of the three cross harbour tunnels, while Mui Wo is situated on Lantau Island.

• HYF Official Page on HKF website
• The Industrial History of Hong Kong article