The Home Affairs Department will open 19 temporary night heat shelters tonight (September 3) for people in need of the service.

     The shelters will be open from 10.30pm until 8am tomorrow.

     For further information, please call the department's hotline before midnight on 2572 8427.

     The 19 night heat shelters are located at:

Hong Kong Districts:
———————

Central and Western –
Sai Ying Pun Community Complex Community Hall
3/F, Sai Ying Pun Community Complex,
2 High Street, Sai Ying Pun

Eastern –
Causeway Bay Community Centre
3/F, 7 Fook Yum Road, Causeway Bay

Southern –
Lei Tung Community Hall
Lei Tung Estate, Ap Lei Chau

Wan Chai –
Wan Chai Activities Centre
LG/F, Wan Chai Market, 258 Queen's Road East, Wan Chai

Kowloon Districts:
——————

Kowloon City –
Hung Hom Community Hall
1/F, Kowloon City Government Offices,
42 Bailey Street, Hung Hom

Kwun Tong –
Lam Tin (West) Estate Community Centre
71 Kai Tin Road, Lam Tin

Sham Shui Po –
Shek Kip Mei Community Hall
G/F, Block 42, Shek Kip Mei Estate, Sham Shui Po

Wong Tai Sin –
Tsz Wan Shan (South) Estate Community Centre
45 Wan Wah Street, Tsz Wan Shan

Yau Tsim Mong –
Henry G Leong Yaumatei Community Centre
60 Public Square Street, Yau Ma Tei

New Territories Districts:
————————–

Islands –
Tung Chung Community Hall
G/F, Tung Chung Municipal Services Building,
39 Man Tung Road, Tung Chung

Kwai Tsing –
Kwai Shing Community Hall
Podium, Block 6, Kwai Shing West Estate, Kwai Chung

North –
Cheung Wah Community Hall
Cheung Wah Estate, Fanling

Sai Kung –
Hang Hau Community Hall
G/F, Sai Kung Tseung Kwan O Government Complex,
38 Pui Shing Road, Hang Hau, Tseung Kwan O

Sha Tin –
Hin Keng Neighbourhood Community Centre
5 Hin Wo Lane, Sha Tin

Tai Po –
Tai Po Community Centre
2 Heung Sze Wui Street, Tai Po

Tsuen Wan –
Shek Wai Kok Community Hall
Shek Wai Kok Estate, Tsuen Wan

Tuen Mun –
Butterfly Bay Community Centre
Butterfly Estate (near Tip Sum House), Tuen Mun

Yuen Long –
Long Ping Community Hall
Long Ping Estate, Yuen Long

Yuen Long –
Tin Yiu Community Centre
Tin Yiu Estate, Tin Shui Wai

     Hong Kong Customs yesterday (September 2) seized a batch of suspected smuggled goods including 660 smartphones and 10 notebook computers with an estimated market value of about $3.3 million at Lok Ma Chau Control Point.

     Customs officers intercepted an outgoing container truck at Lok Ma Chau Control Point for inspection yesterday evening and found the batch of suspected smuggled smartphones and notebook computers inside the driving compartment.

     The 40-year-old male driver was arrested. An investigation is ongoing.

     Customs will continue to take stringent enforcement actions against cross-boundary smuggling activities through risk assessment and intelligence analysis.

     Smuggling is a serious offence. Under the Import and Export Ordinance, any person found guilty of importing or exporting unmanifested cargo is liable to a maximum fine of $2 million and imprisonment for seven years.

     Members of the public may report any suspected smuggling activities to Customs' 24-hour hotline 2545 6182 or its dedicated crime-reporting email account (crimereport@customs.gov.hk).

  

     The Census and Statistics Department (C&SD) today (September 3) released the statistics on vessels, port cargo and containers for the second quarter of 2020.
 
     In the second quarter of 2020, total port cargo throughput decreased by 2.7% compared with the second quarter of 2019 to 67.5 million tonnes. Within this total, inward port cargo increased by 7.2% compared with the second quarter of 2019 to 47.7 million tonnes, while outward port cargo decreased by 20.4% compared with the second quarter of 2019 to 19.8 million tonnes.
 
     For the first half of 2020, total port cargo throughput decreased by 2.9% compared with the first half of 2019 to 124.6 million tonnes. Within this total, inward port cargo increased by 6.4% compared with the first half of 2019 to 86.7 million tonnes, while outward port cargo decreased by 19.1% compared with the first half of 2019 to 37.9 million tonnes.
 
     On a seasonally adjusted quarter-to-quarter comparison, total port cargo throughput increased by 8.4% in the second quarter of 2020. Within this total, inward port cargo and outward port cargo increased by 11.2% and 2.4% respectively compared with the preceding quarter. The seasonally adjusted series enables more meaningful shorter-term comparison to be made for discerning possible variations in trends.
 
Port cargo
 
     Within port cargo, seaborne cargo decreased by 7.2% in the second quarter of 2020 compared with the second quarter of 2019 to 39.3 million tonnes, while river cargo increased by 4.4% in the second quarter of 2020 compared with the second quarter of 2019 to 28.2 million tonnes.
 
     Within inward port cargo, imports increased by 13.1% in the second quarter of 2020 compared with the second quarter of 2019 to 31.6 million tonnes, while inward transhipment decreased by 2.7% in the second quarter of 2020 compared with the second quarter of 2019 to 16.1 million tonnes. For outward port cargo, exports (including domestic exports and re-exports) and outward transhipment decreased by 47.3% and 4.9% in the second quarter of 2020 compared with the second quarter of 2019 to 4.8 million tonnes and 15.0 million tonnes respectively.
 
     Within port cargo, seaborne cargo decreased by 5.9% in the first half of 2020 compared with the first half of 2019 to 74.9 million tonnes, while river cargo increased by 2.0% in the first half of 2020 compared with the first half of 2019 to 49.7 million tonnes.
 
     Within inward port cargo, imports increased by 12.7% in the first half of 2020 compared with the first half of 2019 to 56.0 million tonnes, while inward transhipment decreased by 3.4% in the first half of 2020 compared with the first half of 2019 to 30.6 million tonnes. For outward port cargo, exports and outward transhipment decreased by 44.1% and 6.0% in the first half of 2020 compared with the first half of 2019 to 9.0 million tonnes and 28.9 million tonnes respectively.
 
     The detailed port cargo statistics are summarised in Table 1.
 
     The main countries/territories of loading of inward port cargo and countries/territories of discharge of outward port cargo are shown in Table 2 and Table 3 respectively.
 
     Comparing the second quarter of 2020 with the second quarter of 2019, double-digit increases were recorded in the tonnage of inward port cargo loaded in Taiwan (+86.9%), the mainland of China (+19.6%), Vietnam (+16.4%), Korea (+15.5%) and Thailand (+11.5%). On the other hand, double-digit decreases were recorded in the tonnage of inward port cargo loaded in Indonesia (-36.5%) and the United States of America (-13.9%). For outward port cargo, double-digit increase was recorded in the tonnage of outward port cargo discharged in Taiwan (+11.6%). On the other hand, double-digit decreases were recorded in the tonnage of outward port cargo discharged in Malaysia (-27.2%), Vietnam (-23.9%), the mainland of China (-23.8%), Japan (-23.1%), the United States of America (-19.3%), Thailand (-12.0%) and the Philippines (-10.2%).
 
     Comparing the first half of 2020 with the first half of 2019, triple-digit or double-digit increases were recorded in the tonnage of inward port cargo loaded in Taiwan (+121.2%), Vietnam (+15.7%) and the mainland of China (+15.6%). On the other hand, double-digit decreases were recorded in the tonnage of inward port cargo loaded in Indonesia (-40.3%), Singapore (-24.3%) and the United States of America (-20.3%). For outward port cargo, double-digit increase was recorded in the tonnage of outward port cargo discharged in Macao (+36.4%). On the other hand, double-digit decreases were recorded in the tonnage of outward port cargo discharged in Malaysia (-27.0%), Vietnam (-24.8%), the mainland of China (-22.9%), the United States of America (-22.0%), Japan (-20.9%), Korea (-13.6%) and the Philippines (-12.1%).
 
     The principal commodities of inward port cargo and outward port cargo are shown in Table 4 and Table 5 respectively.
 
     Comparing the second quarter of 2020 with the second quarter of 2019, double-digit changes were recorded in the tonnage of inward port cargo of "stone, sand and gravel" (+43.5%), "live animals chiefly for food and edible animal products" (+15.0%) and "petroleum, petroleum products and related materials" (-30.0%). As for outward port cargo, double-digit decreases were recorded in the tonnage of "stone, sand and gravel" (-75.7%) and "metalliferous ores and metal scrap" (-30.6%).
 
     Comparing the first half of 2020 with the first half of 2019, double-digit changes were recorded in the tonnage of inward port cargo of "stone, sand and gravel" (+49.3%) and "petroleum, petroleum products and related materials" (-25.2%). As for outward port cargo, double-digit decreases were recorded in the tonnage of "stone, sand and gravel" (-74.0%), "metalliferous ores and metal scrap" (-22.3%) and "machinery" (-10.6%).
 
Containers
 
     In the second quarter of 2020, the port of Hong Kong handled 4.51 million TEUs of containers, representing a decrease of 3.5% compared with the second quarter of 2019. Within this total, laden containers decreased by 7.5% to 3.73 million TEUs, while empty containers increased by 22.0% to 0.78 million TEUs. Among laden containers, inward and outward containers decreased by 5.6% and 9.7% to 2.00 million TEUs and 1.72 million TEUs respectively.
 
     For the first half of 2020, the port of Hong Kong handled 8.61 million TEUs of containers, representing a decrease of 5.3% compared with the first half of 2019. Within this total, laden containers decreased by 8.2% to 7.15 million TEUs, while empty containers increased by 11.8% to 1.46 million TEUs. Among laden containers, inward and outward containers decreased by 6.5% and 10.1% to 3.80 million TEUs and 3.35 million TEUs respectively.
 
     On a seasonally adjusted quarter-to-quarter comparison, laden container throughput increased by 0.3% in the second quarter of 2020. Within this total, inward laden containers increased by 1.0%, while outward laden containers decreased by 0.5%.
 
     In the second quarter of 2020, seaborne and river laden containers decreased by 9.1% and 4.0% compared with the second quarter of 2019 to 2.56 million TEUs and 1.16 million TEUs respectively.
 
     Within inward laden containers, imports and inward transhipment decreased by 11.4% and 3.0% in the second quarter of 2020 compared with the second quarter of 2019 to 0.58 million TEUs and 1.42 million TEUs respectively. For outward laden containers, exports and outward transhipment decreased by 21.5% and 5.4% in the second quarter of 2020 compared with the second quarter of 2019 to 0.41 million TEUs and 1.32 million TEUs respectively.
 
     In the first half of 2020, seaborne and river laden containers decreased by 9.6% and 4.9% compared with the first half of 2019 to 4.94 million TEUs and 2.21 million TEUs respectively.
 
     Within inward laden containers, imports and inward transhipment decreased by 11.2% and 4.5% in the first half of 2020 compared with the first half of 2019 to 1.10 million TEUs and 2.70 million TEUs respectively. For outward laden containers, exports and outward transhipment decreased by 18.4% and 7.0% in the first half of 2020 compared with the first half of 2019 to 0.81 million TEUs and 2.54 million TEUs respectively.
 
     The detailed container statistics are summarised in Table 6.
 
     Port cargo and laden container statistics are compiled from a sample of consignments listed in the cargo manifests supplied by shipping companies and agents to the C&SD.
 
Vessel arrivals
 
     Comparing the second quarter of 2020 with the second quarter of 2019, the number of ocean vessel arrivals decreased by 1.5% to 6 218, with the total capacity also decreasing by 3.7% to 95.1 million net tons. Meanwhile, the number of river vessel arrivals decreased by 53.7% to 16 211, with the total capacity also decreasing by 10.9% to 25.8 million net tons.
 
     Comparing the first half of 2020 with the first half of 2019, the number of ocean vessel arrivals increased by 0.3% to 12 383, while the total capacity decreased by 0.2% to 194.2 million net tons. Meanwhile, the number of river vessel arrivals decreased by 48.1% to 36 005, with the total capacity also decreasing by 12.1% to 49.6 million net tons.
 
     The statistics on vessel arrivals in Hong Kong are given in Table 7.
 
     Vessel statistics are compiled by the Marine Department primarily from general declarations submitted by ship masters and authorised shipping agents. Pleasure vessels and fishing vessels plying exclusively within the river trade limits are excluded.
 
Further information
 
     More detailed statistics on port cargo, containers and vessels are published in the report "Hong Kong Shipping Statistics, Second Quarter 2020". Users can download this publication free of charge at the website of the C&SD (www.censtatd.gov.hk/hkstat/sub/sp130.jsp?productCode=B1020008).
 
     For enquiries about port cargo and container statistics, please contact the Outward Processing and Shipping Statistics Section of the C&SD (Tel: 2582 2126 or email: shipping@censtatd.gov.hk). For enquiries about vessel statistics, readers may contact the Statistics Section under the Planning, Development and Port Security Branch of the Marine Department (Tel: 2852 3662 or email: st-sec@mardep.gov.hk).

     Police today (September 3) appealed to the public for information on a man who went missing in Western Division.

     Yu Yau, aged 88, went missing after he left his residence on Des Voeux Road West yesterday (September 2). His family made a report to Police on the same day.
         
     He is about 1.6 metres tall, 41 kilograms in weight and of slim build. He has a pointed face with yellow complexion and is bald. He was last seen wearing a pair of gold-rimmed glasses, a brown cap, a blue short-sleeved shirt, white trousers and carrying a black sling bag.

     Anyone who knows the whereabouts of the missing man or may have seen him is urged to contact the Regional Missing Person Unit of Hong Kong Island on 2860 1040 or 9886 0034 or email to rmpu-hki@police.gov.hk, or contact any police station.

  

     The effective exchange rate index for the Hong Kong dollar on Thursday, September 3, 2020 is 104.9 (up 0.3 against yesterday's index).