Hong Kong is putting up a task force to put forward an "action plan" aimed at further promoting and developing the city as an international maritime hub.

The Task Force on Maritime and Port Development Strategy — announced by the Transport and Logistics Bureau (TLB) on announced April 19 — will be under the Maritime and Port Development Committee of the Hong Kong Maritime and Port Board.

The Task Force will focus on formulating strategies for enhancing the development of business sectors such as ship finance, marine insurance, maritime arbitration and ship management, thereby enabling Hong Kong to become a global leading high-end maritime services market; facilitating the transformation of the global maritime and port business towards zero-emission; and promoting the development of smart initiatives and digitalisation in the maritime industry.

The unit would also "promote exchanges" and collaboration among maritime industries in the Greater Bay Area (GBA) and those around the world.

It would also pursue studies to devise strategies for promoting the high-end maritime services industry and related areas thereby sustaining the competitiveness of the Hong Kong maritime and port industry; and conduct policy research and recommend initiatives to entrench Hong Kong's status as an international maritime centre including enhancing exchanges among industries in the international arena and the GBA.

The Task Force comprises experts from various sub-sectors within the maritime and port industry, such as shipowner, shipper, marine insurance, maritime arbitration, tax and commodity trading.

"The Task Force is set up with the aim of putting forward the action plan on key strategies to accelerate the growth of Hong Kong's high value-added maritime services cluster and further entrench Hong Kong's status as an international maritime centre," a spokesman for the TLB said.

The announcement noted that the Task Force targets to promulgate the action plan by the end of 2023.

The Port of Hong Kong is one of the world's 10 busiest container ports, though TEU volumes have been on a decline since 2017 as it faces stiff competition from ports in southern China, particularly the Port of Shenzhen.

The Port was the world's busiest container port from 1987 to 1989, from 1992 to 1997, and from 1999 to 2004, according to various online data.

It handled 18.36 million TEUs in 2019, 17.97 million TEUs in 2020, and 17.77 million TEUs in 2021.