There were several launches in the Government fleet in post-war period that were renowned for special purposes. One of them was the Lady Maurine, named after the wife of Governor Alexander Grantham, Lady Maurine. It was built by the Hong Kong and Whampoa Dockyard in 1952 at a cost of HK$850,000. It was retired from service in 1999 and was sold to a businessman, Peter Yu in 2003. It was seriously damaged in a fire in 2011. During its years of service, the Lady Maurine received new Governors of Hong Kong, including Black, Trench, MacLehose, Youde, Wilson, and Patten. It also received a number of royal visitors, including Princess Alexandra, Princess Anne, Princess Margaret, Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Charles, and Princess Diana.[28]
The Sir Cecil Clementi, designed by the Ship Surveys Division of the Marine Department, was built by the Hong Kong Shipyard in 1959 for the District Commissioners of the District Office in Tai Po. It served as a patrol launch and venue for New Territories District Office meetings.[29]
Tin Hau was originally a government passenger launch built by the American Marine Limited in 1969. The vessel made sixty official trip voyages from 1969 to 1973. It had been used by Government House, the Director of Marine, the Director of Protocol, the Director of Commerce and Industry for receiving VIPs or overseas guests and for government official functions. Owing to its low speed, small size, and the increasing maintenance costs, the old Tin Hau was replaced by a new catamaran type VIP launch bearing the same name, which was constructed and delivered by the Cheoy Lee Shipyard in 1998.[30]
Hydro 2 was the first Small Waterplane Area Twin Hull (SWATH) vessel built specifically for the Hydrographic Office of the Marine Department in 1998. After the handover of Hong Kong in 1997, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region needed to conduct hydrographic surveys and produce its own nautical charts. Modern survey launches with advanced equipment were therefore required. Hydro 2 features equipment such as a multi-beam echo sounder for bathymetric surveys of the sea bed. Compared to a traditional single-beam echo sounder, a multi-beam one can detect not only the depth underneath the bottom of the launch but also a wide area on both sides of the survey path, making the survey much more accurate and efficient.[31]
Government Dockyard at the Canton Road site, c.1971
The Lady Maurine
Sir Cecil Clementi
Tin Hau (first generation)
Tin Hau
Hydro 2
Notes:
- [28]〈慕蓮夫人遊艇粉飾一新〉，《華僑日報》，1987年4月8日；〈慕蓮夫人劫後餘生〉，《壹週刊》，2006年7月6日；〈慕蓮夫人號焚毀〉，《星島日報》，2011年3月13日；〈柏立基履新〉，《香港工商日報》，1958年1月24日；〈戴麟趾履新〉，《大公報》，1964年4月15日；〈麥理浩履新〉，《香港工商日報》，1971年11月20日；〈尤德履新〉，《大公報》，1982年5月21日；〈衛奕信履新〉，《華僑日報》，1987年4月10日；Raymond Whitaker, Hong Kong sizes up the Patten family, South China Morning Post (1992): p.12; 〈雅麗珊郡主訪港〉，《香港工商日報》，1961年11月4日；〈瑪嘉烈公主訪港〉，《大公報》，1966年3月1日；〈安妮公主訪港〉，《香港工商日報》，1971年10月27日；〈英女皇訪港〉，《香港工商日報》，1975年5月5日；〈查理斯王子和戴安娜王妃訪港〉，《大公報》，1989年11月8日。
- [29]〈新氣輪金文泰號今天舉行下水禮〉，《香港工商日報》，1959年8月28日；〈金文泰號小輪再歸南約應用〉，《華僑日報》，1965年6月29日。
- [30]HKRS70-7-557-1, Transportation, Govt. – Government Launches – NC+DIB, 1973-1974, Hong Kong Public Records Office; John Flint , VIP treatment for catamaran, South China Morning Post, 3 May 1997.
- [31]Interview of K.C. Ng; 〈海事處擬推廣「電子海圖」〉，《文匯報》，1998年6月26日。
Part 2 Chapter 3.8 - Renowned government craft in the post-war period (1945 to the early 2010s)
