A luxury yacht owned by mainland Chinese billionaire Xu Jiayin has managed to berth in Hong Kong waters for a change of crews, in an apparent exemption from an onshore ban imposed on foreign vessel sailors because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The US$60 million yacht named “Event” is now berthed at Gold Coast Yacht and Country Club in Tuen Mun. On Sunday, several foreign crew members disembarked at the club’s pier and told Apple Daily on site that they had completed a 14-day quarantine as required by health authorities.

They declined to explain how the yacht managed to berth in Hong Kong waters, saying their employers barred them from talking to the press. Another four people got off the boat and claimed that they were not part of the crew.

Several Hong Kong crew members had been newly hired to take over some foreign sailors aboard on Sunday, Apple Daily learned.

Hong Kong health experts believed that cross-border truckers and air and sea crews were the main sources of the city’s latest wave of COVID-19 infections, as these people were previously exempted from quarantine and their crew changes enabled them to go around the city. Chief Executive Carrie Lam initially denied the suggestion but made a U-turn in late July, stopping passenger and unloaded cargo vessels from changing crews in Hong Kong amid growing concern.

Xu is the chairman and party secretary of mainland real estate developer Evergrande Group. He had an estimated wealth of US$28.7 billion in September, making him the 34th richest person in the world, according to Forbes.

His luxury yacht arrived in Hong Kong waters on Aug. 20 after a visit to the western Pacific archipelago of Palau on Aug. 14, the global ship tracking website MarineTraffic showed. Between Aug. 20 and Sept. 5, it was berthed at Western Quarantine Anchorage outside Tsing Yi.

The Immigration Department said it was notified on Aug. 20 that a Hong Kong resident on board the yacht needed to go home and that the yacht had planned to get supplies in the city and leave on the same day.

The yacht was however considered unsafe to leave Hong Kong after the Marine Department found during an inspection that it had mechanical problems, the immigration authorities said.

Since the yacht needed repairs, the Immigration and Marine departments allowed another 12 foreign crew members who had completed a two-week quarantine on board to fly out of Hong Kong as soon as possible, the immigration authorities said.

Xu possessed a Hong Kong pleasure vessel license for his yacht and applied for entry to Hong Kong on Aug. 20, the marine authorities said. Yachts were allowed to return from foriegn countries but needed to be quarantined upon arrival, they said.

Click here for Chinese version

---------------------------------

Apple Daily’s all-new English Edition is now available on the mobile app: bit.ly/2yMMfQE

To download the latest version,

iOS: bit.ly/AD_iOS

Android: bit.ly/AD_android

Or search Appledaily in App Store or Google Play