Hong Kong Port and Maritime Board chairman Gordon Wu Ying-sheung has condemned Hong Kong's mid-stream cargo handling system as outdated.
Mr Wu, also chairman of infrastructure conglomerate Hopewell Holdings, said ferrying cargo to and from ships moored offshore was a '19th century solution to a 20th century problem'.
'Normally you see this mode of operation in the developing country ports in Africa, not in Hong Kong,' he said.
Mr Wu's comments come less than a week after truck drivers staged a blockade at the entrance to Kwai Chung port after mid-stream operators announced a plan to levy a HK$40 per container handling surcharge.
Hong Kong has 18 berths available at Container Terminals One to Eight to handle an average daily arrival of 108 cargo ships.
As a result, most cargo is transported on and off vessels that are moored mid-stream.
Figures due to be released by the Hong Kong Port and Maritime Authority are expected to show container throughput last year topped 18 million standard containers, or 20-foot equivalent units. Of this, 83 per cent would have been handled by mid-stream operators.