The government has started court proceedings against the owners of the River Trade Terminal (RTT) for what it considers to be a breach in the conditions of the facility's land lease.
The 14-month dispute will finally see its day in court after the Department of Justice issued a summons to the company on Friday following consultation with legal sources in Europe.
The RTT's shareholders include Hutchison Whampoa, Sun Hung Kai Properties, Jardine Matheson and Bank of China.
'We have initiated action on the RTT issue,' Port and Maritime Board secretary Raymond Fan Wai-ming confirmed.
While the department was unable to provide the exact charges, it is thought the dispute centres on the Tuen Mun-based facility's service of mid-stream vessels, ocean-going carriers which typically serve the intra-Asia trades.
The government has said the provisions of the RTT's land lease restrict the terminal's operators to serving the lighters, or barges, ferrying boxes to and from Pearl River Delta ports and mid-stream vessels anchored in the harbour.
However, in September last year the RTT began berthing at its wharves intra-Asia vessels belonging to its shareholders. The move prompted the Lands Department to issue a cease order in November, which was duly ignored by the RTT.