Port executives were left red-faced yesterday after a journalist strolled through the main terminals to where a container ship was loading the day before a global maritime security initiative takes effect.
Sam Chambers, East Asia editor for London-based maritime trade publication Lloyd's List, gained access through an exit gate and spent about five minutes strolling past open containers and alongside the Ming West before being questioned by security officers.
Mr Chambers told security officers at Container Terminal 4, operated by Hongkong International Terminals, that he was there to check on a cargo insurance claim and was allowed to leave without showing identification.
'After entering the gate, I was able to walk 250 metres and I was beside a ship,' Mr Chambers told the South China Morning Post. 'It all seemed incredibly easy.'
Executives at parent firm Hutchison Whampoa did not respond to inquiries yesterday.
Today is the deadline for compliance with the International Ship and Port Security code, a measure designed to protect maritime trade from being used in acts of terrorism.
