Hong Kong court rules 39 people ‘unlawfully killed’ in 2012 Lamma Island ferry crash

After a 44-day inquest, a Hong Kong court found on January 21, 2026, that 39 people were unlawfully killed in a 2012 crash between two ferries off Lamma Island. The ruling wraps up a long-overdue inquest into the causes and circumstances of the city’s deadliest maritime disaster in decades. However, the implication of the ruling is limited, as the two coxswains had already been sentenced after a trial in 2015.