撞船事故彰显香港轮渡业困境

Concerns over long work hours for ferry crews after last week's deadly crash highlight the difficulty in this Chinese city of attracting new talent to the industry, an unusual paradox given Hong Kong's historic role as a global shipping center.

在香港上周发生导致重大人员伤亡的撞船事故后，有人担心这一事故与涉事渡轮上的船员长时间超时工作有关，此事彰显出香港轮渡业在吸引新的人才加盟方面所面临的困难。这一现状与香港历史上的全球航运中心角色异乎寻常地显得矛盾。

Last Monday night, a high-speed commuter ferry collided with a boat filled with workers and their families on a company pleasure trip to view fireworks celebrating China's National Day, in the city's worst seaborne accident in over four decades.

上周一晚间，香港一艘高速通勤渡轮与一家公司的船只相撞，后一艘船上乘坐的是这家公司的员工及其家人，该公司当时正组织这些人前去观看庆祝中国国庆的烟花表演。这起撞船事件是香港40多年来最严重的海难事故。

The death toll in the crash rose to 39 late Friday after a young girl hospitalized in critical condition succumbed to her injuries. All the fatalities were recorded on the pleasure boat, which quickly sank. Authorities over the weekend appealed for eyewitnesses to help them piece together events, in an investigation they say may take several months to complete.

上周五晚间，此次事故的死难人数增加到39人，一名伤情严重的女孩送医后不治身亡。所有死者都是那艘公司游船上的乘客，这艘船在事故发生后迅速沉没。香港政府有关部门周末期间呼吁撞船事件的目击证人们站出来帮助当局还原事故发生的整个过程，他们说调查工作可能需要几个月时间完成。

As investigators continue to probe the causes of the disaster, some passengers and lawmakers question whether the ferry captain was overworked over the holiday weekend as the crash occurred, when crowds flocked to Lamma Island, the ferry's destination and a popular retreat for tourists and home to a growing expatriate community.

就在调查人员继续探究这场灾难的起因之际，香港的一些渡轮乘客和立法会议员质疑说，这艘涉事渡轮的船长在撞船事故发生的那个周末可能存在超时工作的问题。当时有大量的人乘渡轮前往南丫岛，那里是香港的一个热门景点，并且有越来越多的外籍人士选择在那里居祝这艘涉事渡轮事发时也正前往南丫岛。

Industry executives say ferry crews in Hong Kong typically work full-day shifts, and are often required to spend the night on their boats before having the next day off.

航运业管理人士说，香港渡轮的船员们通常每班要工作一整天，他们常常被要求整夜在渡轮上工作，第二天则可以全天休息。

Though the ferry operator, Hong Kong & Kowloon Ferry Holdings Ltd., has rejected suggestions that the 54-year-old captain was too tired after working a shift of around 10 hours, the difficult conditions and unattractive salaries have made it more challenging for operators to hire and retain staff.

虽然这艘涉事渡轮的运营商港九小轮控股有限公司(Hong Kong & Kowloon Ferry Holdings Ltd.)拒绝承认有关该船54岁的船长事发时因刚刚连续工作约10个小时而太过劳累的说法，但香港的渡轮运营企业目前确实因工作环境艰苦、工资不具吸引力而更加难以招募并留住员工。

The ferry company has declined to comment further on the crash. The seven crew members on both vessels were arrested on suspicion of endangering the safety of others at sea, but haven't been charged.

港九小轮控股有限公司拒绝就撞船事故进一步发表评论。两艘相撞船只上的七名船员虽然已因涉嫌在海上威胁他人安全而被捕，但他们尚未被起诉。

The ages of those crew members, ranging between 50 and 63 years old, are indicative of an aging workforce in a declining industry serving commuters across the former British colony. Still, there was no evidence to suggest that working hours or age played any part in the cause of Monday's crash.

这些船员的年龄在50岁至63岁之间，这充分说明香港日趋衰落的通勤轮渡业的员工队伍正在日益老化。不过，目前尚无证据显示船员的工作时间或年龄是引发上周一撞船事故的原因。

'Many local ferry companies have sought help because of difficulties in recruitment,' says Ching Ngon-lai, chairwoman of the Small Craft Workers Union, which represents local ferry services staff. She said the average age is 54.8 for the city's 4,000 workers of small crafts, including ferries, tugboats and motorboats, up from the mid-40s more than a decade ago. At its height in the 1980s, the industry employed over 6,000 people.

香港小轮业职工会(Small Craft Workers Union)的理事长程岸丽说，香港许多轮渡公司因为在人员招募上存在困难而曾寻求帮助。她说，香港小轮业4,000名从业人员的平均年龄已经从10多年前的45岁左右升高到目前的54.8岁。这一行业包括渡轮、拖船和摩托艇运营业，上世纪80年代最兴旺时全行业的员工超过6,000人。香港小轮业职工会代表香港轮渡业员工的利益。

'There's just not enough young people willing to enter the industry…We have no choice but to promote job vacancies among foreign workers but even they are reluctant to join,' said Ms. Ching.

程岸丽说：没有足够多的年轻人愿意进入这一行业……我们别无选择，只能招募海外工人来填补该行业的职位空缺，但甚至他们也不愿干这一行。

For decades, ferry travel was a key part of Hong Kong's social fabric, as boats crisscrossed Victoria Harbor to connect the city's two urban centers of Kowloon and Hong Kong Island.

几十年来，渡轮一直在香港人的社交网络中扮演着重要角色，那些来往于维多利亚港两岸的渡船将香港的两大中心区九龙和香港岛联系起来。

But demand has dwindled since the late 1980s with the development of several cross-harbor tunnels, and a comprehensive subway system sent the local ferry industry into its sunset days.

但随着几条穿越维多利亚港的海底隧道相继建成，自上世纪80年代末以来，香港对渡轮的需求逐渐下降，而香港覆盖范围广泛的地铁系统则将本地的轮渡业送入了江河日下的境地。

Today, cross-harbor ferry traffic accounts for less than 1% of total passenger numbers. The bulk of travelers are tourists, seeking an inexpensive way to enjoy views of the city's skyline.

现如今，往来于维多利亚港两岸的渡轮只运送着香港总客流量的不足1%。乘坐渡轮的主要是观光客，他们将乘坐渡轮视为一种饱览香港天际线的实惠选择。

Still, ferry operators continue to ply routes to the city's many outlying islands, such as Lamma. But the companies have struggled to make a profit on the services because of high fuel prices and declining patronage, while fares are capped by the government, thus limiting salary increases.

不过，渡轮运营公司依然继续运营着通往南丫岛等香港许多偏远离岛的渡轮航线。但因为燃油价格高涨、乘客数量不断下降，这些公司赚钱并不容易。而由于香港政府给轮渡价格设置了上限，因此渡轮船员的工资增长也受到了限制。