Hong Kong Harbour as a Typhoon Haven

Extract

In the western North Pacific and the South China Sea the typhoon is one of the most fearsome elements a ship can encounter and one of the major decisions that must often be considered is whether to seek, or remain in, the shelter of a harbour or to take evasive action and ride out the storm at sea. With the many variables involved, such as topography, the different directions of approach of tropical cyclones, type of holding ground, size and shape of the ship, &c, it is often not possible to stamp a particular harbour as safe or unsafe. This paper deals with some of the many factors that a Master should consider when deciding to remain in, or sail from, Hong Kong on the approach of a typhoon.