Aberdeen marina redevelopment displaces Hong Kong’s last ship mechanics: systemic loss of industrial heritage and intergenerational knowledge

The ship mechanics’ knowledge—rooted in Cantonese maritime traditions, including the use of hand-forged tools and oral transmission of techniques—represents a form of indigenous industrial heritage that predates Hong Kong’s financialisation. This tacit knowledge, passed down through apprenticeships like Chan’s, is not formally documented in Western-style technical manuals but is critical for maintaining wooden and hybrid vessels. The displacement of these practitioners mirrors global patterns where indigenous technical knowledge is devalued in favour of 'standardised' industrial practices, erasing cultural specificity. Efforts to preserve such knowledge, like UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage lists, are rarely applied to industrial trades in Hong Kong.

Aberdeen’s transformation from a fishing village hub to a temporary industrial area reflects Hong Kong’s broader 20th-century industrialisation and subsequent deindustrialisation. In the 1950s–60s, Ap Lei Chau and Aberdeen were central to the city’s fishing and shipbuilding industries, employing thousands in trades like propeller repair and wooden boat construction. Post-1997, neoliberal policies prioritised financial services and real estate, leading to the systematic dismantling of industrial zones. This mirrors global patterns, such as the decline of Detroit’s auto industry or Liverpool’s dockyards, where industrial heritage was sacrificed for speculative urban development.

Comparative studies of maritime cultures show that traditional ship mechanics’ knowledge is often tied to seasonal rhythms, lunar calendars, and communal labour practices, as seen in the *bantayan* fishing communities of the Philippines or the *caulkers* of traditional Chinese junks. In contrast, Hong Kong’s redevelopment model treats maritime labour as disposable, prioritising profit over the cyclical, interdependent relationships that sustain such trades. The erasure of these systems echoes how Western colonial powers dismantled indigenous maritime networks in Southeast Asia, replacing them with extractive port economies. Reversing this requires re-centring community-based economic models, as seen in Kerala’s *thozhilali* cooperatives.

Research on tacit knowledge in skilled trades demonstrates that 70–90% of technical expertise is non-verbal and context-dependent, making it highly vulnerable to disruption when communities are displaced. Studies on apprenticeship systems in Germany’s *Meister* tradition highlight how structured knowledge transfer preserves industrial heritage, whereas Hong Kong’s ad-hoc system relies on informal networks. The loss of ship mechanics like Chan also signifies the erosion of 'distributed cognition'—where tools, materials, and human expertise co-evolve in a shared environment. This aligns with ecological psychology theories, which argue that cognitive processes are deeply embedded in physical and social contexts.

The ship mechanics’ work embodies a spiritual relationship with the sea, where each repair is a dialogue between human skill and the vessel’s 'life'—a concept resonant with animist traditions in maritime Southeast Asia. Traditional Cantonese boatbuilding rituals, such as the 'launching of the spirit' (*fa chun*), reflect a belief in the vessel as a living entity, a perspective absent in modern industrial framing. The mechanical mastery of figures like Chan is akin to the *wu wei* (effortless action) in Daoist philosophy, where precision arises from deep attunement to materials. This artistic-spiritual dimension is often dismissed as 'folklore,' yet it underpins the resilience of these communities.

By 2035, Hong Kong’s remaining industrial zones are projected to shrink by 40% under current redevelopment plans, with Aberdeen’s marina project serving as a template for coastal gentrification. Scenario modelling suggests that preserving industrial heritage sites could generate $1.2 billion annually in cultural tourism, as seen in Amsterdam’s shipbuilding museums. However, without policy interventions, the next generation of ship mechanics may disappear entirely, along with the ecological knowledge of sustainable boat maintenance. Alternative futures include 'adaptive reuse' models, where industrial sites are repurposed for vocational training centres, as piloted in Rotterdam’s *Werfkwartier*.

Marginalised voices include not only the mechanics but also their families, who often lived in on-site shacks or boats, and women who worked as net menders or traders in Aberdeen’s floating markets. Younger generations, who might have inherited these trades, are instead pushed toward gig economy jobs due to the lack of structured apprenticeships. The narrative also excludes the perspectives of retired fishermen, whose oral histories document the ecological changes in Hong Kong’s waters that affected traditional boat designs. Additionally, migrant workers from Southeast Asia, who form a significant portion of the maritime labour force, are rendered invisible in both the original story and the redevelopment discourse.