China's southern province of Hainan has withdrawn four ferries with sub-standard equipment from service after 280 people died in a shipwreck last month. The move forms part of a national safety campaign. The ferries, which plied routes between Haikou, Hainan's capital, and Shekou,
near Hong Kong, were found to have rotting wooden decks, faulty fire-alarms or other sub-standard emergency equipment, it said.
China has overhauled ferry operations since the ferry Dashun caught fire and capsized off the coast of Shandong province in the country's worst ferry disaster in recent years. The sinking forced the suspension of all ferry services by the company that operated the Dashun. The four ferries in Hainan would remain out of service indefinitely, the newspaper said, without giving further details.