China Maritime Safety Administration News

A Singapore-flagged tanker, Pearl Kenzo, collided with a Chinese-flagged fishing vessel, Suiyupu on December 26 at about 12:08 am (Singapore Time) near Chengshan Jiao, China. Eight fishing vessel crew are missing.The tanker was on its way to Zhoushan from Penglai, China, when the incident happened, according to the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA).The China Maritime Safety Administration informed MPA that the fishing vessel had sunk and that the Chinese authorities…

China will ban vessels from an area near Taiwan on Sunday because of the possibility of falling rocket debris, its maritime safety agency said on Thursday, as Japan sought details from Beijing on a reported no-fly zone in the same location. China has not commented on the no-fly zone, but South Korea, which was also briefed on the plans, said it was due to a falling object related to a launch vehicle. The disruption comes during tension in the region over Chinese military exercises around Taiwan…

MAN Energy Solutions said its Chinese license CMP has won a series of new small-bore, four-stroke orders within the Chinese inland-and-coastal segment. The orders are for MAN 21/31, 27/38 and 23/30H types and stem in great part from the Chinese government establishing new, impending, emission protocols for the segment with its GB15097 regulation – commonly known as C1 and C2.Finn Fjeldhøj, Head of Small-Bore, Four-Stroke Engineering, MAN Energy Solutions, said, “With the introduction of C1 and C2…

China Maritime Safety Administration (MSA) and Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore (MPA) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to promote bilateral use and recognition of electronic certificates in shipping.Dr Cao Desheng, Director General of MSA signed the MOU on Electronic Certificates with Ms Quah Ley Hoon, Chief Executive of MPA at the 11th China-Singapore Senior Officials’ Committee Meeting (SOCM) in Beijing, China.International shipping plays an important role in global trade and economic development, and is responsible for more than 80 per cent of world trade, transporting goods and raw materials.The certificates of ships and its crew are key documents used in port clearance.The use of electronic certificates will bring several benefits…

Global application of the regulations in International Maritime Organization (IMO)'s treaty for safe and environmentally-sound ship recycling - the Hong Kong Convention -  will have significant benefits for the environment and for the safety of workers in the sector.China, a major ship recycling country, has been developing its ship recycling facilities to ensure their compliance with the environmental and occupational health and safety requirements of the Hong Kong Convention.China shared its experience and knowledge with representatives of the government and ship recycling industry from Bangladesh, during an IMO Seminar on Ship Recycling and the Hong Kong Convention…

China's maritime authority has banned the discharge of "wash water" used in ships to strip hazardous sulphur emissions from engine exhaust gases from Jan. 1, in an effort to curb pollution of its coastal seas.The ban on discharges from so-called open-loop scrubbers affects all rivers and ports along China's coastline and includes the Bohai Sea, according to an official from the China's Maritime Safety Administration (MSA).The measure mirrors a similar move made in Singapore ahead of International Maritime Organization (IMO) rules that will ban ships from using marine fuels with a sulphur content of more than 0.5 percent from 2020, unless…

China's maritime authority has banned the discharge of "wash water" used in ships to strip hazardous sulphur emissions from engine exhaust gases from Jan. 1 for some ports, according to a government document reviewed by Reuters on Tuesday.The ban on water discharge from so-called open-loop scrubbers is part of an effort to prepare for International Maritime Organization (IMO) rules that will ban ships from using fuel oil with a sulphur content of more than 0.5 percent from 2020…

Saab has received an order from the China Maritime Safety Administration to renew and extend the Vessel Traffic Management Information System (VTMIS) in Shanghai, improving the safety and efficiency of shipping in the world's largest container portThe project will take 18 months to complete, and includes the replacement of most of the existing radar and communications systems, two traffic centres and the delivery of a new supervisory centre."Saab's expertise in upgrading complex existing systems with minimal operational disturbance was a key consideration for the China Maritime Safety Adminstration. With a daily import and export of 3 billion dollars' worth of goods…

The International Maritime Organization (IMO)-led GloMEEP project has delivered a training course in China last week to help maritime administrations and classification societies play their part in an ambitious scheme to collect fuel consumption data from ships.The data collected will provide vital information to support IMO’s global efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from international shipping. From 1 January 2019 ships of 5,000 gross tonnage and above will have to collect consumption data for each type of fuel oil they use. These ships account for approximately 85% of CO2 emissions from international shipping.The data collected will be kept in a database hosted by IMO and will provide a firm basis on which future decisions on additional energy-efficiency measures…

Current research and technical developments in oil spill preparedness and response were in the spotlight at a major seminar in Tianjin, China (20-21 September). The International Oil Spill Response Technical Seminar brought together over 150 representatives of national government, oil industry and oil spill response companies. International Maritime Organization (IMO)’s Colleen O’Haghan presented on the Organization’s International Convention on Oil Pollution Preparedness, Response and Co-operation (OPRC) – the treaty covering measures for dealing with pollution incidents, either nationally or in cooperation with other countries. The seminar was organized by Yantai MSA and CNOOC Energy Technology and Service Safety and Environmental Protection Co. under the GI China Project.

​A new regional centre, which will provide leadership in promoting ship energy-efficiency technologies and operations, and the reduction of harmful emissions from ships, has been launched at Shanghai Maritime University, China (15 May). The centre will cater to the needs of the Asia region under the Global Maritime Technology Cooperation Centre (MTCC) Network (GMN) – a project funded by the European Union (EU) and run by International Maritime Organization (IMO). The GMN initiative unites carefully selected technology centres into a global network focused on supporting developing countries in activities including development of national energy-efficiency policies for their maritime sectors.

Maritime educators in China are the first to undergo a newly developed course designed to assist maritime training institutes to introduce the topic of energy-efficient ship operation into their teaching curriculums. More than 30 participants from maritime universities, shipping colleges and institutes from across China are attending the workshop, taking place in Hangzhou (8-9 December). The course, developed under International Maritime Organization (IMO) 's GloMEEP project, will help maritime training institutes to deliver IMO’s Model Course 4.05 to seafarers. It consists of a series of lectures, interactive exercises and videos to enhance the learning experience and ensure there are properly trained crews who can contribute to efficient shipping.

China's latest drill in the South China Sea was a normal search and rescue exercise, the defence ministry said on Thursday, less than a week after a U.S. navy destroyer sailed near the Paracel Islands, provoking a warning from Chinese warships to leave. China routinely holds drills in the busy waterway, where Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam also have rival claims. The search and rescue exercises were being conducted off the coast of the island province of Hainan and were regular drills forming part of annual plans, a defence ministry spokesman, Wu Qian, told a monthly news briefing, but gave no further details. China's maritime safety administration said the exercises would run all day on Thursday, and ordered all other shipping to keep away.

Four out of five lighthouses planned for use in the South China Sea have been activated  to boost navigation and the fifth lighthouse will be completed and put into use soon. China started to build lighthouses in the South China Sea in May last year, with four now in use on Huayang, Chigua, Zhubi and Yongshu reefs. The most recent project went into operation on Yongshu Reef on June 25. "The five lighthouses are important public service facilities in the South China Sea. Construction and operation of the lighthouses reflects China's dedication to its responsibility of boosting navigational safety in the South China Sea, a critical maritime and trade corridor linking the Pacific and Indian oceans…

Freedom of navigation patrols carried out by foreign navies in the South China Sea could end "in disaster", a senior Chinese admiral has said, a warning to the United States after last week's ruling against Beijing's claims in the area. China has refused to recognise the ruling by an arbitration court in The Hague that invalidated its vast territorial claims in the South China Sea and did not take part in the proceedings brought by the Philippines. It has reacted angrily to calls by Western countries and Japan for the decision to be adhered to. China has repeatedly blamed the United States for stirring up trouble in the South China Sea, a strategic waterway through which more than $5 trillion of trade moves annually.

China’s maritime safety administration announced China’s military's plans exercises in the disputed South China Sea this week, adding to tensions ahead of an international tribunal’s ruling that is expected to challenge Beijing’s maritime claims in the area. The naval drills, which will cover the area east of China’s Hainan Island all the way to and including the Paracels, will be held on July 5-11, Reuters reports, citing a brief statement published online. The drills will be ending July 11, the day before the United Nations-backed tribunal in The Hague is expected to issue its ruling. China has repeatedly said it will ignore the verdict despite pressure from the U.S. and its allies to comply.

A global Train-the-Trainer workshop on energy efficiency has been delivered in China (23-27 May), preparing the personnel needed to cascade knowledge on energy efficiency for ships and related efforts for mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions from international shipping. The five-day intensive course was organized by the International Maritime Organization (IMO), within the framework of the Global Maritime Energy Efficiency Partnerships (GloMEEP) Project. The workshop was co-hosted by the China Maritime Safety Administration (China MSA) and Dalian Maritime University (DMU). The GloMEEP Project  aims to support increased uptake and implementation of energy-efficiency measures for shipping. China is one of the ten Lead Pilot Countries implementing the GloMEEP Project.

On April 5, China issued “Guidances on Arctic navigation in the Northwest route 2015”, which provides navigation information services for international navigation ships planned navigating in Arctic waters. The Northwest Passage, a sea route connecting the northern Atlantic and Pacific Oceans through the Arctic Ocean, along the northern coast of North America, is becoming more attractive for shipping as global warming melts the ice cover and keeps the route navigable for longer periods.

China will encourage ships flying its flag to take the Northwest Passage via the Arctic Ocean, a route opened up by global warming, to cut travel times between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, a state-run newspaper said on Wednesday. China is increasingly active in the polar region, becoming one of the biggest mining investors in Greenland and agreeing to a free trade deal with Iceland. Shorter shipping routes across the Arctic Ocean would save Chinese companies time and money. For example, the journey from Shanghai to Hamburg via the Arctic route is 2,800 nautical miles shorter than going by the Suez Canal. China's Maritime Safety Administration this month released a guide offering detailed route guidance from the northern coast of North America to the northern Pacific…

China plans to make use of Arctic sea route for its shipping to shorten the distance by 30 per cent compared to the ocean passages traditionally used to connect the northern Atlantic and Pacific oceans through Panama Canal. Chinese ships will navigate the Arctic via a Northwest Passage route that will be 30 per cent shorter than the ocean passages, official media here reported. “Once this route is commonly used, it will directly change global maritime transportation and have a profound influence on international trade, the world economy, capital flow and resource exploitation,” said Liu Pengfei, the ministry’s spokesman, at a news briefing.

Chinese maritime officials on Friday removed an online notice giving the location of a $1-billion deepwater oil rig in the South China Sea two days after issuing it, following a warning from Vietnam about drilling in disputed waters. Vietnam closely tracks the movement of the oil rig, which in mid-2014 caused the worst diplomatic rift between the neighbours in decades, when China parked it for 10 weeks in waters Vietnam considers its own. Annual trade between the communist neighbours exceeds $60 billion but anti-China sentiment is strong in Vietnam, where people are embittered over what many see as a history of Chinese bullying and territorial infringements in the South China Sea.

In mid-2014, rig caused worst breakdown in ties in decades. China's Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday that a $1-billion deepwater oil rig was not drilling in disputed territory in the South China Sea, in response to a warning from Vietnam against such activity. Vietnam closely tracks the movement of the oil rig, which in mid-2014 caused the worst diplomatic breakdown between the neighbours in decades, when China parked it for 10 weeks in waters Vietnam considers its own. This week Vietnam said Beijing had steered the rig, the Haiyang Shiyou 981, into a stretch where jurisdiction is unclear. "According to what is understood, China's Haiyang Shiyou 981 drilling platform is operating in Chinese-controlled waters that are completely undisputed…

Taiwan drills already underway. The Chinese military will hold three days of live-fire drills in the sensitive Taiwan Strait starting from Friday, the government said in a notice issued to warn shipping away from the area. China claims self-ruled Taiwan as its own and has never renounced the use of force to bring the democratic island under its rule. Defeated Nationalist forces fled to Taiwan after losing a civil war with the Communists in 1949. Ties have generally improved under Taiwan President Ma Ying-jeou, who has signed a series of landmark trade and economic pacts with China, but deep suspicions remain on either side. In a brief statement on Thursday…