Maritime Safety Administration News

Five people were killed after a barge collided with a bridge over a waterway in China's Pearl River Delta near Guangzhou city, causing part of the bridge to break off, plunging vehicles into the water, Chinese state media reported on Thursday.The barge was travelling from Foshan city to a southern district of Guangzhou when it crashed into the bridge at 5:30 a.m. (2130 GMT) on the Hongqili Waterway, the Guangzhou Maritime Safety Administration said in a statement.Images on state…

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…

Ports in China's Shandong province are demanding more detailed information about oil tankers that are more than 15 years old that call at their terminals, sources with knowledge of the matter said, potentially delaying the unloading of crude shipments in the world's biggest oil importer.Last week, the maritime safety administrations at Qingdao and Rizhao, which covers the oil terminals at the port of Lanshan, notified shipping agencies to submit details on their ships' age, where a ship is flagged…

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…

Taiwan was keeping a close watch on a Chinese aircraft carrier and threats to inspect ships in the Taiwan Strait on Thursday after Beijing condemned a meeting between Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen and U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.McCarthy - the third highest ranking official in the U.S. leadership hierarchy - and other Republican and Democratic lawmakers met Tsai on Wednesday at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California.The meeting took place at a low ebb of U.S.-China relations and despite threats of retaliation from Beijing…

Professor Max Mejia has been named as the next president of the World Maritime University (WMU) in Malmö, Sweden.Selected following a competitive selection process, Mejia—the university's current PhD program director and associate academic dean— will succeed Dr. Cleopatra Doumbia-Henry, whose term as WMU president will expire on June 29, 2023.WMU was founded by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) in 1983, providing postgraduate maritime and ocean education, research and professional training.

Liberia and China are teaming up to bolster and expand on their existing working relationship in maritime safety.The Liberian Maritime Authority, and the Maritime Safety Administration of the Peoples Republic of China signed a Memorandum of Understanding together in Beijing on October 17 following several months of close discussions and cooperation.Among focus areas are Port State Control; Marine Environmental Protection; to Promote and Facilitate Maritime Transport between both nations…

Ships in Chinese waters are disappearing from tracking systems following the introduction of a new data law in China, frustrating efforts to ease bottlenecks that are snarling the global economy, according to three shipping sources directly impacted.China's Personal Information Protection Law, which came into effect on Nov. 1, has added to a raft of new rules designed to increase government control over how domestic and foreign organizations collect and export China's data.Although…

Schottel supplied main and auxiliary propulsion units for China’s first ice-breaking beacon vessel. Haixun 156, which will perform a wide range of tasks, has recently been launched by the contracted shipyard Wuchang Shipbuilding Industry Group, Hubei Province, China. It was ordered by the Tianjin Maritime Safety Administration (MSA) and is scheduled to enter operation in September 2021.The main propulsion of the beacon vessel includes of a pair of diesel-driven Schottel EcoPellers type SRE 460 (1,800 kW each) featuring a four-bladed 2.4 m-diameter propeller.

Ships and equipment needed to remove the remaining cargo from a stricken oil tanker near the Chinese port city of Qingdao are in place and work is expected to start later on Friday as weather conditions have improved, a maritime official told Reuters.The number of ships deployed for the oil spill clean-up has also risen to 21, the official from c said, three days after hundreds of tonnes of oil spilled into the Yellow Sea following a collision in dense fog.Ships are prohibited from entering a 5-mile (8-km) radius from the stricken vessel…

Work to siphon off the remaining cargo from a stricken tanker was expected to commence on Friday, the vessel's manager said on Thursday, two days after hundreds of tonnes of oil spilled into the Yellow Sea following a collision in dense fog.The size of the spill from the Liberia-flagged tanker A Symphony was revised down to about 400 tonnes (2,920 barrels) on Thursday, from the original estimate of 500 tonnes, and one Chinese maritime official said it seemed to have been contained.A…

Chinese officials were waiting for better weather before deciding whether to siphon off the remaining cargo from a stricken tanker after hundreds of tonnes of oil spilled into the Yellow Sea after a collision in dense fog two days ago.The size of the spill from the Liberia-flagged tanker A Symphony was revised down to about 400 tonnes (2,920 barrels) on Thursday, from the original estimate of 500 tonnes, and one maritime official said it seemed to have been contained.An official at the Shandong Maritime Safety Administration told Reuters the amount of oil on the tanker…

Clean-up work continued on Wednesday near the Chinese port city of Qingdao, a day after a yet-to-be determined quantity of oil spilled into the Yellow Sea after a tanker carrying around a million barrels of bitumen mix collided with a bulk vessel in thick fog.“There are oil spill experts on the scene that have started clean-up operations,” said a spokesman for Goodwood Ship Management, manager of the Liberia-flagged tanker, A Symphony, that was at anchor when involved in the collision with bulk shipping vessel Sea Justice.China’s Shandong Maritime Safety Administration on Tuesday instructed ships to stay at least 10 nautical miles from A Symphony, but didn’t provide details on how much oil has leaked.Hong Kong-based fuel trading company Run Cheng International Resource (HK) Co has said it

A tanker carrying around one million barrels of oil products was involved in a collision near the Chinese port city of Qingdao, spilling oil into the Yellow Sea, China's Shandong Maritime Safety Administration and tanker representatives said on Tuesday.The collision involving anchored Liberia-flagged tanker A Symphony and the Sea Justice took place at 0850 local time (0050 GMT), A Symphony's manager Goodwood Ship Management said in an e-mail."The force of the impact on the forward port side caused a breach in cargo tanks and ballast tanks…

Due to a confluence of factors, COVID-19 has adversely impacted merchant mariners more than virtually any other profession. The merchant marine is an international profession from a wide variety of countries, so there is no one nation standing up to represent them.The ships on which they sail are registered in numerous nations, heavily weighted toward small countries with limited influence on the world stage. The ports at which the vessels call tend to be more concerned about the health of the local community than the welfare of seafarers…

The first Chinese-built hybrid emergency rescue vessel is powered by ABB’s bridge-to-propeller technologies, including Azipod electric propulsion, energy storage system and state-of-the-art automation and control solutions.Delivered to Shenzhen Maritime Safety Administration (MSA) by Huangpu Wenchong Shipbuilding, the 78-meter-long vessel Shenhai 01 will be deployed to provide emergency responses at sea and carry out rescue operations. It can be fully powered by batteries for up to three hours of operations.“As the first China-designed and built emergency rescue vessel…

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…

Schottel won a contract to provide propulsion units for a new harbor tug under construction at Tongfang Jiangxin Shipbuilding in China. Ordered by the Taizhou Maritime Safety Administration, it will be equipped with SCHOTTEL Rudderpropellers type SRP 430. Each of the azimuth thrusters will be driven by a 1,920 kW diesel engine at 750 rpm. This configuration aims to provide an expected bollard pull of 60 tonnes and a free running speed of approximately 13 knots.The 45 x 12.6m tug is built primarily for vessel rescue and pollution prevention near shore as well as for towing operations.

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…

Proper implementation of International Maritime Organization (IMO)'s maritime security measures is essential for trade.The Seychelles is the latest country to benefit from training on the implementation of SOLAS Chapter XI-2 and the International Ship and Port Facility Security (ISPS) Code, said the UN body.Participants discussed ways to cooperate at the national level to acquire the necessary support they need in order to take ownership of implementation and compliance with IMO maritime security measures. They also learned how to train other officials with similar responsibilities.The workshop which concluded today in Mahe, Seychelles (26-30 August) brought together Port facility Security Officers (PFSOs) and representatives involved in maritime and port security…

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…