Ministry Of Communications And Transportation: From June 1St Onwards, Overweight Containers Are Not Allowed To Be Shipped, Fines Or Legal Liabilities Will Be Imposed.

A few days ago, the Ministry of transport promulgated the "decision on Amending the rules for the supervision of ship safety in People's Republic of China" promulgated by Decree No. sixth in 2020 (hereinafter referred to as the rules). Since June 1, 2020 。 To facilitate the better understanding of the contents of the rules and the implementation of the rules, we will interpret the background and major amendments of the rules as follows:

I. revision background

In recent years, the opinions of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council on promoting reform and development in the field of safety production and the outline for the construction of a transport power have put forward specific requirements for traffic safety production. With the continuous development of China's economy and society, container transport has become an important way of international shipping. Container overload and inaccurate weight occur frequently and pose a threat to human life and property safety. Besides, IMO has increased the requirements of container weight verification through the form of international conventions and amendments. The Ministry of transport has also formed a replicated and popularized container safety management experience in the early stage of performance. In order to carry out the relevant requirements of transportation safety production, fulfill the international conventions that China has entered into and improve the level of safety management, we need to revise the rules.

Two. Main contents of the amendment

First, the requirements of container weight verification are defined. According to the International Convention for the safety of containers and the International Convention on the safety of life at sea, containers shall not exceed their maximum gross operating quality when carrying goods. According to the International Convention on the safety of life at sea, the carrying weight of containers must be verified before delivery of the containers. To this end, the Ministry of transport issued the notice of the Ministry of transport on the implementation of article VI/2 of the International Convention on the safety of life at sea in 1974 (2015 amendment No. 92), which required the weight verification of foreign trade containers, and achieved positive results. Of the forty-seventh new rules added to the rules, The shipper and carrier's obligation to carry out weight verification in containers for international transport of ships is clearly defined, requiring the shipper to verify the weight of the containers before delivery of the ship. The carrier can not ship the containers without obtaining verification information or verify that the weight exceeds the maximum total operating quality. The practice experience of more than 3 years has risen to the level of the Ministry regulations.

The two is the method of weight verification and the allowable error range. The rules stipulate that weight verification can be done through the whole weighing method and cumulative calculation method, and draw lessons from the practices adopted by the European Union, Japan and other shipping countries and regions. It is stipulated that the weight and actual error of the shipper must not exceed 5% and the maximum error should not exceed 1 tons. If it exceeds, the maritime administrative agency will be fined 1000 yuan or more than 30 thousand yuan.

Three, it is clear that the legal liability of containers exceeding the maximum total quality and greater error. The container exceeds the maximum total operating quality or the weight of the verification weight and the actual weight is relatively large, which poses a threat to the safety of ships, wharf facilities and related personnel. For this reason, The rules set the corresponding legal liability for such violations and explained the maximum operation and total quality.

Rules for ship safety supervision in People's Republic of China (slide view)

Rules for ship safety supervision in People's Republic of China

(in May 23, 2017, the Ministry of transport promulgated and amended the decision of the Ministry of transport on the revision of the rules for the supervision of ship safety in People's Republic of China, March 16, 2020).

general provisions

Article 1 in order to protect the safety of life and property on the water, prevent vessels from causing pollution in the waters, regulate the work of ship safety supervision, according to the law of the People's Republic of China on marine traffic safety, the law of the People's Republic of China on marine environmental protection, the Port Law of the People's Republic of China, the regulations of the people's Republic of China on river traffic safety management, and the seamen of People's Republic of China. These rules are formulated in accordance with the relevant laws and regulations and the relevant international conventions concluded or acceded to by China.

The second rule applies to the safety supervision of Chinese ships and water facilities and foreign vessels sailing, anchoring and operating in the waters under the jurisdiction of our country.

These rules do not apply to military vessels, fishing vessels and sports boats.

The third ship safety supervision and management follows the principles of law, justice, honesty and convenience.

The Fourth Department of transportation is in charge of national ship safety supervision.

The state maritime administration is responsible for the overall supervision of ship safety.

Maritime administrative organs at all levels shall carry out ship safety supervision in accordance with their functions and powers.

The fifth is the "ship safety supervision" as mentioned in these rules. It refers to the safety supervision and management activities carried out by the maritime administrative organs according to the law in accordance with the laws, regulations, regulations, relevant international conventions and the provisions of the regional cooperation organization of the port state control. Ship safety supervision is divided into ship site supervision and ship safety inspection.

The spot supervision of ships refers to the routine safety supervision and spot check activities carried out by the maritime administrative agencies.

Ship safety inspection refers to the safety supervision and inspection activities carried out by the maritime administrative agency according to a certain time interval for the ship's safety and pollution prevention technical conditions, crew's configuration, and suitable conditions and maritime labor conditions, including flag State supervision and inspection and port state control inspection.

Sixth maritime administrative organs shall equip the necessary personnel, equipment and data to meet the needs of ship safety supervision and management.

The seventh site supervision of ships shall be carried out by maritime administrative law enforcement personnel with corresponding responsibilities.

Eighth maritime administrative law enforcement personnel engaged in ship safety inspection shall obtain corresponding qualification certificates and renew knowledge continuously.

Ninth maritime administrative organs shall establish a social supervision mechanism for ship safety status, publicize reports and complaints channels, and improve reporting and complaint handling mechanisms.

Maritime administrative organs shall keep secrets for informants and complainants.

Second chapter report on ships entering and leaving port

The tenth Chinese vessels sailing in the waters under the jurisdiction of our country shall implement the report of ships entering and leaving the port in accordance with the relevant provisions.

The eleventh vessels shall report to and from the port's maritime administrative agencies 4 hours before they are expected to leave or arrive at the port. The voyage is less than 4 hours and is reported when departing from the previous port.

When a ship is on a fixed course and a single voyage does not exceed 2 hours, it can report at least once in and out of port every day.

The ship shall be responsible for the completeness and authenticity of the report.

The information of the twelfth vessels reported in and out of port should include the dynamics of voyages, information on ship personnel, information on passenger and cargo transportation, and the time and place of departure.

The thirteenth ships can report the information of ships entering and leaving the port through the Internet, fax, short message, etc., and make corresponding records in ship navigation or sailing logs.

Fourteenth maritime administrative agencies and water transport management departments should set up information platform to share information about ships entering and leaving port.

The third chapter is comprehensive quality control of ships.

Fifteenth maritime administrative organs shall establish a unified information platform for comprehensive quality management of ships, collect and process relevant information of ships, and establish comprehensive quality archives for ships.

The sixteenth ship integrated quality management information platform should include the following information:

(1) basic information of ships;

(two) implementation of relevant regulations on ship safety and pollution prevention management;

(three) water traffic accidents and pollution accidents;

(four) administrative penalties for maritime traffic safety violations by maritime administrative organs;

(five) the situation of ships receiving safety supervision;

(six) safety and integrity of shipping companies and ships;

(seven) the report of ships entering or leaving the port or the procedures for entering and leaving Hong Kong;

(eight) pay relevant fees and taxes according to relevant regulations;

(nine) ship inspection technology.

The seventeenth maritime administrative organs shall carry out the comprehensive quality assessment of ships according to the information contained in the sixteenth articles, and the results of the comprehensive quality assessment shall be made public to the public.

Fourth chapter ship safety supervision

Section 1 Selection of safety supervision target ships

Eighteenth maritime administration agencies shall implement safety supervision over ships, and reduce unnecessary impacts on normal production operations of ships.

The nineteenth state maritime administration shall formulate the selection criteria for safety supervision targets.

According to the actual situation of the area, the maritime administrative organization shall, in accordance with the principle of comprehensive coverage, emphasis, and openness and convenience, take into consideration the selection criteria of the target ships stipulated by the regional cooperation organizations of the port state control and the state maritime administration agencies, and comprehensively consider the types of ships, the age of ships, the defects of previous ship safety inspection, and the safety management of shipping companies. According to the prescribed time interval, ships are selected for ship safety supervision.

Twentieth according to the selection criteria of the target ships, the maritime administrative organs do not embark on ships in principle to carry out the ship safety supervision except those ships which are not included in the ship's selection criteria, except for special inspections in accordance with the twenty-first regulations.

During the twenty-first important national holidays and major activities, or for specific waters, specific safety matters and specific ship needs, the maritime administrative organs may conduct special inspections in the form of comprehensive safety inspection and on-site supervision of ships.

The second section is ship safety supervision.

The twenty-second site supervision of ships includes:

Article forty-eighth maritime administrative organs shall strengthen supervision and inspection of international shipments of container shippers and carriers, and find that violations of these Rules shall be ordered to rectify.

Forty-ninth no unit or individual shall obstruct or obstruct maritime administrative law enforcement personnel from carrying out ship safety supervision.

When fiftieth maritime administrative law enforcement officers carry out ship safety supervision, the captain shall assign personnel to cooperate with them. The assigned personnel should answer the questions truthfully and test and operate the ship facilities and equipment according to the requirements.

The fifty-first maritime administrative organs shall, through spot checks, carry out ship safety supervision, instead of replacing or relieving the legal liabilities and obligations of shipping companies, ships, crew, ship inspection bodies and other relevant units and individuals in the aspects of ship safety, pollution prevention, maritime labor conditions and security.

The sixth chapter is legal liability.

Fifty-second article In violation of these rules, one of the following acts shall be fined by the maritime administrative agency to a ship owner or a ship operator who is under 1000 yuan or more than 10 thousand yuan. If the circumstances are serious, it shall be fined not less than 10 thousand yuan but not more than 30 thousand yuan. The captain or other responsible personnel shall be fined 100 yuan or more than 1000 yuan; if the circumstances are serious, they shall be fined not less than 1000 yuan but not more than 3000 yuan.

(1) deceiving the maritime administrative law enforcement personnel by fraud;

(two) failing to correct defects or take measures in accordance with the handling opinions of the "on-the-spot supervision report", "flag State supervision and inspection report" and "port state control inspection report".

(three) in accordance with the provisions of the thirtieth paragraph, the applicant shall apply for reexamination without application.

If the fifty-third ship fails to carry out self inspection in accordance with the regulations or the ship's own records are not kept, the ship owner or ship operator shall be fined more than 1000 yuan and 10 thousand yuan.

If the fifty-fourth vessels fail to carry the ship in accordance with the regulations or preserve the "on-the-spot supervision report", "flag State supervision and inspection report" and "port state supervision and inspection report", the maritime administrative organ shall order it to correct and impose a fine of not less than 1000 yuan and 10 thousand yuan on the owner or operator of the ship.

If fifty-fifth vessels enter or leave the inland river ports, they fail to report to the maritime administrative organ the information of ships entering and leaving the port according to the regulations, and the ship owners or ship operators shall be fined not less than 5000 yuan and 50 thousand yuan.

If a ship enters or harbours a coastal port and fails to report to the maritime administrative organ the information of ships entering and leaving the port according to the regulations, the ship owner or ship operator shall be fined 5000 yuan or more than 30 thousand yuan.

Fifty-sixth, in violation of these rules, in the operation of international container cargo transportation of ships, In case of any of the following circumstances, the maritime administrative agency shall be fined 1000 yuan or more than 30 thousand yuan:

(1) the error between the certified weight and the actual weight provided by the shipper is more than 5% or 1 tons.

(two) the carrier carries a container which has not obtained verification information or verified that the weight is greater than the maximum total operating quality.

Fifty-seventh, if a ship's safety inspection is found to be related to a ship's inspection institution, the maritime administrative organ shall punish it in accordance with the relevant provisions.

The maritime administrative organ shall revoke its qualification for inspection because of the abuse of authority, malpractice, dereliction of duty and serious dereliction of duty by a ship inspection body.

Article fifty-eighth the staff of maritime administrative organs do not perform their duties according to law to carry out supervision and inspection, abuse of power, engage in malpractices for selfish ends and neglect their duties, etc., and shall be given administrative sanction in accordance with the law by their institutions or higher authorities. If a crime is constituted, the judicial organ shall pursue criminal responsibility according to law.

Seventh chapter supplementary provisions

The fifty-ninth meaning of the ship and related facilities mentioned in this rule is the same as that in the People's Republic of China maritime traffic safety law and the traffic safety management regulations of the people's Republic of China.

The "statutory certificate" as mentioned in these Rules refers to the certificate of nationality of the ship, the certificate of ship's personnel, the ship's inspection certificate, the certificate of operation of the ship, the sailing or sailing log, and other certificate documents that must be provided in accordance with the requirements of laws, regulations, technical specifications and conventions.

The term "shipping company" as mentioned in these Rules refers to the owner, operator and manager of the ship.

The maximum gross operating quality referred to in these Rules refers to the total maximum total quality of containers in operation, including the goods, etc., and is marked on the container safety licence.

The sixtieth rules come into effect on July 1, 2017. In November 30, 2009, the regulations of the People's Republic of China on ship safety inspection promulgated by the Ministry of transport in 2009 fifteenth were repealed simultaneously.