Club correspondents Huatai have issued a circular outlining new requirements for ships entering the waters around Qingdao, Shandong Province, China, reports Steamship Mutual.
Huatai’s circular contains information on the areas involved and what is required of Chinese ships and non-Chinese ships.
For Chinese ships, the applicable period is April 20th to mid-June. For non-Chinese ships the applicable period is May 20th to mid-June. The exact end-date will be clarified soon.
The safety inspections include ship’s equipment, chart and navigation publications, communication equipment, persons on board, dangerous goods carried onboard. The inspection also concerns “low-slow and small aircraft” (presumably targeting drones in particular) which cannot be brought into Qingdao. “Low-slow and small aircraft” mentioned in the notice refers to: light/ultra light aircraft (including light/ultra light helicopter), glider, delta wing, powered hang glider, manned balloon, airship, paraglider, powered glider, unmanned aerial vehicle, aero model, Unmanned automatic balloon and captive balloon.
Applicable water areas are those under maritime administrative jurisdictions of Qingdao Qianwan MSA, Huangdao MSA, Dagang MSA, Qianhai MSA and Laoshan MSA.
The main contents of special safety inspection include, but are not limited to: AIS equipment, chart and navigation publications, ship’s communication equipment, power equipment, steering equipment, persons onboard, dangerous goods carried onboard, “low-slow and small aircraft”.
Self-inspection on whether there is any “low-slow and small aircraft” carried on the ship or by a crew member is required. If any are found on board, the local authority shall require the ship side to dispose of the aircraft locally and immediately. If there is a practical difficulty on disposing the aircraft locally and ship side presents objective evidence that the aircraft should be brought in Qingdao, an application with type, quantity, module, sealing measure and warranty of not using the aircraft inside Qingdao water areas should be submitted to local authority for approval.
Special security inspections will be carried out by Shandong MSA if the ship calls at Qingdao directly from an overseas port.
Ships of Chinese flags that intend to enter Qingdao water areas as next port of call from a domestic port should submit the “Specific Safety Inspection Items List” and “Boarding Persons Information Report Form” with special safety inspection stamp to local MSA when handling departure formalities.
The “Ship Information Report Form” and “Boarding Persons Information Report Form” which signed and confirmed by master should also be submitted. If ships of Chinese flags intend to enter Qingdao water areas directly from an overseas port, the above documentation should be submitted when handling port entry formalities. Ships of foreign flags that intend to enter Qingdao water areas from a domestic port should submit the “Ship Information Report Form”, the list of boarding persons and the copy of “Ship Security Special Inspection Report (PSC Inspection Report)” when handling departure formalities. If ships of foreign flags intend to enter Qingdao water areas directly from an overseas port, the above documentation should be submitted when handling port entry formalities.
https://www.steamshipmutual.com/Downloads/Publications/Huatai%20Circular%20PNI1806.pdf