To safeguard the safety of life and property on the water, strengthen the safety and pollution prevention management of shipping companies, and implement the primary responsibility of shipping companies for work safety, the Maritime Safety Administration of the Ministry of Transport has organized the revision of the "Provisions on Safety Supervision and Administration of Shipping Companies Under Key Tracking" and formed a revised draft for comments. Comments are now being solicited from the public. Relevant units and individuals are requested to study and submit opinions and suggestions, and provide feedback before December 5, 2021.
Contact: Zhang Haibao, Tel: 010-65292685, Email: dongyufangmsa@sina.com
Provisions on Safety Supervision and Administration of Shipping Companies Under Key Tracking
(Revised Draft for Comments)
Chapter I General Provisions
Article 1 These Provisions are formulated in accordance with the "Provisions of the People's Republic of China on the Safety and Pollution Prevention Management of Shipping Companies" and relevant laws and regulations, for the purpose of promoting shipping companies to implement their primary responsibility for work safety, safeguarding the safety of life and property on the water, and strengthening the safety and pollution prevention management of shipping companies.
Article 2 These Provisions apply to the safety supervision and administration of shipping companies under key tracking nationwide.
Article 3 The Maritime Safety Administration of the People's Republic of China (hereinafter referred to as "China MSA") shall uniformly coordinate and manage the supervision and administration of shipping companies under key tracking nationwide, and shall be responsible for publishing and updating the list of shipping companies under key tracking.
The directly affiliated maritime safety administrations and the provincial transport authorities (hereinafter referred to as "provincial-level authorities") shall, according to their duties, be responsible for the supervision and administration of shipping companies under key tracking within their jurisdictions, and shall be responsible for reporting to China MSA the list of shipping companies proposed to be included in or applying to be removed from key tracking and relevant materials.
The branch maritime safety administrations and the municipal-level transport authorities (hereinafter referred to as "municipal-level authorities") shall carry out, or carry out as assigned by the provincial-level authorities, the supervisory inspections and special verifications of shipping companies under key tracking, and shall report to the provincial-level authorities the list of shipping companies proposed to be included in or applying to be removed from key tracking and relevant materials.
Chapter II Inclusion of Shipping Companies Under Key Tracking
Article 4 A shipping company shall be listed as a shipping company under key tracking if any of the following circumstances exists:
(1) The shipping company refuses without justification to accept routine supervisory inspections conducted by the provincial-level or municipal-level authorities, or fails to rectify matters urged by the provincial-level or municipal-level authorities within the prescribed time without justified reasons;
(2) A ship under its management is involved in a water traffic accident causing three or more deaths (including missing persons) and bears equal or greater responsibility, and investigation reveals serious problems in the company's safety management;
(3) One-third or more of the ships under its management are listed as ships under key tracking;
(4) A ship under its management refuses to accept or evades handling after a violation or illegal act, and the shipping company fails to take effective measures;
(5) The incidence rate of serious maritime violations cumulatively occurring within any three months by ships under its management exceeds 20%, and the number of serious maritime violations reaches two or more;
(6) The company fails to establish a safety management system and obtain a valid Document of Compliance as required, or the ships under its management fail to obtain valid Safety Management Certificates, and fails to rectify after being urged by the maritime safety administration.
Article 5 When a municipal-level authority discovers that a shipping company has any circumstance listed in Article 4 of these Provisions, it shall inform the company of the relevant situation regarding the proposed inclusion in key tracking, hear its statements and defense, and if it considers that the company should be included in key tracking, fill out the "Report Form for Inclusion of Shipping Company in Key Tracking" within five working days and submit it together with relevant materials to the provincial-level authority.
Article 6 When a provincial-level authority discovers that a shipping company has any circumstance listed in Article 4 of these Provisions, it shall inform the company of the relevant situation regarding the proposed inclusion in key tracking, hear its statements and defense, and if it confirms that the company should be included in key tracking, fill out the "Report Form for Inclusion of Shipping Company in Key Tracking" within five working days and submit it together with relevant materials to China MSA.
For a report received from a municipal-level authority, if the provincial-level authority confirms that the company should be included in key tracking, it shall fill in its opinion on the "Report Form for Inclusion of Shipping Company in Key Tracking" within five working days and submit it together with relevant materials to China MSA; if it confirms that the company should not be included, it shall inform the relevant municipal-level authority, which shall inform the relevant shipping company.
Article 7 Upon receiving a report from a provincial-level authority, China MSA shall decide whether to list the relevant shipping company as a shipping company under key tracking.
If China MSA discovers that a shipping company has any circumstance listed in Article 4 of these Provisions, it may directly decide whether to include it in key tracking.
Article 8 If China MSA decides not to include a shipping company in key tracking, it shall inform the relevant provincial-level authority, which shall inform the relevant shipping company.
Chapter III Supervision of Shipping Companies Under Key Tracking
Article 9 The provincial-level or municipal-level authority with jurisdiction over routine supervisory inspections of shipping companies shall conduct at least one supervisory inspection of a shipping company under key tracking every three months.
Article 10 When conducting safety management system audits of shipping companies under key tracking, the following measures shall be taken: (1) assign auditors with appropriate professional backgrounds; (2) expand the size of the audit team and the scope of the audit; (3) appropriately extend the audit duration; (4) select a representative ship for each audit; (5) verify on site the corrective measures for non-conformities.
Article 11 All ships managed by a shipping company under key tracking shall be listed as ships under key tracking.
Chapter IV Removal of Shipping Companies from Key Tracking
Article 12 A shipping company included in key tracking may, six months after the date of publication, if it considers upon self-inspection that none of the circumstances listed in Article 4 of these Provisions exists, apply to the provincial-level or municipal-level authority for removal from key tracking by filling out the "Application Form for Removal of Shipping Company from Key Tracking" and submitting a rectification report of the shipping company.
Article 13 The provincial-level or municipal-level authority shall organize a special verification of safety management for the shipping company applying for removal from key tracking. The verification contents mainly include:
(1) The safety management situation of the shipping company after being included in key tracking;
(2) The safety management situation of the ships managed by the shipping company;
(3) Whether the contents of the shipping company's rectification report are consistent with the actual rectification situation;
(4) Other relevant circumstances.
Article 14 When a provincial-level or municipal-level authority discovers any of the following circumstances, it shall fill out the "Report Form for Removal of Shipping Company from Key Tracking", and after confirmation by the provincial-level authority, the provincial-level authority shall submit it to China MSA within five working days.
(1) Upon verification, it is considered that the shipping company has rectified the relevant problems in place and none of the circumstances listed in Article 4 of these Provisions exists;
(2) It is confirmed in routine supervisory inspections that the company has been deregistered or has had no managed ships for more than two years after being included in key tracking.
Article 15 After review and approval, China MSA shall remove the shipping company applying for removal from the list of shipping companies under key tracking. If upon review it considers that the shipping company has not rectified the relevant problems in place and the circumstances listed in Article 4 of these Provisions still exist, it shall not remove the company from key tracking and shall inform the relevant provincial-level authority, which shall inform the relevant shipping company.
Article 16 For a shipping company that is not removed from key tracking upon verification or review, it may apply again for removal from key tracking three months after the date of completion of the special verification or review, if it considers upon self-inspection that none of the circumstances listed in Article 4 of these Provisions exists.
Article 17 When the ships managed by a shipping company under key tracking change, the company shall remain a shipping company under key tracking, and the ships newly entering and exiting the company's management shall remain ships under key tracking.
For ships newly entering the company's management, the provincial-level or municipal-level authority shall report the list of ships level by level up to China MSA, which shall include them in the list of ships under key tracking.
Article 18 After a shipping company is removed from key tracking, the ships under its management that were listed as under key tracking because the shipping company was listed as under key tracking shall simultaneously be removed from key tracking.
Chapter V Supplementary Provisions
Article 19 The relevant terms in these Provisions are defined as follows:
Shipping company refers to an enterprise legal person registered in China that undertakes the responsibility for the safety and pollution prevention of Chinese-flagged ships in waterway transport or waterway transport auxiliary services.
Serious problems in the company's safety management refer to the company not knowing the manning situation of ships, not knowing the dynamics of ships, not knowing the loading situation of ships, and the ship manager not actually performing ship management business.
Serious maritime violations by ships refer to: fleeing the scene after a water traffic accident; inland river ships illegally participating in maritime transport; driving ships without a license; using forged, altered, transferred, bought or sold, or leased ship certificates or crew certificates to engage in operations or other related activities; obtaining administrative licenses or administrative confirmations by fraudulent, bribery, or other improper means.
The incidence rate of serious maritime violations refers to the number of serious maritime violations divided by the number of ships managed by the company.
Article 20 The provincial-level or municipal-level authority shall establish files for shipping companies under key tracking, and the files shall include:
(1) Copies of the "Report Form for Inclusion of Shipping Company in Key Tracking" and relevant materials;
(2) Routine supervisory inspection materials;
(3) The "Application Form for Removal of Shipping Company from Key Tracking" and the company's rectification report (if any);
(4) Copies of the "Report Form for Removal of Shipping Company from Key Tracking";
(5) Other relevant materials.
The above materials may be kept in paper or electronic form for a retention period of not less than 10 years.
Article 21 For a shipping company confirmed to be listed for key tracking, the China Maritime Safety Administration shall publish the following on its official website:
(1) the name of the shipping company under key tracking;
(2) the reasons for which the shipping company was listed for key tracking;
(3) the names of all ships managed by the shipping company at the time it was listed for key tracking.
Article 22 Maritime safety administrations at all levels shall promptly notify the transport authorities at the same level of the listing and delisting of the relevant shipping companies under key tracking.
Article 23 These Provisions shall come into force on [date],
and shall be valid for five years. The "Provisions on Safety Supervision and Administration of Shipping Companies Under Key Tracking" (Hai An Shi [2014] No. 517) shall be repealed simultaneously
