Starting from August 15, 2023, ships planning to enter the North Channel shall within 12 hours before entering the North Channel for each voyage, conduct self-inspection of critical equipment such as the main propulsion device, rudder system, main power supply, and emergency power supply strictly in accordance with the self-inspection requirements, and keep the record as required, sources Britanniapandi.
Time Of Entering
For inbound ships, the arrival time to D3 light buoy shall be deemed as the time of entering the North Channel. For outbound ships, the arrival time to Yuanyuan Zha light vessel shall be deemed as the time of entering the North Channel.
Chinese ships on a voyage of less than 12 hours to the North Channel shall conduct the self-inspection pursuant to “Chinese Ship Pre-departure Safety Self-inspection Checklist”. When preparing for departure of a foreign ship on a voyage of less than 12 hours, the preparatory work shall cover the contents specified in Annex 1.
Recommendations
The Yangtze Estuary Deepwater Channel (North Channel) refers to the channel between the western boundary line of the Precautionary Area “A” of Yangtze Estuary Ship’s Routing System and the eastern side of the Yuanyuan Osha Precautionary Area, with a total length of 43 nautical miles. Its boundary line is marked by a virtual AIS navigation mark. Chinese ships on a voyage of less than 12 hours to the North Channel shall conduct the self-inspection pursuant to “Chinese Ship Pre-departure Safety Self-inspection Checklist”.
The Notice is another specific requirement for the machinery and equipment of ships planning to enter the Yangtze River ever since the Shanghai MSA issued the “Announcement of Shanghai Maritime Safety Administration on Strengthening the Safety Management of Ships with Machinery Failure” on June 2, 2022. We suggest that ships strictly comply with the requirements of the Notice, test relevant machinery and equipment in a timely manner, make proper records and report to Wusong VTS Center, so as not to delay punishment.
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Source: Britanniapandi
