It has of course been a requirement since 2012 for certain vessels to pre-contract with a Ship Pollution Response Organisation (or “SPRO”) before entering Chinese ports. The International Group has published various standard documents to assist Members in doing so, including a recommended SPRO agreement wording.
Penalty for non-compliance
Huatai have recently warned that ships which arrive at a Chinese port without a valid SPRO agreement in place risk incurring a fine of between RMB 10,000 and RMB 50,000, and local MSA offices are said to undertake spot inspections to check if the ships arriving to the port are compliant. A copy of Huatai’s circular can be found here.
Shipper alert
Members are strongly urged to check whether a SPRO is required for any port visit and to contact their local agent in that port in order to obtain details of available SPRO with whom they can contract.
Compliance documents for shippers
Full details of the Chinese pollution regulations and copies of the IG standard documents are available on the Club’s dedicated webpage which can be found here. Members with any questions on the regulations or individual SPRO terms should contact the Managers.
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Source: West of England P&I
