Britannia P&I Club’s correspondent in China, Huatai, informs that Wusong MSA has issued a notice on further strengthening the safety self-inspection of ships planning to enter the Yangtze Estuary deepwater channel.
As per the Wusong MSA notice, 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.
The self-inspection record shall be completed in accordance with the standard form which can be found in the pdf bellow and submitted by email to Wusong VTS Center (email address：[email protected]) with “Ship Name + Self-inspection materials” as the subject 4 hours before entering the North Channel.
When declaring the North Channel entrance plan, the ship shall undertake to conduct the self-inspection as required before entering the North Channel, report any defect that is not rectified during the self-inspection and the exemption from flag state and RO. Wusong MSA will verify the outcome of ship’s self-inspection and the non-compliance found will be dealt with according to the relevant provisions.
Time of entering North Channel
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 Yuanyuansha light vessel shall be deemed as the time of entering the North Channel.
Ships entering the North Channel on a voyage of less than 12 hours
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 of the pdf bellow.
