China has issued new reporting requirements for foreign-flagged ships entering the internal waters of the country during emergency situations, starting 1 March, 2025.
According to the Maritime Traffic Safety Law of the People’s Republic of China, foreign-flagged ships shall make an urgent report to the maritime administrations when entering the internal waters of the People’s Republic of China in emergency situations. The relevant reporting requirements are hereby announced as follows:
Part 1: Application
The reporting requirements apply to foreign-flagged ships which need to urgently enter the internal waters of the People’s Republic of China due to emergency situations, such as urgent illness, mechanical failure, distress, and adverse weather conditions, when a permit to enter port areas has not yet been obtained.
Part 2: Reporting channels
The reporting shall be done through, inter alia, marine radiotelephony, DSC on VHF, MF and HF, marine satellite telephone, wired telephone, fax, the national hotline “12395” for maritime search and rescue when in distress, or other effective means.
Part 3: Reporting requirements
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In the case of an emergency, a foreign-flagged ship shall, while entering the internal waters of the People’s Republic of China, make an urgent report to the local maritime administration with the following contents:
(1) Name of ship, IMO number, call sign, flag, type of ship, and contact information;
(2) Ship owner, operator, and manager;
(3) Ship position, course, speed, and planned navigation routes;
(4) Estimated entry and departure time;
(5) Main dimensions and draft of the ship;
(6) Number of the crew and passengers onboard and their health conditions, and the number of persons in distress, illness, or casualties;
(7) Cargo information, and the official names, UN numbers, pollution classes, and quantities of the dangerous goods;
(8) Direct cause of the emergency entry, measures taken, and assistance requested; and
(9) The Emergency Report Form (see appendix), which shall be submitted as a supplement as soon as the ship has entered the internal waters of the People’s Republic of China. -
If the Automatic Identification System (AIS) of a foreign-flagged ship does not work properly after emergency entry into the internal waters of the People’s Republic of China, in addition to the above-mentioned reporting requirements, the following information shall be reported every hour until the ship leaves the internal waters of the People’s Republic of China or obtains a permit to enter port areas:
(1) Name of ship, call sign, and IMO number; and
(2) Current ship position, intended course, and speed.
