Copyright 2024 - Ningbo Life / Ningbo Expat

The remote review proposed by Ningbo upgraded to an international standard

Recently, the 30th Committee Meeting of the Asia-Pacific Port State Supervision Memorandum of Understanding (Tokyo Memorandum) came to an end in the Marshall Islands. The proposal of the “Port State Supervision Remote Review Guidelines” submitted by the Ningbo Maritime Safety Administration was approved at the meeting. The guidelines will have a one-year trial run in the Asia Pacific region.  

It is learned that the "remote review" mechanism is an innovative template by the Ningbo Maritime Safety Administration to explore and refine and use information technology to effectively carry out post-event supervision.  For the foreign ships, the maritime authority shall conduct port state supervision and inspection according to law, and conduct a round-trip review on the ship defects found during the inspection and must be corrected before departure. After the rectification is in place, the foreign ship may leave the port.

However, for liners with tight schedules, there is no doubt that they will have to bear more costs. Take the current rent of 18,000 TEU container ships, most of which berthed in Ningbo Port, it will bring an additional 100,000 yuan to 200,000 yuan cost to shipping companies. At the same time, during the rectification at the port, the ship will inevitably occupy the tight dock berth or anchorage resources. It is a long-standing problem that it is difficult to balance safety and efficiency.  

In order to solve this contradiction and further improve the efficiency of customs clearance of foreign ships, Ningbo Maritime Safety Administration actively implemented the requirements of “distribution service”, boldly innovated, and pioneered the “remote review” mechanism.

For the defects that meet the "remote review" conditions, the maritime authorities may not need to board the ship to have the review, but use e-mail, video connection and other informational means to carry out "remote" verification of the rectification of related issues.  In this way, the ship no longer has to pay a high price for waiting for the review, which greatly reduces the cost.  Nikola Tuckvic, the Ukrainian captain who had undergone the "remote review", said: "We have had three problems that need to be corrected before sailing. According to the usual process, the waiting time must be extended by at least 3 hours. Now we will take photos of the corrections by mail.  Sending it to the Ningbo Maritime Safety Administration, it took less than half an hour to get a review report and was allowed to sail. It is amazing. This is a unique experience in my 33 years of sailing."

At present, the Ningbo Maritime Safety Administration has implemented a “remote review” on more than 50 ships, and has saved a direct cost of more than RMB 5 million for shipping companies.  According to estimates, the number of ships docked by a single terminal can increase by 10% to 20% in one year, effectively improving the port business environment.

Xu Honger, Director of the Ship Supervision Department of Ningbo Maritime Safety Administration said: "We have actively promoted the sharing of Ningbo's distinctive experience and practices to a greater extent, which has greatly enhanced the visibility and influence of Ningbo and China in the international shipping and maritime fields."  The Ningbo Maritime Department will actively promote the “remote review” mechanism from Asia Pacific to the world

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