Recently, the Ministry of Transport promulgated “Decision on amending the Rules of the People's Republic of China On Ship Safety Supervision” (hereinafter referred to as the "Rules") with Order No. 6 of 2020, which will come into effect on June 1, 2020. In order to facilitate all relevant units and personnel to better understand the content of the “Rules”, and to effectively implement them, the background and the main amended contents are interpreted as follows:
1. Background of the amendment
In recent years, the "Opinions of the CPC Central Committee of China and the State Council on Promoting Reform and Development in the Field of Production Safety" and the "Outline for Building a Powerful Transport Country" have put forward clear requirements for safety of transportation and production. With the continuous development of our country's economy and society, container transportation has become an important way of international shipping. Cases of container overloading and inaccurate weights occur from time to time, posing threats to human life and property safety. In addition, IMO has added the relevant requirements for verification of container weight through international conventions and their amendments, and the Ministry of Transport has also gained the experience of container safety management that can be reproduced and popularized in the process of early performance. In order to implement the relevant requirements for safety of transportation and production, fulfill the international conventions that our country has signed, and improve the level of safety management, the "Rules" need to be amended.
II. Main contents of the amendment
First, the requirements for verification of the container weight have been clarified. In accordance with the provisions of the “International Convention for the Safety of Containers” and the “International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea” (SOLAS), when carrying cargo, the container shall not exceed its maximum operating gross mass; and in accordance with the provisions of SOLAS, the actual weight of a loaded container shall be verified before it is delivered to a ship for transport. For this reason, the Ministry of Transport issued the “Notice of the Ministry of Transport on the Implementation of the 2015 Amendment to Article VI/2 of the 1974 International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea(SOLAS 1974)” (JHF [2016] No. 92), which has put forward requirements for the weight verification of foreign-trade laden containers and has achieved positive results. In the new Article 47 of the “Rules”, the obligations of shippers and carriers in weight verification of containers to be delivered to ships for international transport are clarified, requiring shippers to verify the weight of containers before delivering to ships for transport, and carriers are not allowed to load containers that have not obtained verification information or whose verified weight exceeds the maximum operating gross mass, which has raised more than 3 years of practical experience to the level of ministerial regulations.
Second, the method of weight verification and the allowable margin range of error have been clarified. The "Rules" stipulates that weight verification can be carried out by the integral weighing method and the cumulative calculation method, drawing from the common practices of the EU, Japan and other shipping countries and regions, and stipulating that the error between the shipper's verified weight and the actual weight shall not exceed 5% and the maximum error shall not exceed 1 ton.
Third, the legal liability of containers exceeding the maximum operating gross mass and large errors has been clarified. If the containers exceed the maximum operating gross mass or have a large error between the verified and the actual weight, it will pose threats to the safety of ships, terminal facilities and related personnel. For this reason, the “Rules” sets out the corresponding legal liability for such illegal acts and provides explanations on the maximum operating gross mass.