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China to Ensure Water Transport Safety
China will initiate a month-long inspection in July of rural ferry boats to double-check water transport safety, according to a working tele-conference on water transport which was held Friday.
Huang Zhendong, minister of Communications, made the announcement at the meeting, which was also designated as the second working conference for the Year for Management on Water Transport Safety.
Since May, China has reported a number of accidents involving passenger ships, especially ferries in rural areas.
The Rong Jian, a passenger ship carrying more than 220 passengers, sank on a section of the Yangtze River near Hejiang County in southwest China's Sichuan Province on June 22. The accident killed a total of 115 people and 15 more are still missing.
Investigations have revealed that the ship carrying capacity was only about 100 people. Overloading has been listed as a cause of the accident.
To minimize the chances of future accidents, inspectors will examine the qualifications of the people in charge of boat- checking, improve training of crew members for passenger ships, tighten supervision on boat registration, and prepare for emergency situations, Huang said.
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