China's Domestic Maritime Regulations InternationalizedChina's two domestic maritime regulations have been internationalized by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and will be implemented on December 1, 2000 off the Chengshanjiao Promontory in east China's Shandong Peninsula.Liu Gongchen, deputy director of the Maritime Safety Administration of China, made the announcement at a press conference November 30, adding that the ship routing system and mandatory ship reporting system are the first group of Chinese domestic maritime regulations that have been internationalized. The waters at Chengshanjiao Promontory is one of China's major sea passages and fishing grounds. Annually 150,000 ships pass or fish there, of which 60 percent or more are foreign vessels. However, complicated hydrometeorological conditions there often result in maritime accidents. China thereby made two regulations in 1991 and 1996 respectively, in order to standardize passage for different ships and avoid ship collisions. According to Liu, the two regulations have helped significantly reduce local accidents by 61 percent since 1997. He also revealed that the regulations will be used in other major sea passages, including Laotieshan Waterway, Guangzhou Dangan Waterway and the waterway at the mouth of the Yangtze River. |
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