NEWLY DESIGNATED EMISSION CONTROL AREAS IN CHINA

The Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) Maritime Administrator (the “Administrator”) has issued the following attached Marine Safety Advisory (MSA) which concerns newly designated Emission Control Areas (ECAs) in China.

Please be advised that China has published new regulations designating three (3) ship ECAs in its territorial waters, applicable to all the ships which are sailing, anchoring, or working in the ECAs, excluding military ships, sporting ships, and fishing boats.

The 3 ECAs encompass the coastal and inland waters near the Pearl River Delta (excluding the waters of Hong Kong and Macao), Yangtze River Delta, and Bohai-Rim Sea region, and include eleven core ports. The eleven core ports are: Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Zhujiang, Shanghai, Ningbo-Zhoushan, Suzhou, Nantong, Tianjin, Qinhuangdao, Tangshan, and Huanghua.

The implementation of tighter emissions regulations is divided into stages.

1. Commencing 01 January 2016, China began strict enforcement of existing international conventions and domestic laws on sulphur oxides, particulate matter, and nitrogen oxides. Further, any port within the ECAs may require all ships at berth to use fuel with less than 0.5% sulphur content.

2. On 01 April 2016, all ships calling at the Yangtze River Delta will be required to use fuel with no more than 0.5% sulphur content while at berth, except during the first hour after arriving or before departing from port. The core ports in this area include: Shanghai, Ningbo-Zhoushan, Suzhou, and Nantong port.

3. As of 01 January 2017, all ships calling at the eleven core ports within the ECAs will be required to use fuel with no more than a 0.5% sulphur content while at berth, except during the first hour after arriving or before departing from port.

4. Starting 01 January 2018, all ships calling at the eleven core ports within the ECAs will be required to use fuel with no more than a 0.5% sulphur content while at berth.

5. Beginning 01 January 2019, all ships calling at the eleven core ports within the ECAs will be required to use fuel with no more than a 0.5% sulphur content.

6. Before 31 December 2019, Chinese authorities will assess the effectiveness of the aforementioned control measures and determine whether any of the following additional actions are necessary: reducing the maximum sulphur content to 0.1% for all vessels entering the eleven core ports within ECAs; expanding the size of the ECAs; and the implementation of other control measures.

Please also note that China will permit alternative methods of compliance, including the use of shore power, using clean energy, or exhaust gas scrubbers.

Additional details, coordinates, and maps are provided in Appendix 1 to this MSA.

This message cancels and replaces the #1766 one dated 11th December 2015.