Recently the P.R China promulgated the Rules on Water Transport Safety Management Interview.
Rules on Water Transport Safety Management Interview
Article 1 These Rules are formulated in accordance with the Production Safety Law of the People’s Republic of China and the Notice of the Sate Council on Further Strengthening Enterprises’ Safe Production (GF [2010] No.23) for the purposes of further enhancing the management on the safety of water transport, strengthening the responsibility of safe production of relevant enterprises, and safeguarding the safety of water transport.
Article 2 For the purposes of these Rules, safety management interview means, when there are major problems for the safety management of a shipping company, an enterprise engaging in surface and underwater activities or an enterprise engaging in operations relating to surface and underwater activities, or a seaman service agency, etc (all hereinafter referred to as “company”), the maritime administration agency is entitled to conduct the warning and safety suggestion conversation with the principals of such company as well as the person in charge of safety in such company’s parent company. Where any of the following situations is committed, it shall be deemed that the safety management of a company has major problems:
(1)A vessel causes a major or more serious water transport accident, or causes a water transport accident that has major impact;
(2)A vessel causes a relatively serious or a more serious pollution accident;
(3)Serious problems in the safety management of a company is found during daily supervision; or
(4)Other important items that affect or are likely to affect water transport safety.
Where a vessel owned, operated or managed by a foreign shipping company causes an accident within the waters under the jurisdiction of the People’s Republic of China, the Maritime Safety Administration of the People’s Republic of China (hereinafter referred to as “P.R China MSA”) may, as it deems necessary, interview such a foreign shipping company.
Article 3 The safety management interview shall be organized by maritime administration agencies directly under the P. R China MSA or local maritime administration agencies at provincial level. However, where any of the following situations is committed, the P.R China MSA shall be responsible for organizing the safety management interview and relevant maritime administration agencies directly under the P. R China MSA or local maritime administration agencies at provincial level shall participate in:
(1)An accident causes 10 or more deaths or an accident causes direct economic loss of not less than 50 million yuan;
(2)An accident causes spill of not less than 500 tons of oil or the direct economic loss of not less than 100 million yuan; or
(3)Situations that the P.R China MSA deems itself to be responsible for the interview.
Article 4 Maritime administration agencies directly under the P. R China MSA or local maritime administration agencies at provincial level shall base on the following principles to divide their respective responsible scopes for the interview:
(1)Where a company or a vessel has established its safety management system, interview shall be organized by the maritime administration agency at provincial level that is especially responsible for the examination and verification of companies’ and vessels’ safety management systems;
(2)Where a company or vessel has not established its safety management system, interview for such company or vessel shall be subject to the registration of the vessel. Where the vessel is registered in a maritime administration agency directly under the P.R China MSA or is registered in a maritime administration agency under the governance of such maritime safety administration, Maritime administration agencies directly under the P. R China MSA shall be responsible for interview; where the vessel is registered in a local maritime administration agencies, local maritime administration agencies at provincial level shall be responsible for the interview.
(3)Where the problem in the safety management of a company is found during daily supervision, the maritime administration agency that is responsible for supervision shall organize the interview; and
(4)Where the respective responsible scopes are not clear, relevant maritime administration agencies directly under the P.R China MSA and the local maritime administration agencies at provincial level shall discuss together to reach a solution.
A maritime administration agency, as it deems necessary, may organize the interview for a company in conjunction with other relevant departments.
Article 5 Interviews for two or more companies arising from the same cause(s) may be organized either separately or together.
Interviews for two or more companies arising from different causes may also be organized together.
Article 6 Where any of the situations as set out in Article 2 of these Rules occurs, relevant maritime administration agency shall trigger the interview procedures in due course, and issue a Safety Management Interview Notice to the company against whom the interview is to be organized.
Article 7 A company against whom the interview is to be organized shall, upon receiving the Safety Management Interview Notice, prepare for the interview and participate in the interview as required.
Article 8 During the interview, a company shall make statements for the following contents:
(1)Where a company causes a water transport accident or a pollution accident, or a company is directly related to the occurrence of such accident, such company shall make statements for the emergency measure it has taken for such accident, relevant matters after such accident it has dealt with and the analysis on the cause of such accident as well as measures for rectification;
(2)Where a company is found, during daily supervision, to have major problems in safety management, it shall make analysis on the cause of the problems in its safety management and corresponding measures for rectification in the next stage;
(3)Where the accident is caused by crews as man-made factor, the seaman service agency of such crews shall make statements for relevant management and service mechanism about the crews as well as the corresponding measures for rectification in the next stage;
(4)Internal treatments for the liable person by the company and the situation of safety education organized by such company; and
(5)Other relevant situations.
Article 9 The maritime administration agency shall seriously listen to the statements made by the company against whom the interview is organized, and shall propose suggestions and requirements for strengthening safety management in respct of the problems in such company.
Article 10 When the interview is over, the maritime administration agency organizing such interview shall, as the situations may require, issue Safety Management Suggestions to such company. Where any other administration departments or local governments are involved, the maritime administration agency may also propose safety management suggestions to such relevant departments or governments.
The company against whom the interview was organized shall formulate and execute the measures for rectification in accordance with the requirements as set out in the Safety Management Suggestions, and report the situations of execution of the measures for rectification in writing to the maritime administration agency organizing the interview.
Article 11 The maritime administration agency organizing the interview shall be responsible for monitoring the situations of execution of the measures for rectification by the company.
Article 12 Where a company fails to participate in the interview or fails to timely execute the measures for rectification without justifiable reasons, such company shall be under stricter examination and verification for companies’ safety management systems, and the vessels owned by such company, the surface and underwater activities and the loading and unloading activities, etc by such company shall be under stricter on-site supervision and administration.
Article 13 Materials in the interview shall be filed. Contents of the archives include:
(1)the Safety Management Interview Notice;
(2)the registration form of personnel participating in the interview;
(3)the safety management interview records;
(4)Safety Management Suggestions and safety management suggestions (if any); and
(5)Situations of the execution of measures for rectification by the company.
Article 14 These Rules shall go into effect as of the date of promulgation.