West P&I warns of stricter enforcement of China pollution control pre-contracts

Chinese regulations have required since 2012 that any ship carrying polluting and/or hazardous cargoes in bulk, or vessels above 10,000 GT enter into a pollution clean-up contract with a competent SPRO before it enters a China port.

The International Group has also published various standard documents to assist members in meeting the requirements, including a recommended SPRO agreement wording.

West P&I has recently reiterated its warning that ships which arrive at a Chinese port without a valid SPRO agreement in place risk incurring a fine of between RMB10,000 ($1,578) and RMB50,000, with local MSA offices said to be undertaking spot inspections to check that arriving ships are compliant.

Read More: Owners warned about new China regulations on solid waste

It did not specify which ports were the most stringent but strongly urged members to check whether a SPRO is required for any port visit and to contact their local agent in that port in order to obtain details of available SPRO with whom they can contract.

West P&I acknowledged however that some issues in relation to the implementation of the SPRO contract requirements include a lack of choice in service at many ports, where there is only one approved SPRO.