Provisions on the Administration of Old Transport Vessels

Chapter I General Provisions Article 1 These Provisions are formulated in order to strengthen the management of old transport vessels, optimize the structure of waterway transport capacity, improve the technical level of vessels, ensure the safety of waterway transport and promote the healthy development of waterway transport. Article 2 These Provisions shall apply to seagoing vessels and inland river vessels with People's Republic of China (PRC) nationality and engaged in waterway transportation. Article 3 The meanings of the following terms in these Provisions are:

(a) the age of the ship refers to the fixed number of years from the date of completion of construction to the present;

(2) Old transport vessels refer to transport vessels whose age exceeds the minimum age stipulated in Articles 4 and 5 of these Provisions.

(3) Scrapped ships refer to ships that can never be engaged in waterway transportation. Article 4 Old seagoing vessels are divided into the following types:

(1) High-speed passenger ships that are over 10 years old are old seagoing ships;

(2) Ro-Ro ships, passenger and cargo ships, passenger ferries, passenger and cargo ferries (including passenger train ferries), tourist ships and passenger ships with a ship age of over 10 years belong to Class II old seagoing ships;

(3) Oil tankers, chemical tankers and liquefied gas tankers with a ship age of over 15 belong to Class III old seagoing ships;

(4) Bulk carriers and ore carriers with a ship age over 18 belong to four types of old seagoing ships.

(5) Ro-Ro ships, bulk cement ships, refrigerated ships, general cargo ships, multi-purpose ships, container ships, timber ships, tugboats, pushers, barges, etc. Ships over 20 years old belong to five types of old seagoing ships. Article 5 Old river boats are divided into the following types:

(1) High-speed passenger ships over 10 years old are old inland river ships;

(2) Ro-Ro ships, passenger and cargo ships, passenger ferries, passenger and cargo ferries (including passenger train ferries), tourist ships and passenger ships with a ship age of over 10 years are Class II old inland river ships;

(3) Oil tankers, chemical tankers and liquefied gas tankers with a ship age of over 16 belong to Class III old river ships;

(4) Bulk carriers and ore carriers over 18 belong to four types of old river ships;

(5) Ro-Ro ships, bulk cement ships, refrigerated ships, general cargo ships, multi-purpose ships, container ships, timber ships, tugboats, pushers and barges (oil barges) with a ship age of more than 20 years belong to five types of old inland river ships. Article 6 The State implements a technical supervision and management system for old transport vessels, and a compulsory scrapping system for transport vessels that have reached the mandatory scrapping period. Article 7 The transportation departments of the people's governments at or above the county level shall, in accordance with these Provisions and other relevant provisions, manage the old transport vessels, and may entrust the shipping management institutions established by them to be responsible for the specific work of managing the old transport vessels.

The maritime administrative agency shall, in accordance with the relevant laws, administrative regulations and these Provisions, carry out inspection management and registration management of old transport vessels. Chapter II Management of Ship Purchase, Bareboat Lease and Reconstruction Article 8 Where a foreign ship is purchased or leased for waterway transportation on bareboat lease terms, the ship must meet the age requirements for the purchase and bareboat lease of foreign ships specified in the annex to these Provisions, and its hull, main electromechanical equipment and special equipment shall meet the technical specifications for ship inspection stipulated and recognized by the state.

The purchase of foreign ships and bareboat leasing of foreign ships as mentioned in these Provisions include foreign ships that have been purchased from abroad or leased by bareboat leasing, but have not yet obtained legal ship inspection certificate, ship nationality certificate and ship operation certificate or approval documents for international navigation in China, and foreign ships purchased by auction. Article 9 No organization or individual may purchase foreign shipbreaking for waterway transportation, or lease foreign shipbreaking for waterway transportation by bareboat leasing. Article 10 When purchasing a foreign ship or leasing a foreign ship by bareboat charter and refitting it into a water transport ship registered in China, the buyer and the lessee shall know the age and technical condition of the ship and go through the relevant procedures according to the following procedures:

(1) Before purchasing a foreign ship or leasing a foreign ship by bareboat charter, an application for increasing the transportation capacity shall be submitted to the transportation department of the local people's government at or above the county level in accordance with the relevant provisions of the state and approved by the Ministry of Communications. After approval, foreign ships can be purchased or leased according to the bareboat charter terms.

(2) After purchasing a foreign ship or bareboat chartering a foreign ship, it shall apply to the ship inspection agency recognized by the maritime administrative agency for initial inspection according to law, and obtain the ship inspection certificate issued by it.

(3) After purchasing a foreign ship or leasing a foreign ship on the condition of bareboat charter to obtain a ship inspection certificate, it shall apply to the maritime administrative agency for ship registration and bareboat charter registration according to law, and obtain the ship ownership registration certificate, ship nationality certificate or bareboat charter registration certificate and temporary ship nationality certificate issued by it.

(4) Whoever purchases a foreign ship or leases a foreign ship by bareboat charter, obtains a certificate of nationality of the ship or a bareboat charter registration certificate and a temporary certificate of nationality of the ship, and engages in domestic waterway transportation shall apply to the transportation department of the people's government at or above the county level in accordance with the relevant provisions to obtain a ship business license; Those engaged in international transportation shall apply to the Ministry of Communications and obtain the approval documents for international transportation. Article 11 A ship inspection agency shall inspect foreign ships purchased or bareboat chartered in strict accordance with the relevant technical inspection standards for ships and these Provisions, and issue a ship inspection certificate only after passing the inspection.