Owners and operators who are PRC companies or foreign companies with a branch in mainland China must sign agreements directly with PRSs. Foreign companies can either enter into contracts directly or use an agent approved by the MSA. In the event of an emergency, the master of the ship may be authorized to sign agreements. The person signing the SPRO agreement must have a letter of authorization and it is assumed that this can be provided in electronic form. Additional detailed provisions of the Regulations provide that the party signing the agreement and who is defined as the “operator” may be the owner, administrator or beneficial operator of the vessel. The reference to the current operator probably also extends to charterers. However, it should be noted that the party signing the SPRO agreement is exposed to the full cost of a possible environmental restoration. It should also be noted that if a party other than the owners or their co-insured enters into an SPRO agreement, the potential cleaning costs may not be covered by the vessel`s P&I insurance. In May 2015, P&I Clubs became aware of investigations by Chinese customs authorities against a consortium of SPRO, the Qianhe Group. Members are advised not to enter into new contracts with Qianhe until the position is clarified. Members with existing contracts with Qianhe can find more information here.
The MSA has now approved more than 100 RFOs (as of January 6, 2012). In addition, the MSA also approved 7 SPRO consortia that demonstrated that they had the necessary agreements with other RFOs to provide response services in multiple ports. While owners and operators expect to call regularly at different Chinese ports, contracting with one of these consortia may be the most efficient arrangement, rather than concluding many SPRO agreements for each port. If the owners have no choice but to allow the master to sign an SPRO agreement to allow departure from the port, the masters must ensure that they obtain English translations to ensure that the master clearly understands the agreed terms. Owners and operators may otherwise inadvertently enter into SPRO agreements for a higher level of service and/or for longer periods above the current price. This office contacts a number of RFOs to set current rates, in anticipation that owners and operators will have to negotiate short-term agreements when their bargaining power is limited. In the past, the Maritime Safety Administration of China (MSA) has borne the burden of pollution control. However, on several occasions it has not been possible to cover the costs of remediation, as the owners have managed to limit their liability. By requiring shipowners and ship operators to enter into contractual relationships with emergency services, these emergency services hope to provide them with a higher level of certainty to cover their costs. Although the regulation since 1.
In January 2012, the MSA announced that ships that cannot obtain an SPRO agreement before their arrival can be allowed to enter provided that an agreement is signed before departure. However, it is recommended that owners and operators take steps to negotiate the terms and conclude an SPRO agreement well in advance of the vessel`s arrival in China. After 1 March 2012, ships without an SPRO agreement will no longer be allowed to enter Chinese ports and a substantial fine may be imposed. Originally, the regulation required all RFOs to be approved by the MSA. A list of approved RFOs, including consortia and agents, has been published by the MSA and updated regularly. Click on the “Appendix I” link on this page to find an English version of the latest list. The revised regulations removed the SPRO approval requirement by the Chinese MSA. Instead, there is a new procedure for supervision and review by local MSAs. SPRO are also required to publish their skills, resources and service area for public access. Further information can be found in the Group`s International Circular published on 1 June 2015. Owners and operators should be aware that the agreement also requires ships to cooperate with the SPRO to conduct oil pollution control exercises, which RFOs MUST CONDUCT TWICE A YEAR TO MEET THE MSA QUALITY STANDARDS.
Operators should obtain assurances from the PROS that these exercises are not contrary to the operational requirements of the vessel. Below you will find links to the latest information on these new Chinese regulations. Further inquiries may be directed to sara.burgess@gard.no. On September 14, 2012, the China Maritime Safety Agency (MSA) issued revised detailed regulations implementing the administrative regime of the Convention on Pollution Control from Ships amending the detailed regulations previously issued by the MSA of China, which entered into force on January 1, 2012. The revised detailed rules were accompanied by a revised model oil pollution treaty. The revised detailed rules entered into force immediately. At the same time, china`s MSA repealed a number of notifications on the implementation of the regulations, resulting in some changes to the oil spill response requirements in effect since January 1, 2012. The SPRO agreement of 20. November 2012 contains the revised MSA Model Clauses.
Where one or more of the requirements referred to in points 2, 3 or 5 of the RFOs are not met, Members should do their best to negotiate with the SPRO in order to obtain their consent to meet those requirements or, alternatively, they should seek another SPRO that is willing to meet all those requirements. . . .