Translations: Chinese 
The requirement under these Regulations for owners/operators of vessels carrying oil or hazardous cargoes in bulk or any other vessel greater than 10,000gt to contract with a pollution clean-up company (termed an “SPRO”) before entering a PRC port came into effect on 1/1/2012.
The Club has published a number of Notices to help guide Members on complying with these Regulations and contracting with SPROs.
Detailed provisions regarding practical implementation continue to evolve however and in order to keep Members abreast of the latest developments, we will be posting updates and new information on this page. Members are recommended to check back here at regular intervals, but those requiring specific guidance on any aspect of these Regulations should liaise with their usual contact at the Managers or with Management Director Tony Paulson (tony.paulson@westpandi.com).
Materials
The latest set of FAQs prepared by the International Group can be found by clicking here
Past Notices to Members can be found here.
Notice No. 26 2011/12 had a number of documents attached and for ease of reference these can be found by following these links:
Table of contracting Requirements • IG’s recommended SPRO agreement • IG’s recommended letter of authorisation
Latest lists
OSRO China is not a consortium as such but operates a network of SPROs all of whom have agreed to the same tariff and contract terms. Details of the OSRO China network.
Link to China MSA website.
List of hazardous substances (including liquefied gases)
Members are reminded that vessels carrying hazardous cargo other than oil in bulk are required to contract with an appropriate level of SPRO depending on vessel size and intended nature of operators (please refer to the Table of Contracting Requirements.)
The IG has recently received clarification from the MSA that what constitutes a “hazardous cargo” in this context is by reference to a published list of cargoes. The MSA’s position is that if a vessel is carrying a cargo in bulk which appears on this list then the owner/operator must contract with an SPRO in accordance with the Table of Contracting Requirements.
The list contains certain liquefied gases and whilst it may appear somewhat counter-intuitive for such cargoes to require clean-up in the event of a spill, the MSA has specifically confirmed to the IG that gas tankers carrying such cargoes must contract with an SPRO.
Agents offering advisory services
As noted in Notice No. 26 2011/12, certain maritime agency firms in China are offering to act on behalf of owners/operators in finding and contracting with a suitable SPRO.
The companies which have published details of these services are shown below:
China Marine Services
Huatai
Ningbo Qianhe Oil Spill Emergency Service Co. Ltd
It is understood that Ningbo Qianhe Oil Spill Emergency Service Co. Ltd is part of the Qianhe grouping and thereby affiliated to SPROs in a number of Chinese ports.
Qingdao Sunic-Ocean Marine Technology and Service Co., Ltd
Shenzhen Pearl River Ship Service Co., Ltd.
Update 02/05/2012
Updated lists
The latest lists of authorised SPROs and SPRO consortia in the "Materials" section have been updated.
Update 22/03/2012
The International Group has updated the FAQs previously published with our Notice to Members No. 28 2011/12 and the latest version can be found under the “Materials” section above.
Updated lists
As usual, updated lists of authorised SPROs, agents and SPRO consortia are also available in the "Materials" section.
Update 16/03/2012
Zhoushan Hai'an Oil Spill Emergency Treatment Co., Ltd – an SPRO - has issued guidance (
English version, Chinese version) advising that the Zhoushan MSA intend enforcing the requirement to contract with an SPRO as from 19 March 2012. There will however be a further grace period until 19 September 2012 such that if a vessel is unable to conclude a contract prior to arrival for certain (unspecified) reasons it will still be permitted port entry but must then conclude an agreement prior to departure.
Updated lists
Updated lists of authorised SPROs, agents and SPRO consortia are available in the "Materials" section above.
Previous Updates