Regulations of the People’s Republic of China on the Prevention and Control of Marine Pollution from Ships

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. These requirements were modified by revised Detailed Rules published on 14/9/2012.

The Club has published a number of Notices to help guide Members on complying with these Regulations and contracting with SPROs.
We will continue to post updated information on this page.

View all materials produced by the Club on China Pollution Regulations

The revised Detailed Rules published on 14 September 2012 (for details of which please see Notice to Members No. 21 2012/2013) contained provisions concerning the content of SPRO agreements. The International Group consequently issued an amended SPRO agreement wording to take account of those provisions - see Notice to Members No. 24 2012/2013.

Following discussions with SPROs concerning payment periods the International Group issued a revised SPRO agreement wording in December 2014 - see Notice to Members No. 18 2014/2015.

For ease of reference a copy of that amended agreement wording, the slightly revised table of contracting requirements and the IG's recommended letter of authorisation can be found below.

There is only a single SPRO each in the major ports of Ningbo and Zhoushan. Both SPROs have agreed to adopt the International Group's latest sample agreement wording in their contracts, which carry the following footers and can be found below.

Zhoushan Haian Agreement PDF (1.1 MB)
Ningbo Yongjie Agreement PDF (1 MB)
Table of Contracting Requirements PDF (100.6 KB)
IG Sample SPRO Agreement PDF (468.3 KB)

IG Letter of Authorisation PDF (323.7 KB)
IG China SPRO Frequently Asked Questions PDF (365.9 KB)

Qianhe Group

The Club has been made aware of an issue regarding the Qianhe Group, who provide SPRO and sludge services in many ports throughout China. Members with exisiting contracts with the Qianhe Group or consortia or those intending to contract with them are strongly advised to read the Club's News Item dated 21 April, 5 May and 2 June 2015.

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 can be found below.

For more information please visit the China MSA website.

Lists of SPRO Consortia Agents Excel (304.5 KB)
Osro China Service Ports Excel (66.5 KB)

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 linked previously.)

The IG has received clarification from the MSA that what constitutes a “hazardous cargo” in this context is by reference to a published list of cargoes (linked below). 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.

List of Cargoes PDF (1.7 MB)

Agents offering advisory services

Certain maritime agency firms in China offer 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:

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 our Corporate Director, Tony Paulson.