Oasis Circular No.: 2204

Date: 08 May 2022

Subject: An update on latest Covid-19 restrictions in China

As a result of China’sdynamic zero-Covid policy, the relevant control restrictions at Chinese ports are still in place, which have been further enhanced recently due to regional outbreaks. Based on our extensive experiences in various ports, we summarize the situation at major ports as follows for your kind reference.

Dalian

Whether surveyors’ attendance on board is allowed

No, except attendance on board ships at shipyards subject to quarantine requirements.

Whether change of Chinese crew members is allowed

Yes.

Whether change of foreign crew members is allowed

Not feasible for the time being, but it may improve with development of local epidemic control situation. The application is usually considered case by case.

Latest epidemic control policy on vessels calling the port

An international sailing vessel needs to submit the crew health check form to the customs before getting berthed. Generally, if the vessel has changed crew within 14 days before arrival, the customs will conduct PCR test to the crew.

If the test results are negative, then the vessel can proceed with cargo operation normally.

If the test results show any of the crew members is positive, there are following possibilities:

l  A vessel in ballast condition scheduled to load cargo here will be persuaded to sail away.

l  A vessel loaded with cargo scheduled to unload them here may or may not be allowed to conduct cargo operation, depending on the circumstances.

l  A vessel carrying crude oil or LNG may be allowed to discharge on condition of contactless operation while the positive crewmembers are quarantined on board.

Whether positive crewmembers can disembark

If a vessel arrives in ballast condition scheduled to load cargo or conduct repair work here, positive crew members can hardly disembark.

If a vessel arrives to discharge cargo, it is likely that the disembarkation application of positive crewmembers can be approved.

Bayuquan

Whether surveyors’ attendance on board is allowed

No.

Whether change of Chinese crew members is allowed

Yes.

Whether change of foreign crew members is allowed

No.

Latest epidemic control policy on vessels calling the port

An international sailing vessel needs to submit the crew health check form to the customs before getting berthed. All international sailing vessels need to receive PCR test to the crew, no matter the last port is a Chinese port or a foreign port. The initial PRC test will be conducted by Bayuquan Central Hospital; if the result is not negative, the re-check shall be conducted by the customs.

If the test results are negative, then the ship can proceed with cargo operation normally.

If the test results show any of the crew members is positive, the decision is made on a case by case basis, and it is likely that discharge operation may be arranged under strict epidemic control conditions. However, the contactless operation for bulk cargo may not be able to discharge all the cargo on board, which brings about potential shortage claims.

Whether positive crewmembers can disembark

Generally, foreign crew members who are tested positive are not allowed to disembark. Positive Chinese crew members cannot disembark either, except in some special circumstances, where disembarkation approval needs to be obtained from Liaoning provincial authorities which may take quite some time.

Panjin

Whether surveyors’ attendance on board is allowed

No.

Whether change of Chinese crew members is allowed

Yes.

Whether change of foreign crew members is allowed

No.

Latest epidemic control policy on vessels calling the port

All international sailing vessels need to receive PCR test to the crew.Specific control measures are considered on a case by case basis.

Whether positive crewmembers can disembark

Generally, foreign crew members who are tested positive are not allowed to disembark. Positive Chinese crew members cannot disembark either, except in some special circumstances, where disembarkation approval needs to be obtained from Liaoning provincial authorities which may take quite some time.

Jinzhou

Whether surveyors’ attendance on board is allowed

CCIC surveyors may be able to attend on board that are in the closed circuit quarantine management of the port. Surveyors of private firms are not able to attend on board.

Whether change of Chinese crew members is allowed

Yes.

Whether change of foreign crew members is allowed

No.

Latest epidemic control policy on vessels calling the port

The local authorities will decide whether to conduct PCR tests to the crew depending on whether the vessel has called any high risk areas or countries.

Whether positive crewmembers can disembark

Generally, positive crew members cannot disembark, except in some special circumstances, where disembarkation approval needs to be obtained from relevant authorities which may take some time.

Dandong

Whether surveyors’ attendance on board is allowed

No.

Whether change of Chinese crew members is allowed

Yes.

Whether change of foreign crew members is allowed

No.

Latest epidemic control policy on vessels calling the port

An international sailing vessel needs to submit the crew health check form to the customs before getting berthed. All international sailing vessels need to receive PCR test to the crew. If the last port of call is a Chinese port, the PCR test will be arranged by local health authorities; if the last port of call is a foreign port, the PCR test will be arranged by the local health authorities and the local customs jointly.

If the test results show any of the crew members is positive, the decision is made on a case by case basis, and it is likely that discharge operation may be arranged under strict epidemic control conditions.

Whether positive crewmembers can disembark

Generally, foreign crew members who are tested positive are not allowed to disembark. Positive Chinese crew members may be allowed to disembark, depending on the circumstances.

Tianjin

Whether surveyors’ attendance on board is allowed

Surveyors can apply to board the vessel, but will be subject to 14-21 days quarantine afterwards.

Whether change of Chinese crew members is allowed

Yes.

Whether change of foreign crew members is allowed

Foreign crew members can be signed off after application, if the relevant conditions are met and necessary procedures followed.

Latest epidemic control policy on vessels calling the port

Different terminals apply different control measures. There may be quarantine measures for vessels that have had crew change within 14 days, but this doesn’t apply to all ships or all terminals.

Whether positive crewmembers can disembark

Positive crew members can disembark at application.

Tangshan & Caofeidian

Whether surveyors’ attendance on board is allowed

No.

Whether change of Chinese crew members is allowed

Yes.

Whether change of foreign crew members is allowed

No.

Latest epidemic control policy on vessels calling the port

Different terminals apply different control measures.

Whether positive crewmembers can disembark

No.

Qinhuangdao

Whether surveyors’ attendance on board is allowed

No.

Whether change of Chinese crew members is allowed

Yes.

Whether change of foreign crew members is allowed

No.

Latest epidemic control policy on vessels calling the port

Ships are asked to conduct disinfection at the anchorage with equipments on board and provide the video of such operation to the authorities, before they are allowed to berth. After berthing, the customs will conduct PCR tests to the crew.

Whether positive crewmembers can disembark

No.

Qingdao

Whether surveyors’ attendance on board is allowed

No, except the surveyors that are in the closed circuit quarantine management of the port.

Whether change of Chinese crew members is allowed

Yes.

Whether change of foreign crew members is allowed

Foreign crew members can be signed off subject to the local authorities’ approval.

Latest epidemic control policy on vessels calling the port

The following vessels will receive PCR test to the crew upon berthing: (1) vessels that have had crew change within 14 days in a foreign port; (2) vessels that have had crew change in the last foreign port of call; (3) vessels that have called India within 21 days or have crew members on board who have travel history in India.

Whether positive crewmembers can disembark

Positive Chinese crew members can disembark. Foreign crew members who are positive may be allowed to disembark too subject to necessary approval procedures.

Longkou

Whether surveyors’ attendance on board is allowed

No, except the surveyors that are in the closed circuit quarantine management of the port.

Whether change of Chinese crew members is allowed

Yes.

Whether change of foreign crew members is allowed

No.

Latest epidemic control policy on vessels calling the port

If a vessel has changed crew within 14 days in a foreign country before arrival, she needs to apply to the local customs for PCR test upon berthing, otherwise, she needs to wait in the anchorage until 14 days have elapsed since change of the crew. If a vessel has called any high risk country or any crew member on board has travel history to any high risk country within 21 days, the vessel needs to apply to the customs to receive PCR test upon berthing, otherwise, she needs to wait in the anchorage until 21 days have elapsed since such calling or travelling.

Whether positive crewmembers can disembark

No.

Rizhao/Lanshan

Whether surveyors’ attendance on board is allowed

No, except the surveyors that are in the closed circuit quarantine management of the port.

Whether change of Chinese crew members is allowed

Yes.

Whether change of foreign crew members is allowed

No.

Latest epidemic control policy on vessels calling the port

If a vessel has changed crew in a foreign country within 14 days before arrival, PCR tests will be arranged to the crew members who have newly joined the ship.

Whether positive crewmembers can disembark

Generally, Chinese positive crew members can disembarksubject to necessary approval procedures. Foreign crew members who are tested positive may be sent to a local quarantine hospital during the cargo operation and sent back to the vessel after completion of the cargo operation to sail away with the vessel.

Yantai

Whether surveyors’ attendance on board is allowed

No, except the surveyors that are in the closed circuit quarantine management of the port.

Whether change of Chinese crew members is allowed

Yes.

Whether change of foreign crew members is allowed

No.

Latest epidemic control policy on vessels calling the port

If a vessel has changed crew within 14 days in a foreign country before arrival, she needs to apply to the local customs for PCR test upon berthing. If a vessel has called any high risk country or any crew member on board has travel history to any high risk country within 21 days, the vessel needs to apply to the customs to receive PCR test upon berthing.

Whether positive crewmembers can disembark

Positive Chinese crew members can disembark. Foreign crew members who are positive may be allowed to disembark too subject to necessary approval procedures.

Lianyungang

Whether surveyors’ attendance on board is allowed

No,except the surveyors that are in the closed circuit quarantine management of the port.

Whether change of Chinese crew members is allowed

Yes.

Whether change of foreign crew members is allowed

No.

Latest epidemic control policy on vessels calling the port

If a vessel has changed crew within 14 days before arrival, she needs to apply to the local customs for PCR test upon berthing. If a vessel has called any high risk country or any crew member on board has travel history to any high risk country within 21 days, the vessel needs to apply to the customs to receive PCR test upon berthing.

Whether positive crewmembers can disembark

Positive Chinese crew members can disembark. Foreign crew members who are positive may be allowed to disembark too subject to necessary approval procedures.

Weihai

Whether surveyors’ attendance on board is allowed

Surveyors who boarded an international sailing vessel need to be quarantined for 7+7 days afterwards and the approval procedures of boarding permit is very strict.

Whether change of Chinese crew members is allowed

Yes.

Whether change of foreign crew members is allowed

No.

Latest epidemic control policy on vessels calling the port

If a vessel has changed crew within 14 days before arrival, she needs to apply to the local customs for PCR test upon berthing.

Whether positive crewmembers can disembark

Positive crew members are seldom allowed to disembark.

Shidao shipyard

Whether surveyors’ attendance on board is allowed

Yes but the surveyor needs to hold valid PCR test report and may be subject to quarantine afterwards.

Whether change of Chinese crew members is allowed

Yes.

Whether change of foreign crew members is allowed

No.

Latest epidemic control policy on vessels calling the port

If a vessel has departed from the last foreign port of call or has changed crew within 14 days before arrival, she needs wait in the anchorage until 14 days has elapsed since such departure or change of crew before she is allowed to berth.

All the crew on all the vessels needs to receive PCR tests upon berthing. If a vessel has departed from the last foreign port of call or has changed crew more than 14 days but less than 28 days before arrival, the crew needs to receive PCR tests for 3 times. If a vessel has departed from the last foreign port of call or has changed crew more than 28 days before arrival, the crew needs to receive PCR test once.

Whether positive crewmembers can disembark

Positive Chinese crew members can disembark. Foreign crew members who are positive seldom allowed to disembark too subject to necessary approval procedures.

Penglai

Whether surveyors’ attendance on board is allowed

No,except the surveyors that are in the closed circuit quarantine management of the port.

Whether change of Chinese crew members is allowed

Yes.

Whether change of foreign crew members is allowed

No.

Latest epidemic control policy on vessels calling the port

If a vessel has changed crew in a foreign country within 14 days before arrival, PCR tests will be arranged to the crew members who have newly joined the ship.

Whether positive crewmembers can disembark

Positive crew members are seldom allowed to disembark.

Shanghai and ports on Yangtze River

Whether surveyors’ attendance on board is allowed

No, except vessels in some shipyards who may allow surveyors to board subject to PCR test reports. Furthermore, cities such as Shanghai, Taicang and Jiangyin are currently in full or partial lockdown, therefore, even a survey without the need to board the ship may be difficult to arrange due to traffic restrictions and personnel movement restrictions.

Whether change of Chinese crew members is allowed

Yes. However, as mentioned above, some cities are in full or partial lockdown, so even if the general policy allows change of crew, it may be impossible to arrange in practice currently.

Whether change of foreign crew members is allowed

Signing off of foreign crew members was possible in Shanghai, but is currently impossible due to lockdown of the whole city. Signing off of foreign crew members is not allowed in the ports on Yangtze River.

Latest epidemic control policy on vessels calling the port

Zhenjiang: PCR test may be arranged to the crew upon berthing.

Changzhou: Vessels that have called any high risk country within 21 days or have any crew member that has travel history to any high risk country within 21 days are suggested to wait in the anchorage until 21 days has elapsed since such call or travel before she gets berthed.

Jiangyin: Vessels arriving for cargo operation from a high risk country needs to wait until 14 days have elapsed before she can get berthed. Vessels arriving for ship repair from a high risk country needs to wait until 28 days have elapsed before she can get berthed.

Taicang: Vessels arriving from high risk countries or having had crew change in the last foreign port of call need to receive PCR tests to the whole crew.

Changshu: Vessels have called high risk countries within 21 days or have arranged crew change in a foreign port within 14 days need to receive PCR test to the whole crew.

Nantong: Vessels that have called high risk countries within 14 days need to receive PCR test to the whole crew.

Whether positive crewmembers can disembark

Positive Chinese crew members are allowed to disembark. For positive foreign crew members, ports such as Nanjing, Zhangjiagang and Nantong may allow the crew members to disembark for quarantine and treatment. Generally the decision is made on case by case basis.

Ningbo

Whether surveyors’ attendance on board is allowed

No, except the surveyors who are in the closed circuit quarantine management of the port.

Whether change of Chinese crew members is allowed

Yes.

Whether change of foreign crew members is allowed

No.

Latest epidemic control policy on vessels calling the port

If a vessel has changed crew in a foreign country within 14 days before arrival, PCR tests will be arranged to the crew members who have newly joined the ship. If there is crew member who has recent infection history though tested negative now, or crew member who has shown symptoms of fever or coughing, the customs may arrange PCR test to the crew.

Whether positive crewmembers can disembark

If positive crew members are detected on a container ship or bulk ship, the port authorities may refuse the ship to conduct any cargo operation and ask her to sail away for crew change in a foreign port after which she can return for cargo operation. For chemical tankers, if positive crew members are found after berthing, contactless cargo operation may be permitted, but if positive crew members are found before berthing, the ship’s berthing application may be rejected.

Zhoushan

Whether surveyors’ attendance on board is allowed

No, except the surveyors who are in the closed circuit quarantine management of the port.

Whether change of Chinese crew members is allowed

Yes. It is relatively easier to arrange crew change whilst the vessels are having repairs in the shipyards. For vessels that call for cargo operation, whether crew change can take place largely depend on the berthing arrangement of the terminal and availability of quarantine hotel.

Whether change of foreign crew members is allowed

No.

Latest epidemic control policy on vessels calling the port

If a vessel has changed crew in a foreign country within 14 days before arrival, PCR tests will be arranged to the crew members who have newly joined the ship. If there is crew member who has recent infection history though tested negative now, or crew member who has shown symptoms of fever or coughing, the customs may arrange PCR test to the crew.

Whether positive crewmembers can disembark

If a vessel arrives for ship repair and any positive crew member are detected, the shipyard will coordinate with the local government to arrange the positive crew members to be quarantined in a local hotel, and the ship may only commence repair work after 14 days’ quarantine; furthermore, it is possible the ship can only depart after the positive crewmembers turned negative and returned to the ship.

If a vessel arrives for cargo operation and positive crew members are detected,the vessel might be asked to sail away by the authorities. In some cases, it may be possible to arrange contactless cargo operation or arrange the positive crewmembers to disembark for quarantine.However, the whole process including cargo operation, application to various authorities and quarantine will take quite long time, and additional claims and costs such as terminal loss of use claims and agency fees etc. will be incurred.

Fuzhou

Whether surveyors’ attendance on board is allowed

Generally, no. But for vessels in some shipyards, local surveyors may be allowed to board the ship after application.

Whether change of Chinese crew members is allowed

Yes. Whether change of foreign crew members is allowed

No.

Latest epidemic control policy on vessels calling the port

The local policy is considered on a case by case basis.

Whether positive crewmembers can disembark

Positive crew members may be allowed to disembark upon application.

Xiamen

Whether surveyors’ attendance on board is allowed

No.

Whether change of Chinese crew members is allowed

Yes.

Whether change of foreign crew members is allowed

No.

Latest epidemic control policy on vessels calling the port

The local policy is considered on a case by case basis.

Whether positive crewmembers can disembark

Positive crew members should be disembarked before cargo operation can commence.

Yangpu

Whether surveyors’ attendance on board is allowed

No.

Whether change of Chinese crew members is allowed

Yes.

Whether change of foreign crew members is allowed

No.

Latest epidemic control policy on vessels calling the port

The local policy is considered on a case by case basis.

Whether positive crewmembers can disembark

Positive crew members are hardly allowed to disembark.

Shantou

Whether surveyors’ attendance on board is allowed

No.

Whether change of Chinese crew members is allowed

Yes.

Whether change of foreign crew members is allowed

No.

Latest epidemic control policy on vessels calling the port

If a vessel has changed crew in a foreign port of call, she can only get berthed after 21 days have elapsed.

Whether positive crewmembers can disembark

Positive crew members are hardly allowed to disembark.

Guangzhou

Whether surveyors’ attendance on board is allowed

Application is need and surveyors are subject to quarantine afterwards.

Whether change of Chinese crew members is allowed

Yes.

Whether change of foreign crew members is allowed

No.

Latest epidemic control policy on vessels calling the port

If a vessel has changed crew in a foreign port of call within 14 days before arrival, the local customs will conduct PCR test to the crew.

Whether positive crewmembers can disembark

Positive crew members may be allowed to disembark after application.

Shenzhen

Whether surveyors’ attendance on board is allowed

Application is need and surveyors are subject to quarantine afterwards.

Whether change of Chinese crew members is allowed

Yes.

Whether change of foreign crew members is allowed

No.

Latest epidemic control policy on vessels calling the port

If a vessel has changed crew in a foreign port of call within 14 days before arrival, the local customs will conduct PCR test to the crew.

Whether positive crewmembers can disembark

Positive crew members may be allowed to disembark after application.

We hope the above is of assistance. Needless to say, the situation is fluid and the policy may change quickly. Owners are always recommended to check with the local agent for the latest requirement and information in case of need.

If there is any query, please feel free to contact us at oasis@oasispandi.com anytime.

Best regards,

Oasis P&I Services Company Limited