Date: 06 November 2024

Oasis Circular No.: 2409

Subject: Ships may be subject to penalty for failure to use shore power when calling Chinese ports

Recently, ships are reported penalized by local maritime authorities in China for failure to use shore power when they are supposed to in line with relevant laws. A summary of the local requirements is given below to assist our clients to be compliant and to avoid possible penalties.

Applicable ships and the specific requirements

According to Article 11 of the "Measures for the Administration of Port and Ship on the Shore Power (amended in 2021)”, ships (except tankers) that are installed with shore power system and stayed for more than 3 hours at berths with shore power facilities in coastal ports, or for more than 2 hours at berths with shore power facilities in Chinese inland river ports, if no effective alternative measures are taken, shall use shore power.

The above requirement applies to ships that are installed with shore power system staying at berths with shore power facilities in Chinese ports. If the ship is not installed with shore power system, or the berth is not equipped with shore power facilities, or the ship stays at berth for fewer hours than provided above, use of shore power is not compulsory.

Ships are required to make a record of the usage of shore power and retain it for at least 2 years. The record shall include the berth name, the ship’s name, ship’s arrival and departure time, the time of use, the electricity consumption, etc. In case of malfunction, the exact time, the details of malfunction, and the time of repairing shall also be recorded.

Violation and possible penalty

Ships may be fined by the local maritime authorities if all the following conditions are met simultaneously, unless the exemptions mentioned above apply:

1.         Ships are not using clean energy (electricity, LNG and other clean energy);

2.         Ships are equipped with shore power system;

3.         Ships are staying at berths with shore power facilities; and

4.         Failure to use shore power in accordance with relevant laws and regulations.

Ships may be subject to a fine of between CNY10,000 and CNY100,000, and in case of serious violations, a fine of between CNY100,000 and CNY500,000.

Ships may be exempted from penalty under below conditions

1.         Malfunctioning of shipboard devices which results in ship’s failure in using shore power. Record should be made and repair was carried out timely by the ship.

2.         Ships cannot use shore power due to ship-shore devices are not compatible with each other, or other reasons attribute to the port side. In that scenario, ships shall record the situation in detail and report to local maritime authorities in time.

3.         Emergency situation occurred that makes the use of shore power impracticable. For instance, adverse weather, accident etc.

4.         Ships are using electric energy, LNG, and other new and clean energy as power when berthed at a port. Alternately, turn off the auxiliary engine or take other equivalent measure when berthed.

The voltages and frequencies of shore power system are not unified currently among Chinese ports

As far as we know, the voltage and frequency of the shore power system (shore-based devices) at various Chinese ports are not unified at present. In the meantime, ships shall be equipped with shore connection cable for using the shore power.

Suggestions

1.        When calling at Chinese ports, ships are recommended to check with the local agents in advance on whether the use of shore power is practicable and provide the technical parameters of the shipboard devices to the port for reference.

2.        Ships shall apply to use shore power if applicable if she stays at a berth for more than 2 hours (for inland river ports) or 3 hours (for coastal ports).

3.        In case the usage of shore power is not practicable at certain ports, such as the power capacity of shipboard devices and onshore devices are not compatible with each other, equipment malfunctions, weather conditions, etc., ships shall report to local maritime authorities immediately and properly record the situation in detail.

We hope the above will be of assistance. If there is any query, please feel free to contact

us at oasis@oasispandi.com at any time.

Best regards,

Oasis P&I Services Company Limited