Oasis Circular No.: 2206

Date: 18 July 2022

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

Following our last circular on the subject, we hereby provide an update of the latest situations in China 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

Local epidemic situation has been on the back to normal since this Jun., however, rare permission had been approved. 

Latest epidemic control policy on vessels calling the port

The customs’ PCR test is generally focus on the vessels with crew changes within 14 days before arrival.

Whether positive crewmembers can disembark

Changed, and likely to be approval.

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

The previous request of PCR test for all international sailing vessels has been cancelled. For international vessels, the customs’ current PCR test is generally focused on the vessels with crew changes within 14 days before arrival. There is an exception of the above, upon both of the port operation and the vessel’s guarantee of non-contact cargo operation, the exemption of PCR test may be granted by the customs case by case.

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

Changed, the customs’ current PCR test is generally focus on the vessels with crew changes within 14 days before arrival, and case by case.

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

Changed, the customs’ current PCR test is generally focus on the vessels with crew changes within 14 days before arrival, and case by case

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

Changed, the customs’ current PCR test is generally focus on the vessels with crew changes within 14 days before arrival, and case by case

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 7+3 days quarantine afterwards, and the quarantine period will be longer if surveyor enters the accommodation area.

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/ NAT test for vessels that have had crew change within 14 days, subject to the Custom’s determination on the actual situation of vessel and crew.

Whether positive crewmembers can disembark

Positive crew members can disembark at application.

Tangshan & Caofeidian

Whether surveyors’ attendance on board is allowed

Essential survey attendance may be allowed upon application, subject to 14 days quarantine after disembarkation.

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

Jingtang: NAT test will be conducted for the new on-signers if crew change was made within 14 days and the cargo operation will be allowed after the negative result is available.

Caofeidian: Different terminals apply different control measures.

Whether positive crewmembers can disembark

No.

Qinhuangdao

Whether surveyors’ attendance on board is allowed

Essential survey attendance may be allowed upon application, subject to 14 days quarantine after disembarkation.

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 NAT test will be conducted to the full crew and the cargo operation will be allowed after the negative result is available.

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Whether positive crewmembers can disembark

No.

Qingdao

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 country within 14 days before arrival, PCR tests will be done by customs for the new-joined crewmember(s) after the vessel gets alongside. Whether positive crewmembers can disembark

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

Longkou

Whether surveyors’ attendance on board is allowed

No.

Whether change of Chinese crew members is allowed

Yes. But in practice, there is some restriction, for example, the new joined crewmembers may be demanded to be isolated at Longkou port, so Chinese crewmember change is not common at Longkou port.

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, the vessel usually needs to wait in the anchorage until 14 days have elapsed since change of the crew. The vessel can apply to customs for PCR test at anchorage. The approval is subject to customs’ discretion. If the vessel comes from a high risk country, the customs will assess the risk on a case by case basis and decide whether PCR test is required.

Whether positive crewmembers can disembark

No.

Rizhao/Lanshan

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 country within 14 days before arrival, PCR tests will be done by customs for new-joined crewmember(s) after the vessel gets alongside.

If the terminal issues a letter to promise the strengthening of measures to control the spreading of Covid-19 and will bear the risk by themselves, subject to the approval of the authority, the PCR test may be exempted.

Whether positive crewmembers can disembark

Generally, Chinese positive crew members can disembark subject 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

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, the local customs usually attends the vessel to do PCR test for the new-joined crewmember after vessel berths.  The customs also paid special attention to the vessels which called Indian port recently.

Whether positive crewmembers can disembark

It is very hard for the foreign positive crewmember to disembark at Yantai port.

Lianyungang

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 country within 14 days before arrival, PCR tests will be done by customs for new-joined crewmember(s) after the vessel gets alongside.

If the terminal and the ship issue a letter to ensure that they will strengthen the measures to control the spreading of Covid-19, subject to the approval of the authority, the PCR test can be exempted.

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

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 country within 14 days before arrival, PCR tests will be done by customs for new-joined crewmember(s) after the vessel gets alongside.

Whether positive crewmembers can disembark

Covid-19 case rarely happens at Weihai port. Positive foreign crewmembers 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 the vessel firstly calls other Chinese port before Shidao shipyard, the vessel shall apply to the customs of the first calling Chinese port for PCR test.

Whether positive crewmembers can disembark

Positive Chinese crew members can disembark. Foreign crew members who are positive are seldom allowed to disembark. .

Penglai

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 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

Covid-19 case rarely happens at Penglai port.Positive foreign crewmembers are seldom allowed to disembark.

Shanghai and ports on Yangtze River

Whether surveyors’ attendance on board is allowed

Some shipyards may allow surveyors to board subject to PCR test reports. In other cases, the surveyors usually are not allowed to attend on board the vessel. If survey on board is very necessary, the attending surveyor needed to be quarantined for at least 10 days after disembarkation, and the surveyor will also charge for survey fee during the quarantine period.

In rare cases, if survey on board is very necessary, subject to Club/Member’s confirmation, the survey company may sub-contract semi-official surveyor CCIC to attend on board and guide them to carry out survey. As CCIC has designated teams to attend on board in a normal way and does not need to be quarantined immediately after disembarkation. Such arrangement currently is only available at Changshu Port, Zhangjiagang Port, Taicang Port, Yangzhou Port and Jiangyin Port.

Whether change of Chinese crew members is allowed

Yes.

Whether change of foreign crew members is allowed

Signing off of foreign crew members is possible in Shanghai. Signing off of foreign crew members is not allowed in the ports on Yangtze River.

Latest epidemic control policy on vessels calling the port

Shanghai: The high-risk countries list was cancelled recently. But if the vessel called Indian ports before her calling of Shanghai port, some terminals may demand disinfection and/or even PCR test to crewmembers before cargo operation

Nanjing: PCR test may be arranged to the crew upon berthing if the vessel had crew change at foreign port within 14 days, or called any high risk country within 28 days, or will have crew change at Nanjing, or the vessel will proceed to shipyard after departing from Nanjing

Zhenjiang: PCR test may be arranged to the crew upon berthing if the vessel had crew change at foreign port within 14 days or called any high risk country within 21 days,or will have crew change at Zhenjiang, or the vessel will proceed to shipyard after departing from Zhenjiang.

Changzhou: PCR test may be arranged to the crew upon berthing if the vessel had crew change at foreign port within 14 days or called any high risk country within 21 days.

Jiangyin:PCR test may be arranged to the crew upon berthing if the vessel had crew change at foreign port within 14 days or called any high risk country within 21 days.

Nantong: PCR test may be arranged to the crew upon berthing if the vessel had crew change at foreign port within 14 days or called any high risk country within 21 days.

Taicang: The high-risk countries list was cancelled recently.PCR test may be arranged to the crew upon berthing if the vessel had crew change at foreign port within 14 days, or will have crew change at Taicang, or the vessel will proceed to shipyard after departing from Taicang

If there was once positive crew on board the vessel, the vessel is allowed to enter the port after 14 days counting from the day that the crew change has completed; or the vessel can enter the port directly without any waiting, but all the crew on board the vessel needs PCR test before cargo operation. If any positive crew is found on board, the vessel will be ordered to depart directly without any cargo operation.

Changshu: The high-risk countries list was cancelled recently.PCR test may be arranged to the crew upon berthing if the vessel had crew change at foreign port within 14 days, or will have crew change at Changshu, or the vessel will proceed to shipyard after departing from Changshu

Remarks: high risk countries are India, Thailand, Myanmar, Bhutan, Laos, Mongolia, Russia, Cambodia, Nepal, Pakistan and Bangladesh

Whether positive crewmembers can disembark

For positive Chinese crew members, most ports allow the crew members to disembark, except Taicang Port.If any positive crew is found on board when she calls at Taicang, the vessel will be ordered to depart directly without any cargo operation.

For positive foreign crew members, ports such as Nanjing, Zhangjiagang and Nantong may allow the crew members to disembark for quarantine and treatment. Generally speaking, 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

The foreign crew is not allowed to sign-off except the case of urgent injury or illness, however, the foreign crew is allowed to sign-on after he/she is quarantined for 21 days at Xiamen before embarkation.

Latest epidemic control policy on vessels calling the port

The local policy is considered on a case by case basis,historyof ship calling/crew change in the past 14 days shall be reported.

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