China MSA to revise the ship routing and reporting system for Xiamen port from 01 Mar 2022.
The MSA has announced a revision to the routing and reporting requirements which come into effect from 1 March 2022.
In order to meet the actual navigation needs of Xiamen waters, China MSA recently announced the revised Ship Routing System and Ship Reporting System in Xiamen Water Area, which will take effect on 01 March 2022. According to the revised Ship Routing System, ships of 50,000 tons and above shall use the deep-water route for inward and outward journeys to and from Dongdu, Haicang and Zhaoyin Port of Xiamen. The current requirement for ships draft over 12.5 meters to use the deep water route will be removed but it requests ships going in or coming out from Houshi Port to use the South Channel and Houshi Channel of Xiamen port rather than the deep-water route. The deep-water route has been widened from 450m to 560-641m and the depth datum of main channel deepened from -15.0m to -16.70m. The navigation capacity is increased from150,000 tons to200,000 tons and the length of route is adjusted from 9.56 nm to 9.13 nm.
The revised Ship Reporting System is applicable to all foreign ships. It replaces the original reporting point of Jiujiejiao and sets up a new reporting line of the Qinqyu Lighthouse, and it specifies the longitude and latitude coordinates of reporting lines(points) including West Reporting Line, Qingyu Lighthouse Reporting Line, Zhenhaijiao Lighthouse and Tuyu Reporting Point. The revision is also applicable t oships of restricted maneuverability. Ships shall report their dynamic information to VTS under the following two circumstances:
- Ships having problem with the main engine, steering gear, positioning system or other key navigation safety equipment.
- Ship’s AIS system is out of order
In addition, the revised Ship Reporting System change the VHF working channels. The Xiamen VTS area will be divided into two zones, i.e. inside and outside the port with the boundary of the Qingyu Lighthouse Reporting Line. The working channel outside the port is VHF 67 while that of outside the port is VHF 08. Any ship violating the rules of the above 2 revised systems shall facetheadministrative penalty or other administrative compulsory measures imposedby MSA in accordance with relevant laws and regulations.
We recommend our members to exercise caution when navigating in the area and confirm that the navigation charts and publications are updated to the latest information.
Source: Standard P&I