Circular issued by International Group clubs Members have previously been advised in the  International Group Circular 4 November 2009  that the new Regulations of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) on the Prevention and Control of Marine Pollution from Ships (“the Regulations”) (promulgated by the PRC State Council on 9 September) are due to take effect on 1 March 2010.  The previous Circular drew attention to the wide range of issues covered by the Regulations, such as the discharge and reception of oil pollutants; dumping of waste and permissions for dumping; oil pollution response planning; oil spill clean-up arrangements, reporting and emergency handling of pollution incidents; investigation and compensation of pollution incidents; supervision of the loading, lightening and discharging of the polluting hazardous cargoes; a compulsory insurance regime for all ships (except those that are less than 1,000 gt and not carrying oil cargoes) to cover claims arising from oil pollution damage, and penalties for contravening any of the Regulations’ requirements.  Requirement to contract with an approved local clean up contractor The Regulations will require the “operators” of any ship carrying polluting and hazardous cargoes in bulk or of any other vessel above 10,000 gt to conclude a pollution clean up contract with an MSA approved pollution response company before entering a PRC port.   The International Group (IG) understands that the PRC’s Maritime Safety Agency (MSA) has been approving contractors in the various PRC ports, with a view to issuing further complementary regulations that would cover both the response contracts that would need to be concluded by operators and the contractors that had been approved by the MSA.  Following contact with the MSA it is the IG’s understanding that it is likely that this process will not be completed by the effective entry into force date of the Regulations, namely 1 March 2010, and that this