The Britannia Steam Ship Insurance Association Limited Managers Tindall Riley (Britannia) Limited New City Court 20 St Thomas Street London SE1 9RR Tel +44 (0)20 7407 3588 Fax +44 (0)20 7403 3942 www.britanniapandi.com The Britannia Steam Ship Insurance Association Limited Registered Office: New City Court, 20 St Thomas Street, London SE1 9RR Registered number 10340 England Authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority 12 November 2009 TO ALL MEMBERS OF CLASS 3 PROTECTION AND INDEMNITY Dear Sirs Regulations of the People’s Republic of China on the Prevention and Control of Marine Pollution from Ships Background On 1 March 2010, the 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 2009) will take effect. The aim of the Regulations is to establish comprehensive rules governing oil pollution prevention, response and clean up within PRC waters. The intention of this circular is to summarise the key provisions of the Regulations. The International Group (IG) understands that the PRC’s Maritime Safety Agency (MSA) is drafting further implementing legislation to give effect to a number of the provisions contained in the Regulations, including the requirement to contract with approved pollution response companies and the requirement to maintain insurance or other financial security to cover liabilities arising from oil pollution damage. The IG will continue to engage with the MSA in this regard and, as appropriate, the Association will issue further circulars. Overview The Regulations cover a wide range of issues, 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, lightering and discharging of polluting hazardous cargoes; and penalties for contravening any of the Regulations’. The Regulations also introduce into PRC law 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. This would also seem to provide the necessary implementing legislation to give effect to the insurance provisions of the International Convention on Civil Liability for Bunker Oil Pollution Damage, 2001 (2001 Bunkers Convention) (which the PRC ratified at the end of 2008) and the 1992 International Convention on Civil Liability for Oil Pollution Damage (1992 CLC) (which the PRC ratified some years ago). 19198_TindallRiley_Class3_Protection&Indemnity_r2.qxd:Layout 1 9/11/09 11:10 Page 1 The Regulations also make provision for the establishment of a domestic Ship Oil Pollution Compensation Fund, to be funded by contributions from receivers of persistent oil cargoes (or their agents) which have been transported by sea to a Chinese port. ( The PRC is not a State party to the 1992 International Convention on the Establishment of an International Fund for Compensation for Oil Pollution Damage (1992 IOPC Fund)). The MSA will be the designated authority for enforcing the Regulations and is therefore the responsible agency for the specific supervision and administration of prevention and control of marine pollution by ships and relevant ship operation activities. Overall r