Ban on Transportation of Highly Toxic Chemicals in the Yangtze River Basin

Oasis P&I has issued a circular detailing the new law, noting:

• 51 states: “It is prohibited to transport highly toxic chemicals and other dangerous chemicals forbidden to be transported by inland river in the Yangtze River Basin.”
• 90 states: “Those who violate the provisions of this law, transport those highly toxic chemicals and other dangerous chemicals forbidden to be transported by inland river in the Yangtze River Basin, shall be ordered by the competent department of transportation or the MSA at or above the county level to correct their action, their illegal gains shall be confiscated and they shall be fined not less than CNY200,000 but not more than CNY 2.0 million, and the persons in charge and other directly responsible persons shall be fined not less than CNY 50,000 but not more than CNY 100,000. If the circumstances are serious, they shall be ordered to suspend their business for rectification or have their relevant business license revoked.”
• Shanghai MSA issued a Notice on 18 Feb 2021 that elaborated on the restriction of “Highly toxic chemicals” and “Other dangerous chemicals forbidden to be transported by inland river”. According to the Notice:
  • “Highly toxic chemicals” are those chemicals marked as “highly toxic” in the remarks column of the Catalogue of Hazardous Chemicals (2015 Edition) formulated by the General Administration of Safety Supervision in conjunction with the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology
  • “Other dangerous chemicals forbidden to be transported by inland river” are the chemicals listed in the Catalogue of Prohibited Dangerous Chemicals by Inland River (2019 Edition) formulated by the Ministry of Transport in conjunction with the Ministry of Ecological Environment. According to this Catalogue, 228 types of dangerous chemical cargo are totally forbidden to be transported by inland river regardless of its packing and the other 85 types of dangerous chemical cargo are forbidden to be transported by inland river in bulk.
• According to Shanghai MSA, punishment mainly refers to the carrier who transports the prohibited goods in the Yangtze River in violation of the Law. However, if the carrier transports the goods without the knowledge of what is being transported because the shipper or the cargo owner falsely declares the prohibited goods, the MSA will also punish the shipper according to the regulations.
• The regulation is applicable to the export, import, transit, and transfer of the prohibited goods in the Yangtze River Basin.

Oasis P&I suggest that before accepting the booking of chemicals for shipment which will be transported in the Yangtze River Basin, owners or carriers should take measures to verify whether the shipment belongs to the Catalogues mentioned above, including requesting the shipper/client to submit exact cargo information, customs code, UN No., CAS code, technical specification and relevant license of the shipment. If the nature of the chemical goods is not clear before transportation, the concerned party is suggested to appoint a qualified third‐party inspection institute for identification of the cargo or to liaise with the local MSA (via agent) to have the cargo verified.

Oasis P&I Circular 2103 can be read here.