Applicability: shipowners, ship operators, ship managers and ship masters

Following a notice* published by the Zhoushan Maritime Safety Administration on 29 March 2024, which refers to ships that have experienced equipment failures during departure from the port, new safety measures and survey standards are now in effect for ships repaired at Zhoushan shipyards in China.

These new measures include:

• Classification societies enhancing and improving surveys regarding machinery items, including the main engine, auxiliary engines, steering system and other essential equipment that have been repaired.
• Shipowners and the shipyard reporting repair items to class surveyors.
• Classification societies and the shipyard communicating with shipowners to ensure the related repair items are surveyed. The survey and function testing must be completed and recorded satisfactorily before the endorsement or issuing of certificates.
• When a sea trial is needed for function testing and machinery repair quality verification, a set of short- term certificates may be needed to secure permission from a local port authority to conduct the trial. The Lloyd’s Register Zhoushan office can be contacted for further information (Zhoushan@lr.org).

  In case of substantial machinery failures affecting navigational safety or causing marine pollution, or if an accident affects the ship’s sea worthiness, classification societies will be required to:

• Carry out an occasional survey and issue a survey report.
• Apply remote survey method no more than the allowed scenarios according to IMO Res.A.1186(33).
• Investigate and analyse the related survey quality and report to the Zhoushan MSA.

  Lloyd’s Register Class News 13/2024 | New survey quality controls issued by Zhoushan MSA to reduce machinery failure for ships repaired at Zhoushan shipyard

  Lloyd’s Register Group Limited (Reg. no.08126909) is a limited company registered in England and Wales. Registered office: 71 Fenchurch Street, London, EC3M 4BS, UK. A member of the Lloyd’s Register group. Lloyd’s Register is a trading name of Lloyd’s Register Group Limited and its subsidiaries. For further details please see www.lr.org/entities © Lloyd’s Register Group Limited. 2024.

If any classification society has experienced two or more machinery failures within six months that have caused emergency/risk situations, all ships for which the society is responsible will be considered a priority for Zhoushan Port State Control inspection.

Service suppliers

Classification societies are also required to enhance supervision of their service suppliers to ensure service quality and refuse to adopt service reports that are sub-standard, dishonest or fake.

What we advise shipowners and ship operators to do now

Be aware of the new measures required by ships at Zhoushan shipyards and ensure all repairs and surveys are conducted to the standards required by the Zhoushan MSA and the China MSA.