The captains of foreign cargo ships will face detention by maritime law enforcement bodies if they are caught illegally dumping chemical waste in local waterways, maritime officials announced yesterday.

In the past, captains of such ships would simply face a fine.

Chen Aiping, director of the Shanghai Maritime Safety Administration, said the local maritime authority is taking stronger steps to deal with foreign ship pollution in the future, at a news conference yesterday to announce launching of a week-long international navigation meeting that begins today.

More than 500 representatives from global maritime safety administrations from 44 countries and regions will attend the quadrennial meeting of the International Association of Maritime Aids to Lighthouse Authorities (IALA).

This is the first time the meeting has been held in China. Participants will discuss the development of digital navigation assistance systems, according to local maritime officials.

The Chinese maritime authority had been playing an active role in promoting better navigation assistance systems since joining the association in the early 1980s, said the Chinese maritime officials yesterday.

"The level of China's navigation assistance systems is now in accordance with developed countries, especially the Automatic Identification System," said official Chen Aiping.

The AIS system helps port authorities to get all the needed information about a ship as well as its sailing route along the sea.

"With the help of the AIS systems, Shanghai maritime authorities are becoming more effective in seizing foreign chemical vessels that illegally dump harmful waste into local sea areas," Chen said.

Chen said Shanghai maritime authorities caught and fined the captains of more than a dozen foreign chemical cargo vessels for illegal dumping last year at the mouth of the Yangtze River.

In the future, captains could be held for several days if they are found dumping waste.

(Shanghai Daily May 22, 2006)