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)