A total of 3,140 vessels in Taizhou qualify for the pilot policy this year. [Photo/WeChat account: tzfabu]
Taizhou city in East China's Jiangsu province has introduced a policy on a trial basis, exempting eligible small vessels from annual inspections.
Conventional inland cargo ships with a total tonnage of less than 450 metric tons each can now be inspected by their owners.
As of July 25, Liu Fuhua, general manager of Taizhou Pengxin Transportation Co Ltd, had inspected 15 vessels operated by his company since he received the self-inspection certificate.
"I am familiar with the operational routes and technical conditions of each ship, so I can determine the time and location to conduct targeted inspections, which saves a lot of time for coordination and communication ," Liu said.
The company has 51 vessels, with 23 small ones qualifying for the trial, according to Liu Fuhua.
This year, 3,140 ships in Taizhou qualify and 2,590 ships have now completed the self-inspection – ranking the city as number 1 in the province in terms of the number of vessels to be processed.
For the ships involved in the self-inspections, the city's traffic enforcement department will optimize the pilot work through evaluation management, regular verifications and other methods – in a bid to ensure safety.