Tianjin Maritime Safety Administration (Tianjin MSA) recently issued the navigation notice of "Jinhangtong [2024] 0049". This notice announced the "Ships’ Routeing System in the Central Waters of Bohai Bay (for Trial Implementation)" (hereinafter referred to as the "Ships’ Routeing System"), which has been implemented on a trial basis from June 1, 2024. We hereby issue this Circular to introduce the main contents of the “Ships’ Routeing System” and provide relevant suggestions for the reference of the Clubs and their Members.

 

Main Contents of the "Ships’ Routeing System"

 

1. Geographical Scope of the Ships’Routeing System

 

The Routeing System consists of No.1 Traffic Separation Scheme (TSS), No.1 Precautionary Area, No.2 TSS and No.2 Precautionary Area. The geographical scope and coordinates of the Traffic Lanes, Boundary Lines, Separation Zones and Precaution Areas are specified in the attachment.

 

2. The Competent Authority

 

The competent authority is Tianjin MSA of the People's Republic of China.

 

The Vessel Traffic Service Center of Tianjin MSA (Tianjin VTS) is responsible for the implementation of vessel traffic management and the acceptance of reporting.

 

3. Special Provisions

 

Ships following the Routeing System are not required to report to Tianjin VTS when entering or leaving the applicable waters, however they are expected to maintain continuous listening watch on VHF channel 09.

 

The principles to be observed by ships when navigating within the waters of the Routeing System are basically the same as those in Rule 10 of the “Convention on the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea, 1972”, such as the actions to be taken for ships when crossing or entering/leaving traffic lanes, as well as other prohibited actions, etc. It should be noted that ships crossing the traffic lanes must meet certain preconditions and should report to Tianjin VTS before crossing. In addition, when overtaking other ships in the waters of the Routeing System, the overtaking ship must obtain the consent of the overtaken ship and report to Tianjin VTS in advance. Please refer to the attachment for more specific requirements.

 

Huatai's Suggestions

 

The implementation of the "Ships’ Routeing System" provides powerful guarantees for both maintaining navigation order and improving navigation safety and efficiency in the central waters of Bohai Bay. The MSA requires that ships navigating in the applicable waters strictly abide by the "Ships’ Routeing System" and submit to the supervision and management of the local MSA.

 

Apart from choosing to use the TSS outside Caofeidian Port, the implementation of the Ships’ Routeing System provides another route choice for ships sailing from Laotieshan Waterway or Changshan Waterway to Tianjin Port, which is conducive to alleviating the traffic pressure within the TSS outside Caofeidian Port to a certain extent. We suggest ships planning to sail to Dagukou South Anchorage and Dagukou Bulk Chemical Anchorage may consider following this Routeing System. However, it is worth mentioning that the charted depth in the waters of the Routeing System is around 20 meters only, therefore deep draught ships shall choose to use the Routeing System on the premise of ensuring their safety by exercising due comprehensive consideration and assessment on the factors such as their own manoeuvring characteristics, under keel clearances, navigation environments, etc.

source: Huatai

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