Laws of the People's Republic of China

PROVISIONS OF THE GROUP IN CHARGE OF PORTS UNDER THE STATE
COUNCIL FOR THE STRENGTHENING OF DISPERSION OF VESSELS
AND CARGOS HELD UP AT PORTS

  (Issued on December 19, 1984)

 

 

 

SUBJECT: MARITIME LAW

ISSUING-DEPT: STATE COUNCIL OF CHINA

ISSUE-DATE: 12/19/1984

IMPLEMENT-DATE: 02/01/1985

LENGTH: 2277 words

TEXT:

Along with the broadening and deepening of the economic structural reforms and the further implementation of the policy of opening to the world, both domestic and foreign trade in our country will, no doubt, develop more rapidly.üü However, the overall handling capacity of our ports will not be improved substantially in the short run.üü Therefore, it is predicted that the sharp contradiction between the high demand for transportation and the transporting capacity will remain for a comparatively long period of time.üü In order to keep ports unimpeded, speed up the turnover of cargo trains, vessels and warehouses, maintain a smooth flow of cargos, and raise the social economic efficiency, the dispersion and transportation work must be strengthened.üü For this purpose, the following provisions are hereby formulated:

I. Planned transportations must be adhered to In planning the transportation of import and export goods in foreign trade, a method of "balancing at levels and managing centrally" shall be adopted.üü Once the comprehensively balanced transportation plans are issued, various organizations concerned must strictly carry them out.

(1) The various foreign trade corporations, industrial and trading companies shall deliver their goods proportionately.üü And the various shipping companies shall evenly dispatch their vessels so as to prevent vessels from being concentrated at ports.

(2) In loading and unloading foreign trade vessels arriving at ports, priority shall first be given to those vessels included in the transportation plan, then to those excluded.üü In principle, loading and unloading shall be carried out on a first-arrive-first-serve basis.

(3) The various transportation organizations such as the railways, highways, and waterways shall take an active part in the joint dispersion work.üü The railways shall give priority in dispatching cargo trains and in loading and transporting goods and materials held up at ports in accordance with the monthly plan balanced by the Ministry of Communications, the Ministry of Railways and the Ministry of Foreign Economic Relations and Trade; during the period of hold-up of ports, neither stoppage nor restriction is, in principle, allowed in loading goods and materials held up at ports to be passed through prescribed passageways except circumstances in which transportations are suspended and railway lines are seriously blocked as a result of natural disasters and serious accidents.

(4) Organizations in charge of goods and materials (or their agents) shall provide direction cargo flows and work out measures for receiving and storing cargos within the time limit prescribed by transportation organizations.üü They shall organize the receiving and unloading work according to the actual time of stay of cargo trains at the station, and under no circumstances shall they substitute cargo trains as warehouses.üü Meanwhile, organizations concerned shall timely inform the organizations in charge of goods and materials of such details as delivery of goods and arrival of vessels.

(5) The local people's governments shall impose a fine of RMB one Yuan per ton to organizations held responsible for the arrival of vessels excluded in the transportation plan because of their failure in submitting plans, as required by the monthly balance meeting jointly held by the Ministry of Communications, the Ministry of Railways and the Ministry of Foreign Economic Relations and Trade.üü In addition, organizations held responsible shall have to apply for unloading of their cargos pursuant to relevant regulations.üü No fine penalties shall be imposed on those who have submitted their plans as required yet their vessels are not included in the transportation plans because of insufficient capacities on the part of ports and railways.üü For goods and materials arriving at ports in large quantity and all at a certain time, should they exceed the average monthly level of the annual plan by 15%, a fine of RMB 0.5 Yuan per ton shall be imposed on organizations held responsible.üü The local people's governments shall take out 50% to 70% of penalty fines in rewarding those port organizations and persons that have made achievements in dispersing vessels and cargos held up at ports (including port inspection and examination organs), and this shall be carried out by port offices of provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government).

(6) For transit goods and materials through railways arriving at ports in violation of reasonable direction of cargo flows, the railways shall under take to transport such goods and materials as those with reasonable direction of cargo flows as long as they fall within limits (for miscellaneous goods, not exceeding 500 tons; for goods and materials in large quantity, not exceeding 1,000 tons), otherwise, such goods and materials shall have to remain in vessels at ports, waiting to be unloaded.

(7) The office of the Group in Charge of Ports under the State Council and port offices of provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government) shall, in collaboration with competent organs concerned, exercise supervision and inspection over such links as the collection of order forms, order of goods, delivery of goods, dispatching of vessels, loading and unloading at ports, and dispersion and transportation in inland areas, etc., In addition, they shall conduct coordination and arbitration in solving disputes arising during the planned transportation.

II. In order to maintain a normal production order of the hub of ports, mobilize enthusiasms of various organizations concerned, and expedite turnover of cargo trains, vessels and cargos, the various port organizations concerned shall sign bilateral or multilateral economic agreements in which responsibilities are specified and rewards and penalties are explicitly provided in the spirit of the current economic structuring reforms.üü The contents of agreements may include such economically restrictive clauses as the period of demurrage and dispatch of vessels, number of cargo trains to be loaded by the railways, time of stay of cargo trains at ports, and rewards rendered to whose who unload vessels and load cargo trains in excess of original plans, and this shall be carried out by local port offices.

III. Goods and materials to be transported over a short distance shall, in principle, be dispersed and transported by trucks except for bulk goods in large quantity and goods to be transported through special railway lines.üü Enterprises engaged in highway transportation shall spare no effort in improving their operations and reducing costs and transportation prices, and shall adopt the principle of providing better service and making small profits but quick shipment.üü The distance in which goods are dispersed and transported by trucks at various ports shall be prescribed by local people's governments of provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government) according to local conditions.üü The railways shall not load goods to be transported within the prescribed distance limit except for special cases.

IV. Ports with favorable waterway dispersing and transporting facilities shall make full use of loading and unloading by lighters and shipment by vessels in their dispersion and transportation.üü For goods and materials to be received and transported by various provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government themselves, should the provincial transportation capabilities cannot guarantee the dispersion and transportation in time, the local port offices shall adjust transport facilites in collaboration with organs concerned, and ports of arrival shall receive and unload such goods and materials as those included in the transporation plan.

V. In case of vessels held up at ports or under other special circumstances, port and transportation organizations located at ports of arrival shall treat as being included in the transportation plan foreign trade vessels transferred from other ports with the affirmation by the Ministry of Communications, the Ministry of Railways, the Ministry of Foreign Economic Relations and Trade, and competent organs concerned in charge of organizations of goods and materials or with the decision by the Office of the Group in Charge of Ports Under the State Council.üü Under this circumstance, owners of cargos shall render a close cooperation, timely adjust the direction of cargo flows, and make sure that measures for receiving and storing cargos are taken.üü Additional expenses arising from such changes of routes shall be borne out by shipping organizations for covering vessel costs, or by owners of cargos for domestic transportation costs unless otherwise be dealt with according to agreements previously signed, if any.

VI. Imported first-degree dangerous cargos suitable for containers shall be, in principle, transported in containers except that they are in small quantity.üü Deadly dangerous cargos shall be, in principle, directly loaded onto cargos trains from vessels.üü Owners of cargos must take delivery of their goods and leave within prescribed time limit should such cargos necessitate a short stay in warehouses at ports under special circumstances.

VII. The organs concerned shall deal with those who have not yet entered into economic agreements, as is required under Article 2 of this Provisions, according to the following methods:

(1) For imported goods and materials already unloaded and stored in warehouses at ports in excess of the port storage period (exclusive of four days within reasonable storage period, similarly hereinafter) by ten days because of failure of provision of reasonable directions of cargo flows and availability of measures for receiving and storing cargos on the part of owners of cargos or their agents, the owners of cargos or their agents shall be charged with an additional file-up equivalent to 50% of the prescribed storage expense, and a file-up fee equivalent to 100% of the prescribed storage expense in case of excess of the port storage period by 20 days starting from the date of their exceeding the storage period.üü Should owners of cargos faile to take delivery of their cargos as scheduled because of responsibilities on the part of ports, ports shall exempt collecting the storage expense for cargos in storage during the delayed period and shall also pay for expenses incurred to cargo trains and vessels dispatched by owners of cargos.üü Should owners of cargos fail to take delivery of their cargos included in the balanced monthly plan as scheduled because of responsibilities on the part of the ariways, the railways shall bear the storage expense for cargos in storage during delayed period.üü Should owners of cargos fail to take delivery of their cargos as scheduled for force majeure or other special reasons, they shall be exempted from the progressive file-up fees incurred during the period in which their cargos are stored in excess of the storage period.üü In case disputes over responsibilities occur, the local port offices shall render coordination and arbitration.

(2) During the period in which ports are held up, should owners fail to, even though being pressed, deliver their cargos unloaded and stored in warehouses in excess of the storage period by 14 days, local port offices can make the decision in either transferring warehouses of such cargos or transshipping such cargos out of port areas, and the owners of cargos shall bear all the costs arising therefrom.üü Under this circumstance, due consideration shall be given to the location of warehouses transferred so as to facilitate dispersion and transportation, and the railways shall treat these transferred cargos as goods and materials held up at ports to be dispersed should such cargos need to be transported by train.

(3) Imported cargos unloaded and stored at ports for a period exceeding the storage period by two months and undelivered even though the owners are pressed for delivery shall be regarded as cargos which cannot be delivered.üü The local people's governments shall instruct port organs concerned to confiscate those cargos already declared to the Customs and instruct the Customs to confiscate those cargos undeclared to the Customs.üü The proceeds from the above-mentioned cargos shall be turned over to the state treasury pursuant to relevant regulations.üü Should any mistakes during this confiscation process be found out afterwards, organizations held responsible shall have to compensate the owners of cargos for their economic losses.

(4) Under circumstances in which ports are seriously held up, the local port offices shall put forward their proposals, and take, with the approval by the Group in Charge of Ports Under the State Council, necessary measures to goods and materials stored at ports for a period less than two months for urgent dispersion purposes.

VIII. The people's governments of provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government located in various ports shall, in accordance with this Provisions and taking into consideration local conditions, formulate rules for the implementation of dispersion of vessels and goods held up at ports and report to the Group in Charge of Ports Under the State Council for record, which shall be carried out by local port offices.

IX.üü This Provisions shall be implemented on trial as of February 1, 1985, and shall prevail should provisions previously formulated contravene this Provisions.