[ZOU HONG/CHINA DAILY]
Police serving at the entry and exit frontier inspection station in Dalian, Liaoning province, kept working as usual during the Spring Festival holiday, ensuring the clearance of inbound and outbound vessels at the 37 docks situated along the city's 2,211-kilometer-long coastline.
"We always arrive at the dock in advance to await the vessels and conduct border inspections as soon as they dock," said Yu Lu, who was on duty at the Dalianwan fishing port in Ganjingzi district on Feb 13, the fourth day of the Lunar New Year.
She and two colleagues carried out routine checks of the documents of several foreign crew members aboard Kopcakob, a Russian long-distance seafood cargo vessel.
They presented the seamen with Chinese New Year decorations such as the Chinese character fu, which means good fortune, as well as couplets and lanterns. "The traditional decorations are well received. We want them to experience the festive atmosphere, too," said Yu, deputy captain of the station's second team.
Carrying 9,000 metric tons of frozen cod, the vessel arrived in Dalian from Vladivostok, Russia, on Feb 10. As it was being unloaded, goods were also being carted off another Russian seafood cargo ship docked at the wharf. Despite Spring Festival, operations at the wharf continued around the clock.
"Liaoyu's deep-water wharf is one of the largest bulk frozen fish distribution wharves in China. More and more imported seafood such as king crabs, snow crabs, cold-water shrimp and flounder are making their way from here to the tables of domestic consumers," said Huo Yinghua, deputy director of the dispatch room at Dalian Liaoyu Group's port company.
"Since the approach of Spring Festival, the volume of vessels at our port has significantly increased. Border officials worked to ensure that the speed of vessel clearance remained unaffected by the holiday," Huo said.
Twenty kilometers away at Dayaowan port in Dalian Jinpu New Area, the Dalian container terminal was also bustling.
At the port, Tian Qirui and his seven colleagues from the station's fourth team conducted inspections, verified and released 19 inbound and outbound vessels on Jan 15.
Tian, deputy captain of the team, stated that during Spring Festival, they verified around 10 inbound and outbound vessels daily, slightly fewer than usual. "However, in cases of severe weather such as heavy fog, which prevents docking, we sometimes have more than 20 vessels waiting to dock, and we need to handle them without delay once conditions permit," he said.
Tian mentioned that in the police force, there is a saying: While the people celebrate the festival, the police keep working. During the holiday season, it is even more crucial for the police to stand guard and ensure service and security.
"Working during the festival has become routine for us," Tian said.
There are 10 duty teams with the Dalian entry and exit frontier inspection station, along with two border inspection patrol boat duty teams. Whether during regular days or holidays, they strive to maximize the efficiency of vessel clearance.
Statistics from the station show that it cleared more than 12,000 vessels last year. Last month, over 1,100 were cleared.
