Vessels line up to dock at Taizhou Port. [Photo/WeChat account: tzfabu]
The Taizhou maritime bureau – located in Taizhou city, on the banks of the Yangtze River in East China's Jiangsu province – has been adopting digital methods to boost its inspections of refurbished and renovated vessels, in order to improve safety management.
The special inspection program spans from May 1 to Nov 15 this year, targeting domestic vessels – excluding fishing vessels – with a length of over 20 meters, which have completed major renovations after Jan 1 in 2020.
Officials say illegally renovated vessels pose significant safety hazards when navigating rivers or at sea due to issues such as stability and water tightness.
"Adopting the digital system can help the bureau know about a vessel's position, berthing and departure times, then it can dispatch on-site law enforcement personnel," said a director of the bureau.
To date, the bureau has used the digital mode to run over 50 major renovation ship inspection tasks, maintaining the continuous stability of traffic safety situations on the water.