Article 1 In accordance with the International Management Code for the Safe Operation of Ships and for Pollution Prevention （ISM Code） and other associated regulations and guidelines, the Provisions are formulated with a view to regulate entrustment verification and certification for foreign-related shipping company, and harmonize the international cooperation in the safety management system verification and certification.
Article 2 The Provisions shall apply to the Administration of other country or region （hereinafter referred to as entrustment party） entrusting Maritime Safety Administration of the People’s Republic of China （hereinafter referred to as China MSA）to carry out safety management system verification and certification and other associated supervision for shipping company.
Article 3 Foreign-related shipping company（hereinafter referred to as company）means the owner of the ship, or the operator, or the manager, or the bareboat charterer, who has assumed the responsibility for safety management of the non Chinese-flagged ship.
Article 4 The company that intends to apply for the entrustment verification and certification shall meet the following requirements:
1. The age of the associated ships shall not exceed the mandatory scrapping age limit prescribed in the Provisions on Old and Worn-out Transportation Vessels formulated by the Ministry of Transport of the People’s Republic of China;
2. The associated ships shall hold the classification certificate issued by the member of the International Association of Classification Societies;
3. The associated ships shall not be detained in Flag State Control and Port State Control inspections in the last 12 months;
4. The flag of the associated ships shall not be included in the black lists of the regional Port State Control organizations;
5. The company shall hold the valid Document of Compliance （hereinafter referred as to DOC）which is applicable for Chinese flagged ocean going ships and covers the same ship type being applied for.
Article 5 The following documents need be provided to China MSA, when the entrustment party request for the entrustment verification and certification:
1. Letter of entrustment;
2. Copies of the associated ship classification certificates;
3. Statements of the associated ships’ safety management within last 12 months.
The above documents could be provided by e-mail or fax.
Any other special requirements or attentions could be stated in the letter of entrustment.
Article 6 After receiving the request of entrustment verification and certification, China MSA shall review the documents whether in compliance with the Article 4 mentioned above, and notify the entrustment party and company of the results.
Article 7 If the decision is made to accept the request, China MSA shall forthwith inform, in writing, the regional branch of China MSA with the administrative power of verification and certification （hereinafter referred to as issuing authority）, and forward the documents.
Article 8 Upon receipt of the notice from China MSA, the issuing authority shall issue DOC directly to the company, or issue DOC after the verification according to the request of China MSA.
The DOC shall be valid from the issuing date to the expiry date of the DOC which is applicable to Chinese flagged ocean going ships and explicitly indicates the same ship type as the associated ships.
The annual verification and renewal of DOC shall be carried out at the same time as DOC which is applicable to Chinese flagged ocean going ships and explicitly indicates the same ship type as the associated ships. In such case, there is no need to submit entrustment again.
Article 9 If the issued DOC or the associated verification is not approved, the issuing authority shall send the scanned copy of DOC or report the verification result to China MSA in time, and China MSA shall inform the entrustment party.
Article 10 The company shall conscientiously report major issues of safety management of the associated ships, such as the changes of ships implementing safety management system. The non Chinese-flagged ships newly implementing the safety management system of the company shall meet the requirements as specified in paragraphs 1 to 3 of Article 4 mentioned above. The non Chinese-flagged ships which have already implemented the safety management system of the company shall continuously meet the requirements as specified in paragraphs 1 and 2 of Article 4 mentioned above, otherwise they shall withdraw from the safety management system of the company voluntarily.
Article 11 When the company cannot comply with the requirements as specified in paragraph 4 or 5 of Article 4 mentioned above, the issuing authority shall withdraw the DOC issued by entrustment and report to China MSA who shall notify the entrustment party. The company can request entrustment verification and certification again after meeting the requirements of Article 4 mentioned above.
Article 12 For the company violating the Article 10 mentioned above, the issuing authority shall withdraw all issued DOCs, and report to China MSA. China MSA will no longer accept any request of entrustment verification and certification from such company, and inform all entrustment parties of the above decision.
Article 13 In the light of the principle of facilitating and preventing unnecessary work, to comply with the associated regulations of International Maritime Organization, the entrustment party and China MSA could draw an agreement on the entrustment verification and certification, and carry out the entrustment verification and certification based on the agreement.
Article 14 The Provisions shall come into force on May 1, 2018, and obsolete the Procedure of Entrusting Audit and Certification to Foreign Shipping （No.721-2009）accordingly.
（All information published in this website is authentic in Chinese. English is only for reference.）