On November 20, the integrated work conference on ship inspection supervision and service support in the Yangtze River Delta region was held in Shanghai. The meeting was guided by the Maritime Safety Administration of the Ministry of Transport, with participation from maritime management agencies in the Yangtze River Delta region, local ship inspection authorities, regional branches of the China Classification Society, and related technical institutions. The conference studied and deployed key tasks for the coordinated governance of ship inspection in the Yangtze River Delta, marking the full launch of a new phase of coordinated advancement in supervision, inspection, and service support in the region, building upon the existing integration foundation.
Advancing Coordinated Governance to Build a New Pattern of Regional Integration
The Yangtze River Delta region is one of the most concentrated areas in China for industries such as shipbuilding, shipping, and ship repair, and it bears the important mission of pioneering reforms in the ship inspection management system. In recent years, the Yangtze River Delta has continuously deepened key reforms, including joint plan review, mutual recognition of inspections, cooperation in construction surveys, and expert resource sharing, exploring and forming a batch of mature and replicable institutional achievements, providing important support for the innovation of the national ship inspection system.
The “Work Plan for the Integration of Ship Inspection Supervision and Service Support in the Yangtze River Delta Region” launched at this conference integrates maritime regulatory agencies, local ship inspection institutions, the classification society, and normative research forces into a coordinated framework. It promotes the extension of the cross-regional, cross-chain governance system from business collaboration to mechanism integration, laying an institutional foundation for building a regional ship governance system that is unified, open, coordinated, efficient, and with smooth flow of factors.
Focusing on Industry Needs to Promote the Effective Implementation of Key Tasks
According to the plan’s arrangements, the Yangtze River Delta will accelerate a series of practical measures in key areas such as institutional connectivity, capacity co-construction, and resource sharing. These include promoting mutual recognition of plan reviews, mutual recognition of intermediate surveys, and mutual recognition of repair and detection results to facilitate the efficient flow of regional technical factors and inspection resources; leveraging the advantages of the classification society and normative research institutes to strengthen the construction of expert databases and capacity sharing platforms; and conducting joint research in emerging fields such as new energy-powered ships and intelligent ships to enhance the overall level of the regional technical support system.
Industry insiders believe that the implementation of these key tasks will help improve the convenience of cross-regional operations, further reduce institutional transaction costs, promote the formation of a coordinated pattern that links supervision with inspection and emphasizes both service and support, providing strong support for the high-quality development of the industry.
Leveraging the Demonstrative and Driving Role to Serve the National Unified Market
As an important regional pilot for the national ship inspection system reform, the integrated construction of the Yangtze River Delta is of great significance for enhancing the modernization level of the industry’s governance system. The launch of the integrated construction of supervision and service support will, through higher-level institutional integration and mechanism innovation, contribute to the construction of a national unified market and accumulate replicable, promotable practical experience for the ship inspection system reform.
In the next step, the Yangtze River Delta region will continue to improve the coordinated promotion mechanism, strengthen rule connectivity, capacity co-construction, and factor sharing, promote the formation of a regional governance system covering the entire ship lifecycle, continuously enhance industry governance efficiency, and contribute more to accelerating the building of a strong transportation country and a strong maritime country.
