The Association has received the attached circular from Huatai Insurance Agency & Consultant Service Ltd., our correspondents in China.

In accordance with the “Provisional Measures on Quality Management of Commercial Coal”, which came into effect on 1 January 2015, coal imported into China is required to meet with certain raised quality requirements.  Coal which fails to satisfy the quality requirements cannot be imported, sold or transported within China. 

CIQ (China Inspection and Quarantine Services) shall monitor and supervise the quality of imported coal at Chinese ports, and will carry out sample taking and analysis.  If the quality of the cargo fails to meet the required standard, CIQ may prohibit the ship from discharging the cargo or order any already-discharged cargo to be reloaded.

Taking the above into account, we emphasize Huatai’s recommendation for Members to require cargo interests at load ports to provide an analysis of the quality of coal to be loaded to ensure that it satisfies the new requirements in China.

In order to avoid the possible rejection of cargo or delay in discharge, Members whose vessels may engage in the transportation of coal into China should pay careful attention to the quality of the cargo.