We have obtained information from Taiwan Maritime Services Ltd. Regarding new security requirements for certain vessels with connections to Mainland China, Hong Kong, or Macau.

With effect from 31 March 2025, those vessels will be subject to a national security review when applying for direct voyage permits or business registration in Taiwan.

Scope of Application

• Vessels concerned include:
  
  
  1. Substandard vessels (currently understood to mean ships registered under “black flag” registries such as Cameroon, Tanzania, Mongolia, Togo, Sierra Leone), and
     
     
  2. Specific vessel types: drive-on/drive-off vessels, semi-submersibles, platform vessels, heavy-lift carriers, crane ships, oil tankers, product tankers, LPG carriers, etc.
     

      

• “Mainland China, Hong Kong or Macau background” applies not only to vessels flying the PRC/Hong Kong flag, but also to foreign-flagged ships whose owners or carriers are registered in these jurisdictions.
  
  
•  The review will also apply to vessels built in, or with capital/ownership links to, these regions, as assessed by the authorities.

For more details such as review process, please refer to the attached circular from Taiwan Maritime Services Ltd.