Benefiting Businesses and the People: Maritime Services Uplifted Once Again

On the morning of July 21, Xu Liang, Manager of the Marine Safety Department at China Oil Offshore Engineering Shipbuilding (Tianjin) Co., Ltd., and Li Xuejian, System Supervisor, entered the administrative hall of Tianjin Maritime Safety Administration. Guided by the staff at the service window, they signed the application form for the "One Matter for Ship Departure" process.

"After completing the preliminary review, all subsequent departure procedures can be handled with 'one application form, one set of materials, and one-time processing.'" The staff explained the process to Li Xuejian on-site, while simultaneously organizing and completing all application materials, paving a "fast track" for the operation of a newly built 4,200-ton work vessel for the company.

It is reported that starting from July 1 this year, the "One Matter for Ship Departure" reform has been officially implemented nationwide, achieving streamlined maritime administrative procedures and significantly reducing the burden on shipping companies and personnel.

"Previously, various procedures before departure required different departments within our company to handle them. After the implementation of the 'One Matter for Ship Departure' service, we urgently need to complete the integration and training of application personnel," said Xu Liang.

In response to corporate needs, the Tianjin Maritime Safety Administration has improved its administrative service standards, formulated the "Tianjin Maritime Safety Administration 'One Matter for Ship Departure' Work Guide," and introduced measures such as "preliminary review + full-chain participation + full-process assistance and guidance" services to comprehensively enhance service efficiency and fully unleash the policy benefits of "One Matter for Ship Departure."

"Through preliminary review, the service processing time has been reduced by about 25 working days, significantly lowering vessel idle docking fees and short-term financing costs. We successfully seized the golden operational window period," said Xu Liang.

Multiple measures to comprehensively enhance the service efficiency of "One Matter for Ship Departure" exemplify how the Tianjin Maritime Safety Administration, focusing on the integrated development of ports, industries, and cities, uses high-level maritime services to activate the internal driving force for coordinated development among ports, industries, and cities.

"In addition to fully implementing the 'One Matter for Ship Departure,' we are promoting the cross-regional interconnection of administrative services in the Bohai Bay Free Trade Pilot Zone, continuously reducing institutional costs for shipping companies," said Xu Yiming, a staff member at the Tianjin Maritime Safety Administration's administrative center.

In June this year, the first cross-regional interconnection of maritime administrative services in the Bohai Bay Free Trade Zone was successfully implemented. The Tianjin Maritime Safety Administration, in collaboration with the Shandong Maritime Safety Administration, processed cross-regional ship nationality registration for two vessels owned by China-Singapore Shipping (Tianjin) Co., Ltd. Previously, companies had to handle this business at the port of registry. Now, through the cross-regional interconnection model, the process, which used to take more than 10 days, was completed in just 3 working days, saving over 1 million yuan for a single vessel.

"By continuously deepening the integration of maritime administrative services, we have introduced measures such as tolerance for incomplete applications and parallel processing. We have implemented services like 'transfer with lease without stopping operations' and 'cross-regional interconnection + uninterrupted certification,' fully promoting cross-regional cooperation in maritime administrative services across Hebei, Tianjin, Liaoning, and Shandong provinces and cities. Using the 'same standards in different locations, collection and transfer' model, 11 maritime services can now be completed locally, reducing ship registration processing time by over 70%," explained Zhang Jiawen, Deputy Director of the Ship Department at the Tianjin Maritime Safety Administration.

A series of innovative ship registration measures are accelerating implementation in Tianjin—launching the 3.0 version of the "Dongjiang Matters Handled in Dongjiang" initiative to support the construction of Tianjin Dongjiang National Leasing Innovation Demonstration Zone; piloting the "Mainland and Hong Kong Bareboat Charter Vessel Convenient Registration Transfer" mechanism to address cross-border vessel transaction bottlenecks; promoting the "Yacht Information Convenient Inquiry Certificate," achieving "one-time registration, one certificate for smooth sailing, and one code for inquiries," continuously reducing institutional costs for market entities. "With ship assets revitalized, corporate liquidity is enhanced, and the engine of shipping finance can run faster and more powerfully," said Zhang Jiawen.

Optimizing processes internally to reduce costs and expanding functions externally to strengthen influence. Based on Tianjin's core positioning as a northern international shipping hub, the Tianjin Maritime Safety Administration continues to expand the international service functions of Tianjin Port—deepening the application of the standard version of the international trade "single window," promoting the construction of the China-Shanghai Cooperation Organization Port Economic Cooperation Center; implementing pre-reporting and pre-inspection of international cruise declaration information, "zero waiting time" for port entry and exit, "one ship, one policy," and daily acceptance and processing of administrative services, providing professional service guarantees to help build a northern international cruise tourism center.

On the foundation of optimizing the "soft environment" for shipping operators through a series of administrative service reforms, the Tianjin Maritime Safety Administration further strengthens the "hard support" for integrated development of ports, industries, and cities. From channel widening to berth upgrades, from branch channel construction to the application of intelligent navigation systems, behind the implementation of each project lies the proactive involvement and full-process support of maritime departments.

"With the accelerated improvement of Tianjin Port's smart port construction, we have taken the lead in applying an artificial intelligence-based key vessel navigation support system, optimizing operational plans for construction vessels, and implementing 'ready-to-use' navigation capabilities for port engineering projects, ensuring the efficient implementation of Tianjin Port's overall planning," said Yang Tianhua, Deputy Director of the Navigation Department at the Tianjin Maritime Safety Administration.

Additionally, for major port engineering projects such as the widening and deepening of the Xin Gang channel, berth upgrades in the Beijiang port area, and the first phase of the Gaosha Ridge branch channel project, the Tianjin Maritime Safety Administration has implemented a "one project, one policy" precise service guarantee mechanism to support the continuous enhancement of Tianjin Port's infrastructure capabilities.

With strong service and rapid development, a series of pragmatic measures benefiting enterprises and the public are injecting continuous and powerful momentum into the deep integration of Tianjin's ports, industries, and cities. Moving forward, Tianjin Maritime Safety Administration will continue to innovate services to address bottlenecks and provide precise support, enabling maritime services to deeply empower port operations, industrial cultivation, and urban development.