Availability of dock space in the Far East
Posted on
26th April 2022
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2 min read
Our Principals based in China, from North to South, have expressed that tight Covid restrictions are having a drastic impact on their shipyard’s increased availability in dock space.
Current requirements for vessels arriving in Jiangyin (Central China), for example, are as follows:
- 21 days quarantine at sea from the last foreign port; Cargo discharging time in Chinese ports will be factored into the 21 days
- The Crew are requested to take a PCR test in Chinese discharge ports if the vessel has cargo discharged in Chinese ports
- The Crew will need to have taken two PCR tests before the shipyard begins the works onboard
- The yard will request that the owner provides the vessel’s last 30 day’s worth of movements before entering into the shipyard for repair
Reports from our Central Chinese yards have explained there are only two options for Superintendents travelling to their shipyard:
1. Coming with the vessel, the Superintendent can go on board from loading port and will be deemed as the crew (they will have to stay on board afterwards in China);
2. If the Superintendent flies to China they will be requested to quarantine for 14 + 14 days after arrival in China. After quarantine is finished, they will be free to travel in China but have to have the Visa in hand now.
It will take the yard around one month to secure a Visa, but a Visa invitation letter will need to be approved. The quarantine period for anyone land China from overseas is 3 weeks.
“Whilst Covid restrictions have proved detrimental for China’s drydocking business, there are benefits to be had for ship owners and managers drydocking in China if these restrictions can be swallowed. The China based shipyards that we are working with are increasingly motivated to secure business and are looking for creative solutions to accommodate. The emphasis here is placed on cost saving exercises for vessels, with one such shipyard even suggesting to cover deviation costs should they be the nominated yard for a drydocking.”
Jessica Black, Business Development Director at Calvey Marine Limited.
In the meantime, many of our UK based shipowners and managers are searching for alternative yards outside of China to repair their vessels. Calvey Marine Ltd are sole UK agents to PaxOcean Singapore and PaxOcean Batam and have worked closely and successfully with both sites for many years.
Both Batam and Singapore yards have both proved exceptional alternative options for our Clients with vessels trading in this region with premium facilities and second to none Client service and work ethic. Operational excellence is a critical driver for PaxOcean’s success and projects are executed under rigorous control and solid compliance with their integrated safety, health, quality and environmental management systems. The yards’ successes however have meant that availability is increasingly limited, and we have been recently informed that PaxOcean Batam’s earliest availability for drydocking is the 2nd week in July, and PaxOcean Singapore’s earliest availability is mid August. This is an exceptional level of competitivity for dock space which we have not seen before in Batam and Singapore. As such, should PaxOcean’s facilities be of interest we would strongly encourage our Clients to submit their vessels’ repair specifications and rough ETA at these locations at the earliest opportunity for the most effective forward panning. We would be delighted to support as ever.
