Classification societies and flag states are being flooded by shipowners' applications for extensions to safety certificate deadlines for vessels whose dry-docking in China has been interrupted.
Regulatory sources have expressed willingness to be flexible, but are struggling to keep up with a changing array of Chinese central and local government rules aimed at containing the Wuhan coronavirus outbreak.
TradeWinds has reported the closure or slowdown of most Chinese shiprepair yards due to quarantine measures that cut off their largely outsourced supply of transient labour.
Some locations, including Cosco Zhoushan Shipyard, have been left unreachable from the mainland due to the closure of ferry services, making work difficult even though substantial staff were on standby over the Chinese New Year holiday period.
Class society sources cite government restrictions on yards or personnel as being among the challenges.
"Clearly instructions for shipyards to remain closed for longer periods falls within this, as does instruction from governments for their nationals not to travel to China, something we are now seeing more of," one class society executive said.
Surveyors in China
A DNV GL official in China, also speaking anonymously, said the Norwegian classification society had established teams before the holidays at repair yards in Guangzhou, Zhoushan, Shanghai and elsewhere to accommodate the unusually high demand for dry-dockings. These surveyors remain at work.
Outside the yards, all the class societies are required by Chinese government emergency measures to close offices and send workers home until next week at least.
"But many of our surveys have been cancelled either by owners or by agents," he said.
Port agents get involved when the cancellation occurs at the 11th hour, once ships have already arrived for planned work.
“The vast majority of the owners with ships in Chinese yards have asked for extensions of certificate,” said a UK-based Lloyd’s Register (LR) official, who was unwilling to be named. “The ones who can reschedule at yards outside China have done so.”
But moving a special survey is especially frustrating for many owners that have also booked major equipment upgrades.
Specialised equipment will have been delivered to the yard a year in advance of a ship's arrival for the installation of ballast water treatment systems or scrubbers.
Moving that equipment from China to South Korea, for example, for installation and commissioning faces seemingly insurmountable logistical challenges.
Rescheduling at the same yard is not an option available to all, at least not without extensions of class certificates. Flag state extensions are also an issue. Yard schedules are already delayed by weeks due to the effects of the coronavirus and, by the time the next slot becomes available, many ships scheduled for major work will be out of class.
Transfers tough
“In those cases, it is well nigh impossible to transfer the work somewhere else,” the LR official said.
Safety deadlines are likely to be relaxed in such cases.
"We are very supportive of the owners because this is out of their hands," the official said.
Shipowners are also in need of flexibility from flag state regulators, but the class societies are confident this can be overcome.
“Each flag has its own requirements that we have to keep track of, but we are confident we can navigate this,” the LR official said.
“I have not seen any flag states that don’t understand this situation, so far.”
The DNV GL official emphasised that his company is monitoring developments closely but must follow government requirements and also take care of its own staff.
"If a shipyard will open its doors, we will go in," the DNV GL official said. "We want to support all our customers. But we have to think of the safety of our staff first."
