The new regulation of "shore power" for ships is approaching, which has a profound impact on the shipping industry.

A new regulation on "shore power" is deeply affecting the national water transport industry, and in order to implement this policy, the central government has been awarding subsidies through vehicle purchase tax revenue for three consecutive years.

This new regulation requires ships with shore power supply facilities to berth for more than three hours in the coastal ship's atmospheric pollutant discharge control zone, or berths with shore power supply capacity in the Inland ship's atmospheric pollutant discharge control zone for more than two hours without effective alternative measures. If so, shore power shall be used.

According to the First Financial and Economic Journalist, the "Regulations on the Use of Coastal Electricity by Ships at Ports" (Draft for Opinions), drafted by the Ministry of Transport, is currently seeking opinions from the public. The deadline for feedback is August 30.

This new regulation is formulated on the basis of relevant laws and administrative regulations such as Air Pollution Prevention Law, Port Law, Regulations on Domestic Waterway Transport Management, Regulations on Inspection of Ships and Marine Facilities, and international conventions to which China is a party.

The draft requests that the wharf project units, port operators, domestic waterway transport operators, wharf shore power operators and ships should implement the requirements of relevant laws, regulations and policy standards for the construction of national ecological civilization and the prevention and control of air pollution, build shore power and power receiving facilities, supply and use shore power in accordance with regulations. And accept the supervision and inspection of the departments responsible for supervision and management, and provide the relevant information and information truthfully. If the shore power facilities are not built and used as required, the transportation administration department shall have the power to order them to make corrections within a time limit.

"The Ministry of Transport has vigorously promoted the use of shore power by ships in port, and has promoted the introduction of policies allowing port enterprises and other shore power facilities operators to collect electricity tariffs and shore power price support policies." On July 23, Sun Wenjian, deputy director and new spokesman of the Policy Research Department of the Ministry of Transport, said at a regular press conference.

Statistical data released by the Ministry of Transportation show that the central government subsidized the construction of coastal and inland port power equipment facilities and the renovation of ship power equipment facilities by means of local funds from vehicle purchase tax revenue in 2016-2018. In the past three years, a total of 740 million yuan of incentive funds for vehicle purchase tax has been arranged to support port-bound ships. With 245 shore power projects, about 50,000 shore power systems have been built, and 587 million kilowatt-hours of electricity are used.

Marine fuels emit sulfur oxides (SOX), nitrogen oxides (NOX) and particulate matter (PM) into the atmosphere during combustion, which will have a serious impact on the ecosystem and adverse impact on human health. The atmospheric pollutant emissions from ships in port account for 60% to 80% of the total port emissions, which have a great impact on the surrounding environment of the port.

The results show that in the Yangtze River Delta, Pearl River Delta, Bohai Sea and Yangtze River coastal ports with large scale, ship emissions are one of the main sources of atmospheric pollution.

Shenzhen is one of the earliest port cities in China to subsidize the use of low-sulfur oil and shore power for ships. The Interim Measures for the Management of Construction Subsidy Funds for Green and Low-Carbon Ports in Shenzhen require substantial subsidies for the use of low-sulfur oil by ships and reduce the atmospheric pollution emissions of ships by encouraging measures. Since its implementation in March 2015, Shenzhen has granted a total of 83.2911 million yuan in marine low-sulfur oil subsidies and 75.5568 million yuan in offshore power subsidies.

First financial reporter in Huzhou City, Zhejiang Province, the National Inland River Operation Development Demonstration Zone saw that many bulk carriers are passing shore electricity to supply power for ships.

"It's very convenient and the price of electricity is not too expensive. Compared with the original fuel consumption, the cost is saved by half. Shipowner Jin Suming told reporters that there are electric cards, you can also sweep the two-dimensional code on the charging pile. "I can sleep at night. When I used to burn oil, I always worried about the water tank drying up."

Gui Lijun, deputy director of Huzhou Port and Navigation Administration, introduced that during the 13th Five-Year Plan period of Huzhou, a total investment of 53.344 million yuan was invested in the renovation, construction and construction of shore power equipment for 89 new wharfs, and the construction of 362 standardized intelligent shore power piles, basically realizing the full coverage of shore power in Huzhou navigation area. Up to now, 273 sets of shore power facilities (including 162 sets of standardized smart shore power piles) have been built in the whole city, covering the water service area and 63 large wharfs. In the past two years, the electricity consumption in the service area alone has reached 137,000 kWh.

Ren Changxing, a researcher at the Development Department of Zhejiang Port and Navigation Administration Center, told reporters that as of January this year, Zhejiang Province had achieved full coverage of all 11 ship emission control zones in Tongjiang Dahai City. By the end of 2018, more than 750 sets of shore power facilities have been completed, including 13 sets of high-voltage shore power, 110 berths of specialized berths for key wharfs, and shore power construction is in the forefront of the country.

"The use of shore power has strongly promoted energy conservation and emission reduction. Last year, Zhejiang province's coastal electricity use exceeded 5 million kWh, reducing ship carbon dioxide emissions by more than 3500 tons. Ren Changxing said.

"The use of shore power and low sulphur oil for ships docking has great social benefits and can achieve economic benefits under ideal conditions, while the use of shore power and low sulphur oil under environmental protection and high pressure is also the trend of the times." Li Haibo, Director of Energy Conservation and Emission Reduction Technology Research Department of Energy Conservation Center, Institute of Water Transport Science, Ministry of Transportation, said.

In view of the poor economic benefits and low enthusiasm of all parties in the use of shore power, Li Haibo suggested that a subsidy policy be formulated for the use of shore power by ships in port. The subsidy should be linked to oil prices, combined with fixed costs and utilization rate, and should be used more and more instead of no subsidy. At the same time, the study proposes regulations for the management and use of shore power by stages, subregions and classifications, and pilot compulsory use of shore power in key areas.