The coastal city of Rizhao in Shandong Province stepped up security on 24 September as border police, maritime-safety administrators and coast-guard air units began joint water-land-air patrols ahead of the twin festivals. Officers boarded multiple commercial and fishing vessels, using drones and loudhailers to spot and deter illegal side-berthing, channel obstruction and unlicensed fishing in areas open to foreign-flag traffic. Six safety hazards were rectified on the first day, officials said, including the removal of worn mooring lines on a Panamanian bulk carrier and the diversion of a local trawler encroaching on a designated anchorage. The exercise is part of Rizhao’s “Four Seas, One Team” initiative, which integrates realtime AIS data, drone imagery and port-call records to generate risk alerts. For international shipping companies the message is strict but clear: documentation must be in order, crew transfers should be pre-announced, and detours into restricted waters will be met with fines or delays. The patrols also seek to reassure exporters who rely on the port’s coal and iron-ore terminals that operations will remain smooth during the holiday, when charter rates typically spike. Corporate security managers moving foreign technicians or superintendents onto berthed vessels should build extra lead time for boarding formalities and carry letters of authorisation translated into Chinese.
Source: Dazhong News
