HAIKOU /China/, 9 November. /TASS/. The Maritime Administration of the southern Chinese province of Hainan has published local standards for safe refueling of ships with tax- and duty-free fuel, Hainan Daily reported.

According to the newspaper, the new regulations took effect in November. The document is expected to help increase the degree of openness of Hainan Free Trade Port to international shipping. It is also expected to bring the regional fuel industry to a new level of development with clearly defined standards.

The regulations were finalized with the participation of Sinopec China Shipping (Yangpu) Marine Fuel Supply, a state-owned energy company. They are based on local legislation and apply to ports along the entire coast of the island. The regulations cover general requirements, docking and discharging procedures, fuel delivery, emergency response and other details to ensure quality and safe refueling. This will ensure standardization of the whole process.

The purpose of introducing these regulations is to comply with advanced international standards, which will accelerate the internationalization of Hainan's seaports. Duty-free refueling will help reduce costs for shipping companies and should be one of the incentives for the establishment of a major transport and logistics hub in the province.

Hainan is systematically expanding the list of preferential policies for shipping. These incentives are also being extended to the fuel supply industry. According to official statistics, from January to September, China's southernmost province provided duty-free refueling services to 530 vessels with a volume of 210,000 tones. These figures represent increases of 19.3% and 31.2% respectively over the same period last year.