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On July 5, 2019, the Chinese Ministry of Transport (MOT) released a notice to seek feedback on the Program for Management of Atmospheric Tank Vehicles for Transporting Liquid Dangerous Goods.[1] The public consultation is set to end on July 20.
Scheduled to be published by the MOT together with the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT), the Ministry of Public Security (MPS), and the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR), the Program is devised to implement relevant requirements laid out in the Notice of the General Office of the State Council on Publishing the Three-year Action Plan (2018-2020) for Adjusting the Transport Structure [2], with aims to rectify various irregularities in operations of atmospheric tank vehicles for transporting liquid dangerous goods (hereinafter referred to as “tank vehicles”) and further regulate the manufacture, use, inspection, and management of such vehicles.
According to the Program, six major measures will be taken to ensure safe operations of tank vehicles, including:
Imposing stringent conditions on market entry of tank vehicles;
Practicing a mix of policies to manage vehicles which are already in use;
Optimizing management of goods carried in tank vehicles;
Enhancing supervision and management of law enforcement;
Implementing the recall system of defective products; and
Consolidating information sharing and joint punitive actions against irregularities.
The Program places a great emphasis on “inspections”. For instance, both specialized tank inspection agencies and inspection agencies for technical safety of motor vehicles will get involved to ensure that only tank vehicles that meet relevant standards can enter the road transport market, and that vehicles which are already in use can be subject to sound supervision and management. Meanwhile, in line with the Measures for the Safety Administration of Road Transport of Dangerous Goods [3] and several other documents, the Program also includes requirements on how to properly manage goods carried in tank vehicles.
In addition, a timetable for management and rectification of tank vehicles is designed in the Program:
Starting from January 1, 2020, new-entrant tank vehicles into the road transport market should get registered and obtain road transport licenses in accordance with new market entry requirements;
From January 1, 2020 to December 31, 2021, transport businesses should get their tank vehicles inspected by specialized inspection agencies one month before the date of annual inspection and rectify all problems uncovered within six months
Rectifications for all tank vehicles which are already in use should be completed before June 30, 2021;
Starting from July 1, 2022, all substandard tank vehicles should be prohibited from operations.
