Two Departments Launch Four Major Projects and Four Major Actions to Enhance Inland Waterway Traffic Safety Levels

With the approval of the State Council, the Ministry of Transport and the Ministry of Emergency Management recently jointly issued the "Opinions on Strengthening Inland Waterway Traffic Safety" (referred to as "Opinions"), which deploys four major projects and four major actions to address prominent issues in inland waterway traffic safety, comprehensively enhance the safety level of inland waterway traffic, and strive to reduce the number of inland waterway traffic accidents by more than 50% during the "15th Five-Year Plan" period compared to the "14th Five-Year Plan" period.

According to the "Opinions," by 2030, the intrinsic safety level, management level, and emergency response capabilities of inland waterway traffic will be significantly improved, forming a safe, reliable, efficient, and well-supported framework for inland waterway traffic safety work. By 2035, the scale and quality of inland waterway infrastructure, technical equipment, and intelligent green standards will rank among the world's leading levels, with overall safety resilience greatly enhanced, and the modernization of governance systems and capabilities basically achieved.

The "Opinions" focus on four dimensions: "vessel performance, infrastructure, personnel quality, and emergency response capabilities," deploying the implementation of projects to enhance vessel safety performance, improve shipping support facilities, boost the competency of practitioners, and strengthen emergency response capabilities to elevate the intrinsic safety level of inland waterway traffic. It also focuses on four areas: "regulatory enforcement, water passenger transport, green intelligence, and enterprise management," deploying actions to enhance regulatory capabilities, improve passenger transport safety resilience, promote green and intelligent safety development, and strengthen enterprise safety management, aiming to achieve long-term solutions through strong measures addressing immediate concerns.

The "Opinions" require the implementation of localized safety management responsibilities, establishing a four-tier government-led responsibility system for key inland waterway safety work at the provincial, municipal, county, and township levels, adhering to inter-departmental coordination, clear division of responsibilities, and joint management. It calls for increased financial support, improvement of diversified funding mechanisms, and expansion of investment and financing channels. Additionally, it emphasizes strengthening publicity and education, case warnings, and exposure of typical issues to guide enterprises and the public in safely and orderly participating in activities related to inland waterway traffic safety.