Wuzhou to host the 2026 Crew Vocational Skills Competition

On July 23, 2026, the Wuzhou City Crew Vocational Skills Competition successfully commenced at Wuzhou City Transportation Vocational and Technical School. This event is based on the strategic deployment of building a strong transportation nation, deepening the collaborative governance of maritime affairs between Guangdong and Guangxi, and fostering cross-regional shipping talent. It brought together 10 teams and 40 key crew members from shipping enterprises in Wuzhou, Nanning, Laibin, and Yunfu, Guangdong, to compete on the same stage.

The competition was led by the Wuzhou Maritime Bureau and jointly organized by 12 units, including the Wuzhou Federation of Trade Unions, the Wuzhou Crew Industry Party Committee, and the Yunfu Maritime Bureau from Guangdong and Guangxi. The competition focused on real operational scenarios of inland shipping on the Xijiang River, adhering to the principle of "practicality first, close to actual combat." It featured three major categories and four competition subjects, including ship maneuvering skills, ship engine maintenance skills, and basic inland safety skills, comprehensively covering core operational tasks such as ship navigation, equipment maintenance, water rescue, and ship firefighting. On the competition field, participants demonstrated calmness, standardized operations, and competed in skills, style, details, and speed, showcasing the solid professional foundation and upward professional spirit of Xijiang River inland crew members. After comprehensive evaluations, the team from Cangwu County Shipping Company won first prize, while the teams from Wuzhou Zhonghao Company and Wuzhou Zhonghang Company won second and third prizes, respectively.

Wuzhou is located at the eastern gateway of Guangxi and serves as a key hub on the Xijiang Golden Waterway. In 2025, the city's port cargo throughput exceeded 162 million tons, and there were over 27,000 registered crew members, ranking among the top in Guangxi's inland waterways. With the countdown to the completion and operation of the Pinglu Canal, the shipping capacity of the Xijiang River Basin continues to expand, and a high-quality, professional crew team has become a crucial driver for supporting the development of the waterway economy.

This cross-regional skills competition is a concrete action to implement the deployment of the Ministry of Transport and the Ministry of Emergency Management on strengthening inland waterway traffic safety, as well as the guidance on building high-quality crew teams issued by six ministries and the autonomous region's maritime economy talent cultivation plan. Wuzhou has leveraged the crew industry party committee of Guangxi's first prefecture-level city to build a Guangdong-Guangxi crew exchange platform. Through a complete channel for joint cultivation of skilled talent, it has effectively promoted the standardization of practical operational standards for crew members in the Xijiang River Basin, laying a solid talent foundation for safe, efficient, and coordinated development of shipping across the entire Xijiang River Basin.

Deepening collaborative governance of maritime affairs between Guangdong and Guangxi has been a long-term key task for waterway transportation in both regions. In recent years, the Wuzhou Maritime Bureau has fully promoted convenient services for crew certification, introducing services such as "one-stop" crew employment procedures, remote verification of original documents via WeChat, and immediate reissuance of lost competency certificates. So far this year, it has jointly processed ship certificates for 157 vessels, reducing costs and increasing efficiency for shipowners by approximately 30 million yuan. It has also innovatively launched a "cloud mediation + judicial confirmation" work model, helping 31 crew members successfully recover over 400,000 yuan in unpaid wages. By implementing flexible law enforcement, the number and amount of administrative penalties have decreased by approximately 60% year-on-year. The maritime department is providing more refined and humanized supervision to safeguard the sustainable development of the Xijiang River shipping economy.

Next, the Wuzhou Maritime Bureau will continue to deepen collaboration with the Yunfu Maritime Bureau and other co-organizing units, regularly conducting cross-regional crew practical training and skills competitions. By enhancing the effectiveness of maritime duties, it aims to strengthen the Xijiang River shipping talent team, safeguard the high-quality development of inland shipping on the Xijiang River, and provide solid crew support for the opening of the Pinglu Canal and the development of the maritime economy.