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NCOV UPDATES AND PRECAUTIONARY MEASURES

6 Feb, 2020 by Jill Viray

DOH-Department-Circular-2020-034

Dear Valued Customers,

Please see below advisories from Department of Health regarding Guidelines at All Seaports for Prevention and Spread of Novel Corona Virus, MICT and ATI’s advisories in line with the DOH’s guidelines and news from China regarding waived storage fees at Chinese ports.

For your information and proper guidance. Thank you.


DOH: GUIDELINES AT ALL SEAPORTS FOR PREVENTION AND SPREAD OF NOVEL CORONA VIRUS

Kindly refer to the attached advisory entitled “Guidelines at All Seaports for Prevention and Spread of Novel Corona Virus Acute Respiratory Disease 2019-NCOV-ARD” dated February 4, 2020 as issued by the Department of Health.  

The advisory defines the measures the Bureau of Quarantine shall be implementing effective immediately at all Philippine Seaports for all maritime vessels: Cruise ships and Cargo vessels.

MICT AND ATI: NCOV PRECAUTIONARY MEASURES

From: Manila International Container Terminal (MICT)  

Pursuant to the directives from the Department of Health and the attached memorandum circular addressed to Port Operators, Port Authorities Shipping Agencies, Ship Handlers, and Manning Agencies provided by the Bureau of Quarantine, the following are measures Manila International Container Terminal (MICT) will implement to abide by the government framework and ensure safety of all Port stakeholders:  

MICT will tag and place on alert all vessels either originating from or passed through ports in China including Hong Kong and Macau SAR in the last 14 days.  

All tagged vessels once alongside our berths will be assigned a dedicated security force to prevent any disembarkation or onboarding of individuals unless given specific authorization by competent authorities.  

These guidelines will take immediate effect.    

For the vessels not tagged or placed on alert:  

Shipping Line Agents must declare all crew members with valid shore passes and send copies to MICT Operations Shift Managers.  

All requests for shuttle services must be coursed through MICT Operations Shift Managers.  

All crew members must present their valid shore passes to our security personnel before being allowed ingress or egress through the terminal’s turnstiles.    


From: Asian Terminals Inc. (ATI)  
Please be informed that Asian Terminals Inc (Port of Batangas) will adhere to the Department of Health (DOH) Department Circular No. 2020-0034 issued by the Office of the Secretary last 04 February 2020 regarding the “Guidelines At All Seaports for the Prevention and Spread of Novel Corona Virus Acute Respiratory Disease (2019-NCov ARD).   

As stipulated in the Memorandum, the Bureau of Quarantine shall be implementing the following measures effective immediately at all seaport for Cargo vessels.  

All cargo vessels calling from China, including Hong Kong and Macau SAR in the past fourteen (14) days must be boarded at the quarantine anchorage.  

Upon arrival at quarantine anchorage, the master of the vessel must hoist at its foremast the yellow flag and inform immediately the Quarantine station at assigned port through ship agents. Strictly no embarkation/disembarkation policy.  

Quarantine Boarding formalities shall ensue – the master of the vessel shall submit a duly accomplished Maritime Declaration of Health and BOQ shall issue free pratique. Other boarding formalities shall commence.  

Vessels cleared at the first port of entry and calling another local port, which within the past 14 days travelled from China, Hongkong and Macau SAR, must be boarded at the designated Quarantine anchorage area by QMO, submit duly accomplished Maritime Declaration of Health and other pertinent documents.  

The master of the vessel must report immediately any occurrence of flu-like symptoms (e.g. fever, cough, colds, body weakness and difficulty of breathing). In an event of flu like manifestation, the master must immediately report to the QMO for guidance on implementing infection prevention and control protocols to minimize the spread of infection on board.  

The QMO will conduct triaging of case/s using current Case Definition. (Please refer to Annex 1 Decision Tool for nCoV ARD Assessment for Bureau of Quarantine and Hospitals as of January 30, 2020)  

Ship agent of Vessel with person under investigation (PUI) situated in a non-competent port will arrange the immediate diversion of the vessel to the nearest competent port (Manila and Cebu) in the Philippines territory. PUI in a competent port will be conducted to a dedicated hospital and the vessel will be declared as affected vessel. A confirmed laboratory result of case will commence a 14-day quarantine at the anchorage and hoist the Lima flag. Day zero starts at the conduction of the PUI.    

CHINESE PORTS WAIVE STORAGE FEES

Major container ports in China are exempting storage charges to provide support for clients being disrupted by the outbreak of the coronavirus in Wuhan.

Chinese ports have announced they will waive their storage charges for loaded containers amid the extended holidays in the country enacted to deal with the coronavirus outbreak.

More than 25 major coastal and river box ports, led by the world’s largest, Shanghai, announced over the weekend or on Monday that they would exempt the fees during the period between January 24 and February 9.  

The final day in that timeframe is when many domestic cities will resume work from China’s New Year holiday, which has been prolonged by about 10 days as a measure to stall the spread of the disease.  

The exemption policy will “help customers to arrange their exports and imports more flexibly during this special period affected by the novel coronavirus,” said Shanghai International Port Group in a statement.  

Out of the 10 largest container ports globally, seven are in “the world factory” under Beijing’s governance.

Their handling heavily relies on exports, according to rankings by the Lloyd’s List’s One Hundred Ports 2019.  

Economists expect the virus, which originated from the city of Wuhan and has infected more than 17,000 people and killed 361 at the last count, to strike a big blow to China’s trade and economic results in the first quarter or even beyond.  

In northern China, ports offering the waivers on storage fees include Dalian, Yingkou, Tianjin, Qinghuangdao, Tangshan, Cangzhou, followed by Qingdao, Rizhao, Yantai and Bohai Bay in eastern China.  

Along the Yangtze River, the ports of Shanghai, Ningbo-Zhoushan, Taicang, Lianyungang, Wuhan, and Chongqing have joined the moves.   In the lower part of the country, Fuzhou, Xiamen, Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Zhuhai, Zhanjiang, Dongguan, and Beibuwan are also part of the coalition cutting fees.   In addition, the state-owned China Merchants Port has announced similar policies wherever it operates or has stake in various container terminals in China.  

The price cuts vary slightly in detail at different ports.  

For example, Shandong Port Group, which oversees Qingdao, Rizhao and Yantai — and Jiangsu Port Group — which governs Taicang and Liangyungang, said their exemptions on storage fees applied only to imports.  

Elsewhere, Tianjin Port Group restricted the scope of its exemption on storage fees to imports of containers filled with goods used to deal with the virus.  

Source: https://www.lloydsloadinglist.com/freight-directory/news/Coronavirus-Chinese-ports-waive-storage-fees/75929.htm?cl=article_2&elqTrack=true&mc_cid=ca2beaec31&mc_eid=1a8b3779b4#.XjpHE2gzZPY
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