An unregistered Chinese coastal bulker has run aground and broken apart in Xinghua Bay, off the coast of Fuzhou, drawing attention to the use of domestic-only vessels that are not registered with the International Maritime Organization (IMO).
According to AIS data from maritime analytics consultancy, Pole Star Global, the Hua De 858 departed the Port of Caofeidian in Tangshan on November 27 and proceeded via Ningbo and Fuzhou before transiting the Haitan Strait.
At around 10:15 GMT on December 3, the bulker grounded on a shoal between Xiaori Island and Dasheyu Island in Xinghua Bay. Chinese maritime safety authorities later confirmed the vessel had broken apart amidships.
All 12 crew members were rescued and are reported uninjured, The Maritime Executive reports.
Photographs from the scene show the hull split into two.
After the breakup, the vessel’s AIS signal vanished from public tracking services.
Built in 2008 with a deadweight tonnage (DWT) of 5 035, it was operating in domestic coastal trade.
Crucially, it appears to have no (IMO) number, meaning registration compliance specifications, which usually include hull integrity inspections, are not applied in line with international standards.
The Hua De 858 also has no history of international voyages, Tradewind News has found.
While the absence of an IMO number is common among smaller vessels operating solely in domestic waters, because IMO registration is mandatory only for ships above a certain tonnage on international voyages, incidents such as the breakup of Hua De 858 expose notable gaps in oversight, the UN body has said.
Without an IMO number, it is difficult to trace a vessel’s maintenance history, ownership or prior safety record, potentially hindering transparency and accountability.
Tracking via AIS and other global monitoring systems becomes unreliable once a domestic-only vessel’s signal is lost or shut off.
As domestic maritime traffic grows, especially along heavily used coastal routes, the risks posed by poorly regulated coastal tonnage may multiply, resulting in higher chances of accidents, environmental damage and navigational hazards.
The breakup of Hua De 858 is not an isolated event.
While coastal groundings and refloatings happen from time to time, maritime intelligence platform Infomarine argues that the latest grounding and resulting breakup illustrate a systemic weak spot – coastal fleet and domestic vessels that fall outside the global regulatory net.
As China’s coastal trade remains pivotal to its domestic economy, some industry stakeholders believe that enhanced regulation, or at least better tracking and safety-audit regimes for non-IMO vessels, should be considered to prevent future catastrophes.
