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Government and Policy

Ministry urges efforts to reduce sea ice accidents

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-01-10 09:12

BEIJING: China's Ministry of Transport (MOT) Saturday called for efforts to reduce accidents caused by sea ice following recent frequent cold waves to ensure safe and smooth navigation on the sea and operation at ports.

Icing situation in the Bohai Sea and the northern regions of the Huanghai Sea, resulted from frequent cold snaps since December, has become more severe compared with the previous years, threatening the security of passing ships, said Li Shenglin, minister with MOT.

In the waters near Liaodong Bay and Laizhou Bay, floating ice was reported in an area of 65 to 75 nautical miles, with ice thickness measuring more than 50 cm, posing a threat to ship navigation, anchoring and operations at ports, Li said.

He urged maritime affairs departments at all levels to intensify monitoring on icing conditions and improve contingency measures to cope with possible emergencies.

Up to date, local maritime departments have launched 240 ice breaking operations and rescued 40 people trapped by the sea ice.