Original Title: Implementation Opinions of the Zhoushan Municipal People’s Government Office on Promoting the High-Quality Development of the International Maritime Services Industry in the Pilot Free Trade Zone
People’s Governments of All Counties (Districts), Administrative Committees of All Functional Zones, and All Units Directly Under the Municipal Government:
To further implement the spirit of documents such as the “Notice of the State Council on Issuing the Overall Plan for the China (Zhejiang) Pilot Free Trade Zone” (State Council Document [2017] No. 16) and the “Approval of the State Council on Several Measures to Support the Open Development of the Full Oil and Gas Industry Chain in the China (Zhejiang) Pilot Free Trade Zone” (State Council Letter [2020] No. 32), and to promote the high-quality development of the international maritime services industry in the Pilot Free Trade Zone, the following implementation opinions are hereby put forward with the approval of the Municipal Government.
I. General Requirements
Guided by Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, we will fully leverage the geographical advantages of the Zhoushan Port and the strengths of the marine industry. We will further emancipate our thinking, benchmark against advanced practices,strengthen our strengths and address our weaknesses, expand and strengthen leading industries such as bonded marine fuel bunkering, ship supply, ship repair, and ship trading, accelerate the development of extended industries such as seafarer and ship management and ship financial leasing, reinforce infrastructure and policy support, and continuously enhance the industry’s level and international competitiveness.By 2027, we aim to establish an international maritime service base with distinctive characteristics, industrial clustering, and efficient services that carries international influence. The total industrial output value will exceed 60 billion yuan, with bonded fuel supply surpassing 10 million tons, propelling us into the top three global marine fuel bunkering ports. The value of supplies to foreign vessels will reach 6 billion U.S. dollars;achieve a ship trading volume of 10 billion yuan, and consolidate its position as the nation’s largest ship trading market.
II. Key Support Measures
(1) Support the expansion and strengthening of the bonded marine fuel bunkering industry. Encourage enterprises to further expand their supply operations and service areas, stabilize the supply of bonded fuel oil, support the retrofitting and upgrading of barges while optimizing management mechanisms, reduce pilotage fees for anchorage bunkering operations, and promote the continuous growth and strengthening of enterprises.Priority will be given to encouraging ship fueling enterprises to enhance their operational capabilities. Special incentives will be provided for key areas such as meeting annual supply volume targets, handling large vessels and major contracts, conducting anchorage bunkering, installing mass flow meters, and developing new business models. For international vessels receiving encouraged maritime services at relevant anchorages designated by maritime authorities, the standard pilotage fee rate will be reduced by up to 50%. Support will be provided for eligible bonded fuel oil blending enterprises to conduct tax refund pilot programs.Accelerate the development of smart management systems covering the entire supply chain for bonded fuel bunkering. Innovatively implement a classification and grading management mechanism for barges; for barges that meet the criteria after review, allow bunkering operations to be conducted at anchorages when on-site wind speeds do not exceed (including) Force 7, and exempt them from tugboat supervision during operations at the Xiushan East Anchorage.
(2) Support the leapfrog development of the supply market for international vessels. Strengthen the development of industrial park platforms to encourage enterprises to establish operations in Zhoushan and foster clustered development. Support enterprises in continuously expanding their supply scale, explore digital transformation in the external supply industry and digital reforms in regulatory oversight, and continuously improve supply benefits and efficiency. Prioritize support for expanding the supply market for international vessels, providing a special incentive of up to 1 million yuan for enterprises based on the annual increase in the value of goods supplied.Accelerate the construction of specialized warehousing parks, encourage relevant port authorities to establish a presence and implement centralized supervision, and support the establishment of public marine paint warehouses, bonded warehouses, and supporting berths within these parks. Provide special rewards to eligible third-party park operators based on their overall contribution.Foster the development of third-party digital trading platforms, support data integration between these platforms and public platforms such as government ports and financial institutions, and establish an efficient and convenient digital customs clearance and supervision model. Special rewards of up to 2 million yuan will be granted to platform enterprises based on comprehensive benefits, including annual transaction volume.
(3) Support the clustering and development of ship repair service providers. Guide enterprises to establish operations in maritime service industrial parks, construct repair workshops and warehousing bases, and promote the clustering and standardized development of ship repair service providers.For newly established ship engineering and technical service enterprises in the industrial park with annual turnover exceeding 50 million yuan, rent subsidies of up to 2 million yuan for warehousing and office space will be provided based on their comprehensive contribution. Additionally, eligible senior executives of these enterprises will be eligible for personal income tax incentives.
(4) Support the clustering of the ship and crew management industry. Actively attract ship and crew management enterprises, accelerate the construction of a crew assessment center, support enterprises in fully utilizing hardware resources such as local universities to conduct training for crew members on vessels in service, and encourage crew members to pursue careers and settle in Zhoushan.Support the growth and strengthening of ship and crew management enterprises; enterprises with new revenue exceeding 10 million yuan will be eligible for a special reward of up to 600,000 yuan. Encourage crew members who have completed training and obtained relevant qualification certificates to seek employment in Zhoushan; eligible crew members will receive a subsidy covering more than 50% of their training costs.Implement a talent recognition system for senior seafarers in Zhoushan. Eligible seafarers or talents recommended and recognized by the Free Trade Zone Talent Recommendation Committee may enjoy talent policies such as housing purchase subsidies and children’s education benefits in accordance with the corresponding talent categories. Implement individual income tax reduction policies for deep-sea seafarers: for deep-sea seafarers who have accumulated a total of 183 days at sea within a single tax year, their salary and wage income shall be included in the taxable income at a reduced rate of 50% for the purpose of individual income tax calculation.
(5) Support the expansion and strengthening of ship trading platforms. Support the concentration of ship trading activities on ship trading platforms, continuously expand the scale of the trading market, and enhance the level of ship import and export services.Encourage the development of high-end ancillary services such as auctions, brokerage, and appraisal. Based on the growth in transaction volume, provide a reward equivalent to 1% of the platform’s transaction-related revenue, with a maximum of 1 million yuan. Encourage the development of ship import and export operations and provide special rewards to platforms based on the scale of foreign trade.
(6) Support the development of ship finance leasing. Focus on extending and diversifying the industrial chain; encourage the development of ship finance leasing to enhance financial services for the shipping industry. Support the growth of ship finance leasing enterprises and encourage their active participation in ship sales transactions involving local shipping companies. Provide financial subsidies equivalent to 1% of the total financing volume for contracts with terms of three years or longer, with a maximum of 600,000 yuan per vessel and 1.2 million yuan per enterprise.
(7) Strengthen infrastructure and financial support. Enhance safety supervision and safeguards for offshore operations; accelerate the deployment and construction of facilities and equipment to improve maritime situational awareness, such as meteorological monitoring at anchorages, maritime communications, and beyond-line-of-sight high-definition video surveillance; and plan and develop a number of specialized service-oriented anchorages.Support the development of a specialized barge fleet. Provide one-time rewards of 5% and 10% of the vessel’s construction cost, respectively, to “Zhoushan-class” fuel supply vessels and multi-functional maritime service vessels engaged in supplying international vessels at anchor in our city, with maximum reward amounts of 2 million yuan and 1 million yuan, respectively.Strengthen financial support; the municipal government will allocate a total of approximately 300 million yuan over five years to support the development of the international maritime services industry in the Free Trade Zone.
III. Implementation
(1) Where the beneficiaries of this opinion also meet the eligibility criteria for multiple policy support measures in Zhoushan City (Zhoushan Area of the Zhejiang Pilot Free Trade Zone), the most favorable policy shall apply, and no duplicate benefits shall be granted. This opinion shall take effect on January 1, 2023, and remain valid until December 31, 2027. Support incentives for the ship bunkering industry and pilotage fee reduction policies for the year 2022 shall be implemented in accordance with this opinion.
(2) The Municipal Bureau of Ports, Shipping, and Port Facilities, the Comprehensive Coordination Bureau of the Free Trade Zone, and the Policy and Regulations Bureau of the Free Trade Zone shall, in conjunction with relevant functional departments, ensure the proper organization and implementation of these measures. In principle, implementation rules for the financial policies covered by this document must be formulated and issued by December 31, 2022.All counties (districts), functional zones, and relevant departments shall enhance their understanding of these policies and, with a focus on the development of the maritime service industry, provide strong support in areas such as investment promotion, trade transactions, fiscal and financial policies, port clearance, and the provision of resources and other essential factors.
Office of the Zhoushan Municipal People’s Government
October 28, 2022
