Press Conference on the Cancellation of Ferry in Guanhe District of Lianyungang Maritime Safety Administration
Time: 10: 00 on May 21st, 2020.
Venue: Lianyungang Press Conference Hall
Moderator: Yang Yan, Deputy Director of Party Group Work Department of Lianyungang Maritime Safety Administration
Publisher: Bao Jilai, deputy director and spokesperson of Lianyungang Maritime Safety Administration; Yin Wenwei, vice chairman of guannan county CPPCC and director of Transportation Bureau; Wu Xiaojun, deputy director of Lianyungang Guanhe Maritime Department.
Issue: Introduce the cancellation of ferry in Guanhe area of Lianyungang Maritime Safety Administration.
Yang Yan: Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, friends of the news media!
Today, we held a press conference on "Cancellation of Ferry in Guanhe Jurisdiction of Lianyungang Maritime Safety Administration" in Lianyungang Press Hall.
Attending the conference were Bao Jilai, deputy director and spokesman of Lianyungang Maritime Safety Administration, Yin Wenwei, vice chairman of Lianyungang guannan county CPPCC and director of the Transportation Bureau, and Wu Xiaojun, deputy director of Lianyungang Guanhe Marine Department. They will tell you about the cancellation of the ferry in Guanhe area of Lianyungang Maritime Safety Administration and answer questions that media friends are interested in.
I am Yang Yan, deputy director of the Party Group Work Department of Lianyungang Maritime Safety Administration, and today’s press conference is presided over by me.
Today, we are fortunate to have invited Xinhua Daily, Xinhuanet, Yangzi Evening News, Modern Express, Netease News, Lianyungang Radio Station, Lianyungang TV Station, Lianyungang Daily, Cangwu Evening News, Lianyungang Publishing and other media friends. Welcome to the conference!
First of all, please invite Comrade Bao Jilai, deputy director and spokesman of Lianyungang Maritime Safety Administration, to make a press release.
Bao Jilai: Good morning, leaders, guests and friends from the press!
Today, we are here to hold a press conference on the cancellation of the ferry in Guanhe jurisdiction of Lianyungang Maritime Safety Administration. Here, on behalf of Lianyungang Maritime Safety Administration, I would like to extend a warm welcome to the friends from the press attending the meeting! At the same time, I would also like to express my heartfelt thanks to all sectors of society who have long cared about and supported Lianyungang’s maritime development!
In 2019, the evacuation of four crossing lines in Guanhe area was officially started. Up to now, all ferries have completed the examination and approval of ferry cancellation, and the ferry lines under the jurisdiction of Lianyungang Maritime Safety Administration have all been cancelled. The ferry operation in the jurisdiction has completed its historical mission and the ferry trip has come to a successful end.
The evacuation work is related to people’s travel, and we must uphold a prudent and scientific attitude. The four crossing lines of Guanhe River were set up in the early 1990s, which once carried the heavy burden of communication between residents on both sides of Guanhe River. With the development of land traffic, the increase of ship traffic flow on the water and the aging of ferries, ferry trips have not adapted to the current situation and become a major risk threatening the water traffic safety in Guanhe waters. In order to ensure the safety of people’s lives and property, under the leadership of the people’s governments of guannan county and Xiangshui County, the competent departments of the county people’s government, the township people’s government where the ferry is located and the maritime administrative department have coordinated and promoted, and now the approval has been revoked. The ferry boarding facilities will be dismantled according to law, and the original ferry will be dismantled.
Here, we also call on residents on both sides of the strait to cooperate with the evacuation work, cherish their lives and put an end to private crossings.
Thank you!
Yang Yan: Thank you for the press release.
The following is a question-and-answer session. Please ask reporters and friends to ask questions on related issues.
Reporter: Hello, please briefly introduce the background of this ferry evacuation.
Wu Xiaojun: First of all, thank you for your concern about our work. I will answer this question.
There are four original ferry lines in Guanhe area of Lianyungang Maritime Bureau, namely Dazui-Chenjiagang ferry line, Jiudui-Dawan ferry line, Badui-Haian ferry line, and Sandui-Shuang Gang ferry line, with a total of eight ferries, which were set up in the early 1990s. At that time, apart from the Xiangshui 204 National Highway Bridge, no other bridges were erected in the lower reaches of Guanhe River, and the exchanges between residents on both sides of the strait mainly depended on ferries. Since the ferry lines were set up for nearly 30 years, they have been safely ferried for nearly 1,500 years.
The evacuation of the ferry is mainly due to the changes in the internal and external situations. First, with the rapid development of economy and society, many bridges such as Xiangshui 204 National Highway Bridge, Shenhai Expressway Guanhe Bridge, lianyungang-yancheng railway Guanhe Bridge and Guanjiangkou Bridge, which have basically met the travel needs of residents on both sides of the strait, are no longer an inevitable choice for residents on both sides of the strait to travel by ferry. Second, due to the effective management of the waterway in Guanhe Estuary and the continuous extension of the combined transport area between Guanhe River and Haihe River, the navigation environment of Guanhe River has changed greatly, and the trend of large-scale ships is obvious, and the traffic flow of ships has increased by orders of magnitude; Third, there are great security risks in the current ferry mode, such as the obvious aging of the ferry. In recent years, there are 349 hidden dangers of ferry safety detected by the maritime department alone, which seriously threatens the travel safety of people on both sides of the strait.
These changes in the internal and external situation have made the evacuation work very necessary and urgent.
Reporter: Hello, what supporting measures are there after the ferry is cancelled?
Yin Wenwei: Thank you for your question. I will answer this question.
After the ferry is cancelled, as the competent department of the industry, we will work with the maritime department and the township government where the ferry is located, relying on the supervision and coordination mechanism of the ferry withdrawal to jointly promote the follow-up work.
First, vigorously carry out publicity and mobilization. Through media release, posting the announcement of ferry suspension, etc., actively announce the ferry withdrawal information through multiple channels, and explain it to residents on both sides of the strait, calling on them to actively cooperate and guide them to take the initiative to choose land travel.
Second, continue to strengthen ferry supervision. Combined with the special rectification activities of safety production, we will continue to carry out inspections on the original ferry, increase the intensity and frequency of inspections, and resolutely put an end to the occurrence of private crossings.
The third is to dismantle the ferry facilities in an orderly manner. Timely follow-up work, including the cancellation of ferry households and the dismantling of ferry boarding facilities, will be done to ensure the orderly progress in accordance with the law and ensure the safety of people’s lives and property in the ferry area.
Thank you all.
Reporter: Hello, please briefly introduce the impact on the navigation safety of Guanhe waters after the evacuation.
Bao Jilai: Thank you for your question. I will answer this question.
It is obvious that the cancellation of ferry has brought favorable changes to the navigation environment. With the rapid economic development on both sides of Guanhe River, the navigation capacity and demand of Guanhe River have been greatly improved, and the port throughput and ship traffic flow have increased by orders of magnitude. With the demand of large-scale ships and fast navigation, the crossing of ferries poses a great threat to the navigation safety of passing ships, and the thrilling scene of "passing by" occurs from time to time. Once it cannot dodge, it will bring about dangerous accidents of group deaths and injuries. After the ferry is withdrawn, the ascending and descending ships are no longer worried about the crossing of the ferry, just as we are no longer worried about pedestrians and non-motor vehicles crossing the road when driving, so we can sail more quickly and safely, which not only improves the navigation efficiency in water areas, but also improves the water safety level.
Thank you.
Yang Yan: Thank you again for your introduction and answers, and thank you media friends for attending today’s press conference. Please contact our staff if you need to continue the interview.
This concludes today’s press conference. Thank you!
