Marine accidents in China caused economic losses of 443 million
yuan (US$56.8 million) in 2006, according to the Ministry of
Communications (MOC) on Tuesday.
Xu Zuyuan, Vice Minister of Communications and Chairman of China
Maritime Search and Rescue Center, said economic losses dropped
10.6 percent from 2005.
According to Xu, 376 people were killed in 440 marine accidents
last year. Fatalities were 21.5 percent down, while the number of
marine accidents declined 17.2 percent from the previous year.
China launched 1,620 major rescue operation in 2006, with 16,753
people being rescued including 962 foreigners. The rescue success
rate was 95.7 percent, said the vice minister.
Xu said that to improve safety China closed 457 factories that
produced low-quality vessels last year.
China has established a modern monitoring and rescue network on
its waterways, said Xu.
According to statistics, the MOC has arranged 895 monitoring and
rescue vessels as well as nine rescue planes covering offshore
China and major rivers such as the Yangtze River and the
Heilongjiang River.
(Xinhua News Agency January 16, 2007)