[Epoch Times November 18, 2021](Epoch Times reporter Xia Yu compiled a report) The changes brought about by the COVID-19 epidemic have plunged the global supply chain into crisis and are affecting the recovery of the global economy. Reuters reported on November 16 that, according to three directly affected shipping sources, after the Chinese Communist Party introduced a new data law, ships in Chinese waters are disappearing from the tracking system, making it difficult to alleviate the supply chain crisis. Efforts are frustrated.
The “Personal Information Protection Law” of the Communist Party of China came into effect on November 1. This law adds a large number of new rules to strengthen the Chinese government’s control over how domestic and foreign organizations collect and export data from China.
A source told Reuters on Wednesday (November 17) that although there are no specific guidelines on shipping data in the regulations, some domestic suppliers in China have stopped providing information to foreign companies due to the direct consequences of the new regulations.
And foreign companies rely on this data to provide information about the volume of goods and help optimize logistics by predicting congestion so that companies can make key decisions about transportation routes.
MarineTraffic is the world‘s leading supplier of ship tracking and maritime affairs. It is currently one of the foreign companies that have encountered resistance in obtaining important shipping location data in China. Most of the world‘s manufactured products and some industrial products are produced in China.
Anastasis Touros, head of MarineTraffic’s AIS network team, said: “If this situation continues, it will have a significant impact on the transparency of the global supply chain, especially as we enter the busy Christmas period. , The global supply chain is already facing huge problems.”
“Suddenly, we didn’t know when the ship left and where it left from, and we couldn’t fully understand the port congestion provided to us by AIS.”
The Automatic Identification System (AIS system for short) provides the location of ships and is used by other ships, ports, and many other organizations of banks and traders for search and rescue operations.
According to data from market intelligence and valuation provider VesselsValue, from October 28 to November 15, ground shipping data in all waters of China decreased by approximately 90%.
“Since China is a major importer of coal and iron ore and one of the world‘s major container exporters, the decline in (ship) location data may pose a major challenge to the transparency of the marine supply chain.” Chief Trade Analyst Charlotte ‧ Cook (Charlotte Cook) said.
Two other sources claim that ground AIS data has dropped by 45% in recent days.
An official of the Guangdong Maritime Safety Administration told Reuters that the AIS rules were formulated by the department’s headquarters in Beijing. Reuters calls to the Beijing office of the Maritime Safety Administration were unanswered.
Other CCP officials did not immediately respond to Reuters’ request for comment.
A spokesperson for the International Maritime Organization, a United Nations agency, did not comment. The organization has adopted global AIS regulations.
AIS information is taken from continuous transmission. Although satellite data can be used to organize it, ground data is required for heavily congested areas or places that require frequent updates.
It is not yet clear how AIS users will be able to pay close attention to transportation trends if the data gap continues.
The lack of shipping data has dealt a greater blow to the supply chain that is already facing a crisis. The COVID-19 pandemic, which has lasted for more than a year, has exposed the fragility of the global supply chain in everything from food to fashion.
The surge in demand for goods, the shortage of containers, and the congestion of ports have caused soaring transportation costs and shortage of holiday supplies. On a global scale, the current supply chain crisis makes it even more important for AIS data to determine the shipment plans of major Chinese suppliers.
Of the ten largest container ports in the world, mainland China accounts for six.
An employee of Elane Inc, a Beijing-based company with an AIS data platform of approximately 2.5 million users, told Reuters, “Recently it has stopped all transactions with foreign entities.”
“The change happened last month. We now only provide data to domestic users,” said the employee, who asked not to be named.
Editor in charge: Li Huanyu#
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