On December 1, the Pearl River Navigation Administration of the Ministry of Transport held a press conference on the implementation of the new version of the Implementation Plan for Passenger Roll on Transportation Liner Operation in Qiongzhou Strait (hereinafter referred to as "the new version"). The new version of the Plan further optimizes and innovates the passenger ro passenger transport liner operation mode in the Qiongzhou Strait by taking measures such as star rating of ship service and promoting excellent ships for more transportation. Since the trial operation for one month, the overall time of ship crossing the sea has been shortened by 15 minutes on average. According to the relevant person in charge of the Pearl River Shipping Administration, with the continuous acceleration of the construction of Hainan Free Trade Port, the roll on/roll off passenger transport market pattern has undergone significant changes, and the original implementation plan for liner operation can no longer fully meet the new development requirements. Therefore, the Pearl River Shipping Administration has optimized and innovated the passenger ro ro transport liner operation mode in Qiongzhou Strait, revised and issued a new version of the Plan and related supporting documents on the basis of the Qiongzhou Strait Passenger ro Transport Liner Operation Implementation Plan issued in 2019. From November 1, 2022, a one month trial operation was carried out, and it was officially put into operation on December 1. The passenger ro transport in Qiongzhou Strait is divided into the routes between Haikou and Xuwen and between Haikou and Beihai. The new version of the Plan requires that the voyage time of Ro Ro passenger transport ships on the main route between Haikou New Harbor and Xuwen Nanshan Port should not exceed 100 minutes, and gradually shortened to 70 minutes; The sailing time on the auxiliary route of Haikou Xiuying Port and Xuwen Hai'an New Port shall not exceed 120 minutes and shall be gradually shortened to 80 minutes. The new version of the Plan also specifies the departure time and arrival time of ships, and the requirements of "ships must be dispatched when they arrive" for ship loading. The reporter learned at the meeting that since the trial, the average waiting time of passenger ro transport in Qiongzhou Strait has been shortened by 5 minutes, the average sailing time has been reduced by 10 minutes, and the average overall sea crossing time has been shortened by 15 minutes. Another highlight of the new version of the Plan and supporting documents is the classification of ship service levels. In January this year, Qiongzhou Strait (Hainan) Ferry Transportation Co., Ltd. was officially put into operation. In addition to the railway transportation routes, 49 ships on both sides of Hainan and Guangdong have achieved unified operation and dispatch. "In order to enhance the vitality through the competition mechanism, the competition mode of taking ships as a unit is proposed, and priority is given to ships with high star service." Introduction by relevant responsible person of the Pearl River Navigation Administration. In September this year, the third-party evaluation organization organized experts to evaluate the safety management and service quality of 49 ships, and based on this, the ship service level was divided into five stars. During the trial operation, the schedule plan of 140 voyages is mainly implemented, and five-star and four-star ships carry out more than 100 voyages every day. Due to the improvement of operation efficiency, the number of operating ships invested has decreased, thus improving the berth turnover rate of the terminal and reducing the occupation time of the ship's access channel. At the same time, reduce the operation of low star old ships and further reduce the risk of maritime navigation safety. (Liu Xinshe)