Significant breakthrough in coastal escort services! Foreign shipping companies have fully entered the market, and the pilot program has been postponed until 2027

1、 Introduction to Coastal Escort Services for International Navigation Ships:

The coastal escort service for international navigation vessels (referred to as "coastal escort") refers to the transportation service of foreign or Chinese international navigation vessels (usually large ocean liners) carrying foreign trade import and export container goods between Chinese coastal ports with the permission of Chinese customs and transportation departments.

1. Policy breakthrough: Foreign shipping companies officially participate in coastal escort (2021)

In 2021, the State Council approved the pilot adjustment of coastal escort policies in the Lingang New Area of the Shanghai Free Trade Zone, allowing eligible foreign investment and Hong Kong Macau international container shipping companies to use non five-star flag vessels to carry out foreign trade container loading coastal escort business between Dalian, Tianjin, Qingdao and Shanghai Yangshan Port

2. First order landing: Foreign funded ships complete domestic coastal escort (2022)

On May 31, 2022, Maersk's "Meiruo Maersk" ship loaded 27 imported containers at Yangshan Port in Shanghai and transferred them to Dongjiang Port in Tianjin, marking the official landing of the coastal escort business of foreign shipping companies.

3. Pilot extension: Policy dividends continue until 2027

On December 31, 2024, the Ministry of Transport announced the extension of the coastal piggyback pilot policy until December 31, 2027, and added Lianyungang as a pilot port. Lianyungang has joined in, covering the core port group from Bohai Sea Rim to Yangtze River Delta, serving the east-west two-way opening of the "the Belt and Road". Strong policy continuity provides stable expectations for shipping companies and attracts more international capital to layout China's coastal logistics chain.

2、 Tianjin Customs' coastal escort business has achieved leapfrog development:

After two and a half years of continuous optimization, Tianjin Customs has made breakthrough progress in its coastal escort business. The latest statistics show that in 2024, Tianjin Customs supervised the coastal carrying business of international shipping vessels, with a total volume of 86600 TEUs. Among them, the business volume of foreign-funded shipping companies reached 63600 TEUs, a year-on-year increase of 142.9%, highlighting the significant improvement of Tianjin Port's position as an international shipping hub.

1. The service scope continues to expand:

Promote the comprehensive opening of coastal escort services at the five major ports of Tianjin Port, expanding the types of goods from ordinary goods to cold chain transportation such as frozen goods, to meet diversified logistics needs.

2. Revolutionary improvement in clearance efficiency:

Innovatively implementing a paperless operation mode throughout the entire process, through the tripartite information linkage mechanism of "customs, port, and enterprise", the clearance time for customs declaration, domestic transportation, and other links has been compressed to "seconds", and the time for document verification and seal inspection has been significantly shortened.

3. Fully unleash cost advantages:

Business process optimization effectively reduces international transit time for goods and continuously lowers transportation costs for import and export enterprises. Simultaneously driving the comprehensive improvement of Tianjin Port's throughput and regional radiation function.

3、 Dongjiang Customs innovatively provides supervision services to boost the volume of coastal escort business for foreign ships by nearly 30%

Tianjin Dongjiang Customs has achieved significant growth in coastal escort services for foreign ships by optimizing regulatory services. In January and February 2025, Dongjiang Customs supervised 7660 TEUs of containers carried by foreign ships along the coast, a year-on-year increase of 29.1%, demonstrating strong development momentum.

Risk prevention and control upgrade

(1) Risk prevention and control upgrade: Establish a linkage mechanism between document review and goods supervision, focusing on verifying key risk points such as original bill of lading seals, effectively preventing exchange risks, and improving regulatory accuracy.

(2) Service efficiency improvement

1. Build a communication platform for "customs, enterprises, and ports" to track ship dynamics in real time

2. Provide diversified route selection solutions

3. Establish a dedicated policy consulting position

4. Implement 24/7 verification and sealing services

(3) Reduced customs clearance costs

By optimizing guidance services such as customs clearance and port declaration, the clearance time for enterprises has been significantly shortened, and efficient allocation of shipping resources has been assisted.

Through a series of precise and convenient service measures, Dongjiang Customs has not only improved regulatory efficiency, but also provided enterprises with a better customs clearance experience, effectively promoting coastal escort business