Zhejiang Daily: Zhejiang Pioneers Use of Third-Party Inspections for Crude Oil Clearance

Ningbo, September 24 (Zhejiang Daily) - By Reporters Bai Zhezhe& Li Hua, and Correspondents Li Huanyu& Guo Dazhao

On September 24, Zhejiang Province cleared its first shipment of crude oil using third-party inspection results for Customs supervision, demonstrating a policy shift that cuts waiting times for crude oil importers, improves the operating environment for energy imports, and adds momentum to the province’s goal of becoming a bulk commodity resource allocation hub.

The vessel Lihai, berthed at Suanshan Terminal of Ningbo-Zhoushan Port, began offloading 87,000 metric tons of imported crude oil under the supervision of Beilun Customs, a subsidiary of Ningbo Customs. The crude oil will be stored in onshore tanks before being routed to industrial users for further operation.“Under the new policy, crude oil importers are permitted to freely select third-party inspection bodies listed in the Directory of Accredited Inspection Institutions for Imported Crude Oil to perform inspections,” explained Wu Zongtao, Deputy Director of the Department of Commodity Inspection at Ningbo Customs. “The third-party institution submits its report through a credit-based management system, and after a risk assessment, Customs can approve rapid release of the cargo.” This approach replaces the traditional procedure where Customs clearance is granted only after the Customs authorities have completed their own sampling and testing, resulting in a more flexible and efficient inspection process.

“Adopting third-party inspection results eliminates the waiting period for Customs testing of crude oil,” said Zhang Furong, Manager of the Operations Planning Department at Sinopec Zhenhai Refining & Chemical Company. “Each shipment can now proceed directly to production after docking, bringing significant convenience gains for manufacturers, and helping enterprises to reduce costs and improve efficiency.”

September 25, 2025 – Zhejiang Daily (Source: Department of Commodity Inspection, Beilun Customs)