The picture shows the portable water gauge monitoring device independently invented by the customs. (Photo by Li Zhenhua)

At noon on August 8, the cargo ship loaded with 55000 tons of imported coal docked at No. 105 berth of Panjin Port. The inspection officers of Panjin customs under Dalian customs are boarding the ship to carry out the water gauge weight measurement. At one observation point, the customs officer opened a portable suitcase and lowered the observation device to the vicinity of the ship's water gauge. Through wireless data transmission, the customs officer directly read the water gauge data on the screen. The whole observation and calculation work was completed in only half an hour.

"The 'water gauge observation artifact' in my hand is a portable water gauge observation device independently invented by our Panjin customs. It can be operated by a single soldier. It has the characteristics of portability, high efficiency, accurate measurement and real-time data recording. Last month, it obtained the patent certification of the State Intellectual Property office." Li Zhenhua, inspection officer of Panjin customs, said.

The most vivid expression of water gauge weighing work is "Cao Chong weighs the elephant", which is a widely used weighing method in international trade. It is generally applicable to bulk solid bulk commodities with low value and difficult weighing by weighing instruments. It has the characteristics of short measuring time and low cost. In the water gauge weighing, the most important link is the observation of the draught of the six sides of the ship. After the weighing, the customs will issue the weight certificate, which can be used by enterprises for pricing and settlement or external claims, and also for the customs to levy taxes. It is an important inspection basis for the settlement of goods between international trade parties.

In the past, when carrying out water gauge weight measurement, customs officers had to climb a soft ladder or take a tug to the bottom of the ship for observation. The risk factor was high, and it was difficult to trace back in case of disputes. The portable water gauge observation device effectively makes up for the above shortcomings. It uses the lifting unit to lower the observation part to the vicinity of the ship's draft mark. The customs officer controls the electromagnetic stabilization device through the remote controller to stably fix the observation unit on the ship's hull. Then the customs officer can directly observe the ship's draft on the display screen. The equipment adopts electromagnetic stabilization device and three-axis stabilized platform, which improves the observation accuracy of the water gauge. It can also record the real-time data through wireless transmission, and effectively solve the tracing disputes in the process of water gauge observation.

With the formal use of the new observation device, Dalian Customs has formed a pattern of coexistence of various observation instruments such as "unmanned aerial vehicle" and "portable water gauge observation device", which further enhances the scientific and technological support of Customs Law Enforcement and provides more guarantees for safeguarding the legitimate rights and interests of enterprises. Since the use of the portable water gauge observation device, Dalian Customs has identified three batches of imported goods with major short weight, with a total short weight of more than 1700 tons, and recovered more than 1.3 million yuan for foreign trade enterprises. (written by Sui Chenghui and Li Zhenhua)

Source: General Administration of Customs