CMSI China Maritime Reports
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Description
Since the creation of the People’s Republic of China’s merchant fleet, the Chinese Communist Party has implemented a system of political control aboard oceangoing vessels through ship Party branches and ship political commissars. This report focuses on the ship political commissar, a Party representative assigned to oceangoing merchant ships, particularly within state-owned shipping enterprises, to carry out political and administrative work in the management of ship crews. Having peaked in authority and power during the Cultural Revolution, the ship political commissar position has evolved over the decades following economic reforms in the 1980s. Despite years of problematic implementation, the ship political commissar system is currently undergoing a revitalization in staterun shipping companies. The position has supporting roles to play in carrying out national tasking such as evacuations of overseas Chinese citizens. Most ship political commissars are former PLA officers. Chinese roll-on/roll-off ferry operators constitute a special case where the ship political commissar may have greater authority in the ship hierarchy and potentially a role in supporting PLA use of those vessels. This report focuses on the ship political commissar system over the last 20 years, providing a needed update on this understudied topic in the English-language literature.
Publication Date
August, 2024
Publisher
China Maritime Studies Institute, U.S Naval War College
City
Newport, Rhode Island
Keywords
China, PRC, China Maritime Studies Institute, CMSI, People’s Liberation Army, PLAN, Merchant, Commissar
Recommended Citation
Kennedy, Conor M., "China Maritime Report No. 40: Onboard Political Control - The Ship Political Commissar in Chinese Merchant Shipping" (2024). CMSI China Maritime Reports. 40.
https://digital-commons.usnwc.edu/cmsi-maritime-reports/40
