BEIJING - A stricter pollution prevention and control regulation for small vessels in China's inland rivers will come into force on Oct 1.

The new regulation will cover small boats with a gross tonnage of less than 400 tonnes and a passenger capacity of fewer than 15 passengers.

According to the new regulation issued by the Ministry of Transport, the water pollutant discharge of such boats shall be subject to a regulation that previously regulated only bigger ships.

The regulation also requires such ships to possess treatment facilities for wastewater and grease-polluted water from machinery while their discharges must conform to relevant pollution control standards, ordering those that do not meet these standards to conduct improvements.

Boats with a gross tonnage of less than 400 tonnes account for over 60 percent of the river vessels sailing in China's inland waters such as the Yangtze River, the Pearl River and the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal.