Thông tư 20/2016/TT-BGTVT

CIRCULAR

AMENDMENTS AND SUPPLEMENTS TO A NUMBER OF ARTICLES OF MINISTER OF TRANSPORT’S CIRCULAR No. 66/2014/TT-BGTVT DATED NOVEMBER 12, 2014 STIPULATING PASSENGER, CARGO AND CONSIGNMENT TRANSPORT BY HIGH-SPEED PASSENGER CRAFT BETWEEN PORTS, WHARVES AND WATERS WITHIN VIETNAM’S INTERNAL AND CROSS-BORDER WATERS

Pursuant to Vietnam Maritime Code 2005;

Pursuant to the Law on Inland Waterway Navigation dated June 15, 2004; the Law on Amendments to a number of articles of to the Law on Inland Waterway Navigation dated June 17, 2014;

Pursuant to the Government’s Decree No. 30/2014/NĐ-CP dated April 14, 2014 stipulating conditions for sea transport and sea transport support service business;

Pursuant to the Government’s Decree No. 110/2014/NĐ-CP dated November 20, 2014 stipulating conditions for inland waterway transport business;

Pursuant to the Government's Decree No. 107/2012/NĐ-CP dated December 20, 2012, defining the functions, tasks, entitlements and organizational structure of the Ministry of Transport;

At the request of general director of Department of Transport and general director of Vietnam Inland Waterway Administration,

The Minister of Transport promulgates the Circular amending and supplementing a number of articles of the Minister of Transport’s Circular No. 66/2014/TT-BGTVT dated November 12, 2014 stipulating passenger, cargo and consignment transport by high-speed passenger craft between ports, wharves and waters within Vietnam’s internal and cross-border waters.

Article 1. Amend and supplement a number of articles of the Minister of Transport’s Circular No. 66/2014/TT-BGTVT dated November 12, 2014 stipulating passenger, cargo and consignment transport by high-speed passenger craft between ports, wharves and waters within Vietnam’s internal and cross-border waters

1. Amendments to Article 3 as follows:

“Article 3. Interpretation of terms

In this Circular, some terms are construed as follows:

1. Passenger craft is an inland watercraft which is capable of carrying more than 12 persons.

2. People craft is an inland watercraft which is capable of carrying from 12 persons and under.

3. High-speed passenger craft is a passenger craft which is certified by Vietnam registration agency as conformable to National technical regulation on classification and high-speed ship building. The passenger craft operates by sliding at a speed of at least 30 km in full load which separates the hull completely from water surface thanks to the aerodynamic lift produced by surface effect.

4. Passengers are people onboard other than crewmembers and service staff.

5. Relevant port authorities are the Inland Waterway Port Authority or Maritime Port Authority.”

2. Amendments to Article 5 as follows:

“Article 5. Procedures for granting approval for passenger, cargo and consignment transport by high-speed passenger crafts on fixed routes

1. Organizations and/or individuals must submit an application for approval for passenger, cargo and consignment transport on fixed routes or via the postal system or other appropriate manners to competent agencies as follows:

a) For Vietnamese organizations and/or individuals, the application shall be submitted to the Services of Transport or the Maritime Port Authority (in case the craft departs from ports or wharves within responsibility of the Maritime Port Authority).

b) For foreign-capitalized organizations and/or individuals, the application shall be submitted to the Inland Waterway Administration Regional Branch (in case the craft departs from ports or wharves within responsibility of the Inland Waterway Administration Regional Branch) or the Maritime Port Authority (in case the craft departs from ports or wharves within responsibility of the Maritime Port Authority).

2. The application includes:

a) Registration of passenger, cargo and consignment transport activities on fixed routes according to the form in Annex I enclosed herewith;

b) Agreement or contract (remaining in force) for access to ports or wharves to pick up and drop passengers;

c) Authenticated copy (or copy accompanied by original for comparison) of following papers (remaining in force): Craft registration certificate; technical safety and environmental protection certificate; enterprise registration certificate or business registration certificate or business household registration certificate; investment certificate (in case of foreign organizations and individuals).

d) Service quality registration according to the form in Annex II enclosed herewith;

dd) High-speed passenger craft operation process including following information: Number of crafts, operation period, maintenance and repair period, number of crewmembers and process of coping with situations in case the craft is in trouble.

3. Approval procedures:

a) In case of submission of the application in person, if the application is legally adequate, a receipt of the application shall be issued to the applicant along with an appointment note as prescribed, otherwise the application shall be returned along with instructions on completion to the applicant.

b) In case of submission of the application via the postal system or other manners, if the application is not legally adequate, within two working days since receipt, the competent agency shall issue a written request to the applicant for supplements or completion.

c) Within two working days since receipt of the application which is legally adequate, the competent agency shall carry out collection of suggestions as follows:

The Services of Transport shall issue a written request for suggestions to the Maritime Port Authority (where ports or wharves are accessed or passed by the craft), to Vietnam Inland Waterway Administration (in case the craft travels on national inland waterway route).

The Inland Waterway Administration Regional Branch shall issue a written request for suggestions to the Maritime Port Authority (where ports or wharves are accessed or passed by the craft), to the Services of Transport (where ports or wharves are accessed by the craft or in case the craft travels on related local inland waterway routes).

The Maritime Port Authority shall issue a written request for suggestions to the Services of Transport (where ports or wharves are accessed by the craft or in case the craft travels on related local inland waterway routes), to the Vietnam Inland Waterway Administration (in case the craft travels on national inland waterway route).

Within two working days since receipt of suggestions, the Vietnam Inland Waterway Administration, the Services of Transport and relevant port authorities shall make a written response.

d) Within three working days since the time limit for collecting suggestions from relevant agencies expires, the competent agency shall grant approval to the applicant.

3. Amendments to Article 8 as follows:

“Article 8. Procedures for entry and exit of high-speed passenger craft from ports or wharves

1. Within 20 minutes at the latest before the craft is expected to enter the port or wharf, the captain shall make a notification of arrival time, passengers and cargo onboard to the port authority or wharf management board. The notification can be delivered by VHF or other communications equipment.

2. After the craft arrives in ports or wharves

a) Procedures for entry and exit from inland ports or wharves are conformable with regulations on inland waterways;

b) Procedures for entry and exit from sea ports are conformable with regulations on maritime.

3. The port authority or wharf management board shall carry out physical verification of the craft after the inspection of papers is done. If the craft meets safety conditions, the port authority or wharf management board shall grant the entry permit to the craft. If the craft fails to meet safety conditions as prescribed, the port authority or wharf management board shall make a written record and handle the case according to laws."

4. Amendments to Article 16 as follows:

“Article 16. Handling of accidents in port waters, wharves, inland waterways

The handling of accidents in port waters, wharves and inland waterways by relevant organizations and/or individuals shall be conformable with provisions set out in Clause 22, Article 11 of the Law on Amendments to a number of articles of the Law on Inland Waterway Navigation dated June 17, 2014, the Prime Minister’s Decision No. 51/2015/QĐ-TTg dated October 14, 2015 stipulating search and rescue operations on inland waterways and the Minister of Transport’s regulations on management of activities of ports and inland wharves.”

5. Amendments to Article 17 as follows:

“Article 17. Handling of accidents in seaport waters, navigation channels

The handling of accidents in seaport waters and navigation channels by relevant organizations and/or individuals shall be conformable with the Prime Minister’s Decision No. 06/2014/QĐ-TTg dated January 20, 2014 promulgating coordination in search and rescue operations on seaport waters, the Minister of Transport’s Circular No. 34/2015/TT-BGTVT dated July 24, 2015 stipulating reporting and investigation of maritime accidents.”

6. Amendments and supplements to Article 18 as follows:

“Article 18. Temporary suspension of crafts

Upon detection of any problem or incident occurring to a high-speed passenger craft which may have effects on the craft’s technical safety, the Services of Transport, the Inland Waterway Administration Regional Branch and relevant port authorities shall temporarily suspend operation of the craft and shall permit the resumption of the operation upon receipt of confirmations from relevant registration agencies that the craft has meet the safety conditions.”

Article 2

1. Replace the phrase “in case the craft departs from ports or wharves within responsibility of the Services of Transport” with “unless the craft departs from ports or wharves within responsibility of the Maritime Port Authority” in Clause 1, Article 10 and Clause 1, Article 11 of the Minister of Transport’s Circular No. 66/2014/TT-BGTVT dated November 12, 2014.

2. Replace the word “passengers” with “people” in Point a, Clause 1, Article 11 and Annex III enclosed with the Minister of Transport's Circular No. 66/2014/TT-BGTVT dated November 12, 2014.

3. Annul Article 6, Article 9 and the phrase “under the tramp contract” in Clause 1, Article 13 of the Minister of Transport’s Circular No. 66/2014/TT-BGTVT dated November 12, 2014.

Article 3. Effect

This Circular takes effect since October 01, 2016.

Article 4. Implementation

Chief of the Ministry Office, Chief Inspector of Ministry, general directors of Vietnam Inland Waterway Administration, Vietnam Register, Vietnam Maritime Administration, director of the Services of Transport, heads of relevant agencies, organizations and individuals shall be responsible for executing this Circular./.