Thông tư 58/2011/TT-BGTVT

CIRCULAR

PROVIDING FOR THE COMPULSORY MARITIME PILOTAGE AREAS OF VIETNAM

Pursuant to the Maritime Code of June 14, 2005;

Pursuant to Government’s Decree No. 51/2008/ND-CP of April 22, 2008 providing for functions, tasks, powers and organizational structure of the Ministry of Transport;

Pursuant to the Government’s Decree No. 173/2007/ND-CP of November 28, 2007 on organization and operation of maritime pilotage;

The Minister of Transport hereby stipulates the compulsory maritime pilotage areas of Vietnam as follows:

Article 1. Scope of regulation

This Circular stipulates the compulsory maritime pilotage areas of Vietnam.

Article 2. Subjects of application

This Circular applies to:

1. Shipowners or ship operators, managers, captains of vessels that operating in the compulsory maritime pilot areas of Vietnam;

2. Maritime pilotage organizations and maritime pilots;

3. Agencies, organizations and individuals relating to compulsory maritime pilotage areas of Vietnam.

Article 3. Interpretation of terms

1. Areas where maritime pilotage is compulsory (hereinafter referred to as the compulsory maritime pilotage areas) mean areas within seaport waters areas or offshore oilfields stretching from the areas where pilots go on board or leave vessels to wharves, harbors, anchoring areas, transshipment areas, storm shelters, shipbuilding and repairing plants, offshore petroleum deports where vessels must be steered by pilots in accordance with provisions of law.

2. Vessel-steering channels are navigable channels of vessels steered by pilots from pilot-receiving areas along seaport flows, seaport channel flows to wharves, harbors, anchoring areas, transshipment areas, storm shelters, shipbuilding and repairing plants and vice versa of a seaport or an offshore oil depot within a compulsory maritime pilotage area.

3. Areas where pilots go on board or leave vessels mean areas within the compulsory maritime pilotage areas where vessels anchor to receive or return pilots.

4. Vessels include ships, military vessels, public-duty vessels, fishing vessels, inland waterway ships and other waterway ships

Article 4. Principles for setting up, announcing and allocating the compulsory maritime pilotage area and vessel-steering channels

1. Compulsory maritime pilotage areas are set up on the base of operation scope, operation capability of maritime pilotage organizations, particularity of the seaport water areas in which having the areas where pilots go on board or leave vessels, density of vessels, hydrometeorology conditions in compulsory maritime pilotage areas in order to ensure maritime safety, maritime security and prevent environmental pollution.

2. A compulsory maritime pilotage area shall contain one or more vessel-steering channels.

3. Announcing vessel-steering channels, organizing the allocation of pilotage activity areas or vessel-steering channels to the maritime pilotage organizations ensures stability, maritime safety and maritime security and prevention of environmental protection, not disordering the existing vessel-steering channels which have been allocated to maritime pilotage organizations.

Article 5. Compulsory maritime pilotage areas

1. Area 1: Compulsory maritime pilotage area from Quang Ninh province to Nam Dinh province: From areas where pilots go on board or leave vessels to seaports, wharves, harbors, anchoring areas, transshipment areas, storm shelters, shipbuilding and reparing plants within seaport waters areas belong to the locality of provinces as Quang Ninh, Thai Binh, Nam Dinh and Hai Phong city.

2. Area 2: Compulsory maritime pilotage area from Thanh Hoa province to Quang Tri province:

From areas where pilots go on board or leave vessels to wharves, harbors, anchoring areas, transshipment areas, storm shelters, shipbuilding and repairing plants within seaport waters belong to the locality of provinces as Thanh Hoa, Nghe An, Ha Tinh, Quang Binh and Quang Tri.

3. Area 3: Compulsory maritime pilotage area from Thua Thien Hue province to Quang Ngai province:

From areas where pilots go on board or leave vessels to wharves, harbors, anchoring areas, transshipment areas, storm shelters, shipbuilding and repairing plants within seaport waters belong to the locality of Da Nang city, provinces as Thua Thien Hue, Quang Nam and Quang Ngai.

4. Area 4: Compulsory maritime pilotage area from Binh Dinh province to Phu Yen province:

From areas where pilots go on board or leave vessels to wharves, harbors, anchoring areas, transshipment areas, storm shelters, shipbuilding and repairing plants within seaport waters belong to the locality of Binh Dinh and Phu Yen provinces.

5. Area 5: Compulsory maritime pilotage area from Khanh Hoa province to Binh Thuan province:

From areas where pilots go on board or leave vessels to wharves, harbors, anchoring areas, transshipment areas, storm shelters, shipbuilding and repairing plants within seaport waters belong to the locality of Khanh Hoa and Ninh Thuan provinces.

6. Area 6: Compulsory maritime pilotage areas belonging to the locality of provinces as Binh Thuan, Ba Ria – Vung Tau, Dong Nai, Long An, Ho Chi Minh city and other provinces alongside Tien river:

From areas where pilots go on board or leave vessels to wharves, harbors, anchoring areas, transshipment areas, storm shelters, shipbuilding and repairing plants within seaport waters belong to the locality of provinces as Binh Thuan, Ba Ria – Vung Tau, Dong Nai, Long An, Ho Chi Minh city and other provinces alongside Tien river.

7. Area 7: Compulsory maritime pilotage area belongs to provinces along to Hau river, Kien Giang and Ca Mau provinces:

From areas where pilots go on board or leave vessels to seaports, wharves, harbors, anchoring areas, transshipment areas, storm shelters, shipbuilding and repairing plants within seaport waters belong to the locality of provinces and cities along to Hau river, provinces as Soc Trang, Bac Lieu, Kien Giang and Ca Mau.

8. Area 8: Compulsory maritime pilotage areas in offshore oilfields within Vietnam seas:

From areas where pilots go on board or leave vessels to position of vessels containing petroleum within offshore oilfields, petroleum works in oilfields within Vietnamese seas.

Article 6. Activities relating to maritime pilotage service in the compulsory pilotage area

1. Vessels operating in the compulsory pilotage areas must be steered by maritime pilotage, except cases of exemption from pilotage steering as prescribed by law.

2. Maritime pilotage organizations operating in one compulsory pilotage area shall be liable to provide and fully meet the demand of maritime pilotage service in the compulsory pilotage areas being allocated to themselves or through vessel-steering channels being allocated to themselves in the compulsory pilotage area, ensure service quality, maritime safety, maritime security and prevention of environmental pollution as prescribed by law, as well as shall be responsible for provision of maritime pilotage service.

3. In a compulsory pilotage area with 02 (two) or more maritime pilotage organizations operating therein, maritime pilotage organizations shall build up the regulation for coordination in provision of maritime pilotage service, consult with the local maritime port administration and report to Vietnam Maritime Administration for management of maritime pilotage activities, ensuring promptly meeting with demand for maritime pilotage service and strict compliance of maritime pilots with their assigned functions and tasks while being on duty. Basing on particularities of each compulsory maritime pilotage area, the regulation for coordination in provision of maritime pilotage service shall include the following basic contents:

a) Parameters of information and communication of coordinated maritime pilotage organizations;

b) Daily plan for vessel steering of maritime pilotage organizations;

c) Coordination among maritime pilot individuals during process of vessel steering, especially when vessels running through narrow flows, the turning zone, where the density of operating vessels is high;

d) Notifying of the situation of vessel steering in necessary cases such as accidents, incidents or detection of obstacles that causes danger for maritime activities;

dd) Agreement on arranging maritime pilots to steer vessels if a maritime pilotage organization fails to meet with conditions for providing maritime service at a definite time; the pilot arranged for vessel steering shall meet with conditions as stipulated by relevant provisions of law;

e) Agreements on arrangement of pilots to steer vessels from wharves, harbors, anchoring areas, transshipment areas to other wharves, harbors, transshipment areas, anchoring areas in the compulsory pilotage area;

g) Agreement on supportation of physical facilities and means;

h) Other particular agreements (if any).

In cases maritime pilotage organizations fail to reach agreement on such contents stipulated in this Clause, the opinion of the local maritime port administration shall be decision final.

4. Maritime pilots with certificate for maritime pilotage operation in 02 (two) compulsory pilotage areas or more and meeting conditions under relevant provisions of law may steer vessels in these compulsory pilotage areas if they are accepted by the administering maritime pilotage organization and there is an agreement between the maritime pilotage organizations administering them and maritime pilotage organizations assigned to operate in such compulsory pilotage area.

Article 7. Effect

This Circular takes effect 45 days as from the date of signing and replaces the November 30, 2005 Decision No. 64/2005/QD-BGTVT of the Ministry of Transport, regulating compulsory maritime pilotage areas of Vietnam.

Article 8. Implementation organization

Chief of the Ministrial Office, Chief of Ministrial Inspectorate, Directors, Director of Vietnam Maritime Administration, Director of Vietnam Inland Waterway Administration, Directors of Transport Departments, General Directors of maritime safety corporations, Directors of maritime port administrations, directors of maritime pilotage organizations and other relevant agencies, organizations and individuals shall be responsible for implementing this Circular./.