Decision 62/2014/QD-TTg on management, exploitation and use of identification information and long-range tracking of ships promulgated by the Prime Minister

DECISION

PROMULGATING THE REGULATION ON MANAGEMENT, EXPLOITATION AND USE OF LONG-RANGE IDENTIFICATION AND TRACKING INFORMATION OF SHIPS

Pursuant to the December 25, 2001 Law on Organization of the Government;

Pursuant to the June 14, 2005 Vietnam s Maritime Code;

Pursuant to the 1974 International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea and its amendments and supplements;

At the proposal of the Minister of Transport;

The Prime Minister decides to promulgate the Regulation on management, exploitation and use of long-range identification and tracking information of ships.

Article 1. To promulgate together with this Decision the Regulation on management, exploitation and use of long-range identification and tracking information of ships.

Article 2. This Decision takes effect on January 1, 2015.

Article 3. Ministers, heads of ministerial-level agencies, heads of government-attached agencies, chairpersons of provincial-level People’s Committees and related agencies, organizations and individuals shall implement this Decision.

REGULATION

ON MANAGEMENT, EXPLOITATION AND USE OF LONG-RANGE IDENTIFICATION AND TRACKING INFORMATION OF SHIPS
(Promulgated together with the Prime Minister’s Decision No. 62/2014/QD-TTg of November 6, 2014)

Chapter I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope of regulation

This Regulation provides the management, exploitation and use of long-range identification and tracking information of ships flying the Vietnamese flag which operate on international routes in sea areas A1, A2 and A3 and ships flying foreign flags which operate within long-range identification and tracking information-covered areas of Vietnam.

Article 2. Subjects of application

This Regulation applies to Vietnamese and foreign organizations and individuals involved in the management, exploitation and use of long-range identification and tracking information of ships flying the Vietnamese flag which operate on international routes in sea areas A1, A2 and A3 and ships flying foreign flags which operate within long-range identification and tracking information-covered areas of Vietnam.

Article 3. Interpretation of terms

In this Regulation, the terms below are construed as follows:

1. Long-range identification and tracking system (LRIT system) means a system which receives, transmits and provides ship identification and positioning information, including shipborne long-range identification and tracking equipment, communications service providers, application service providers and a data center.

2. Shipborne long-range identification and tracking equipment (LRIT equipment) means equipment fitted aboard ships to transmit long-range identification and tracking information of ships.

3. Communications service provider means an on-land technical component of the LRIT system which connects long-range identification and tracking information of ships between LRIT equipment and the application service provider(s).

4. Application service provider is an on-land technical component of the LRIT system which receives long-range identification and tracking information of ships from the communications service provider(s), then processes and sends such information to the data center.

5. Data center is an on-land technical component of the LRIT system, which processes, provides and stores data on long-range identification and tracking information of ships in accordance with the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS Convention).

6. Long-range identification and tracking information of ships (below referred to as LRIT information) means information on ships’ identification codes, positions and time of positioning according to the coordinated universal time - UTC, which is transmitted from LRIT equipment.

7. Sea area A1 means the sea area within the radiotelephone coverage of at least one VHF coastal communications station in which the continuous digital selective calling alerting service is available (this sea area is about 30 nautical miles away from the coastal communication station).

8. Sea area A2 means the sea area outside sea area A1 and within the radiotelephone coverage of at least one MF coastal communications station in which the continuous digital selective calling alerting is available (this sea area is about 250 nautical miles from the coastal communication station).

9. Sea area A3 means the sea area outside sea areas A1 and A2 and within the coverage of an Inmarsat geostationary satellite in which the continuous digital selective calling alerting service is available (this sea area lies between about latitudes 70o North and 70o South).

10. Vietnam’s long-range identification and tracking information-covered areas (Vietnam’s LRIT information-covered area) mean the areas announced by the Ministry of Transport in accordance with Vietnam’s law and relevant treaties to which Vietnam is a contracting party, including LRIT internal waters, LRIT territorial sea, 1,000-nautical mile LRIT area and self-selected LRIT areas.

11. Ship owner means the entity that owns or manages, exploits and uses a ship.

12. 24/7 regime means the regime of continuous operation for 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Article 4. Ships to be fitted with LRIT equipment

1. Seagoing ships which shall be fitted with LRIT equipment under the SOLAS Convention include:

a/ Passenger ships, including also high-speed craft, operating on international routes;

b/ Cargo ships, including also high-speed craft, of 300 GT or more operating on international routes;

c/ Mobile offshore drilling units.

2. Seagoing ships that operate in sea area A1 only and have been fitted with automatic identification system (AIS) equipment are not required to be fitted with LRIT equipment.

3. Ships not mentioned in Clauses 1 and 2 of this Article may be fitted with LRIT equipment if ship owners so request.

Article 5. Requirements on the LRIT system and LRIT equipment

1. The LRIT system must comply with requirements of the SOLAS Convention, regulations of the International Mobile Satellite Organization and national technical regulations.

2. The Ministry of Information and Communications shall coordinate with the Ministry of Transport in promulgating a national technical regulation on LRIT equipment to be fitted on board ships flying the Vietnamese flag.

3. The Ministry of Transport shall guide the order and procedures for inspecting and granting certificates for LRIT equipment fitted on board ships flying the Vietnamese flag.

Chapter II

MANAGEMENT, EXPLOITATION AND USE OF LRIT INFORMATION

Article 6. Types of LRIT information

1. LRIT information of ships flying the Vietnamese flag which operate in sea areas Al, A2 and A3.

2. LRIT information of ships flying foreign flags which are operating in Vietnam’s LRIT information-covered areas and have submitted notices of expected arrival at Vietnamese ports or entry in sea areas under Vietnam’s jurisdiction, except those which are operating in the internal waters of other countries.

3. LRIT information of ships flying foreign flags which do not intend to arrive at Vietnamese ports or enter sea areas under Vietnam’s jurisdiction but are operating in Vietnam’s LRIT information-covered areas, except those which are operating in the internal waters of other countries or the territorial seas of their flag states.

4. LRIT information of ships in the cases related to search and rescue activities.

Article 7. Principles of exploitation and use of LRIT information

1. LRIT information may be used only for the purposes of maritime safety and security, environmental protection and search and rescue activities which are related to operations of ships.

2. The exploitation and use of Vietnam’s LRIT information must comply with the SOLAS Convention, this Regulation and relevant legal provisions.

Article 8. Responsibilities for management, exploitation and provision of LRIT information

1. The Vietnam Maritime Administration shall organize the management, exploitation, use, receipt, transmission and provision of Vietnam’s LRIT information in accordance with this Regulation and other relevant legal provisions.

2. The Vietnam Maritime Communication and Electronics LLC shall:

a/ Directly manage, operate, exploit, use, maintain and administer the LRIT system of Vietnam;

b/ Provide LRIT information under the 24/7 regime, ensuring timeliness, accuracy and confidentiality of information in accordance with law;

c/ Make periodical reports or irregular reports at the request of competent state management agencies.

3. Port authorities and maritime inspectorates shall examine, inspect, and handle violations of this Regulation in accordance with law.

Article 9. Transmission and exchange of LRIT information

1. LRIT information shall be transmitted automatically from ships to the data center once every 6 hours. In case a ship flying the Vietnamese flag is put in repair or temporarily suspended from operation, the ship owner shall send a paper or an electronic notice thereof to the Vietnam Maritime Communication and Electronics LLC for the latter to reduce the frequency of information transmission.

2. The exchange of LRIT information between Vietnam’s data center and a foreign data center shall be carried out on the basis of the information exchange agreement between the two parties.

3. The Vietnam Maritime Administration shall organize the conclusion of LRIT information exchange agreements between Vietnam’s data center and foreign data centers. An agreement has the following principal contents:

a/ Use purposes of information;

b/ Scope of to-be-exchanged information;

c/ Regulations on information confidentiality;

d/ Regulations on expenses and payment;

dd/ Clauses and terms on force majeure events and dispute settlement;

e/ Other contents (if any).

4. Ships mentioned in Article 4 of this Regulation are obliged to maintain the operation of their LRIT equipment under the 24/7 regime.

5. Competent state agencies shall be granted LRIT information access accounts according to Clause 1, Article 10 of this Regulation with a frequency of receipt of LRIT information prescribed in Clause 1 of this Article. In case of necessity, these agencies may increase the frequency of transmission of LRIT information (but not less than once every 15 minutes).

6. To-be-transmitted and -exchanged LRIT information includes information on ships’ identification codes, positions and time of positioning to serve maritime safety and security, environmental protection and search and rescue activities.

7. The transmission and provision of LRIT information relating to national defense and security or national sovereignty over sea and islands shall be agreed by related state management agencies.

Article 10. Registration for use and provision of LRIT information

1. When conducting activities related to maritime safety and security, environmental protection or search and rescue activities, competent state agencies shall send to the Vietnam Maritime Administration written requests for grant of LRIT information access accounts, made according to the form provided in the Appendix (not translated) to this Regulation. Within 5 working days after receiving a request, the Vietnam Maritime Administration shall grant an account to the agency concerned. In case of refusal, the Vietnam Maritime Administration shall issue a written reply clearly stating the reason.

2. If wishing to receive information relating to maritime safety and security, environmental protection or search and rescue activities concerning the ships they own or manage and exploit, Vietnamese ship owners shall send written requests to the Vietnam Maritime Communication and Electronics LLC so as to be provided with LRIT information about their ships. Within 1 working day after receiving a request, the Vietnam Maritime Communication and Electronics LLC shall provide LRIT information to the ship owner concerned; in case of refusal, it shall issue a written reply clearly stating the reason.

3. Foreign organizations may be provided with LRIT information on the basis of the SOLAS Convention, this Regulation, relevant provisions of Vietnam’s law and LRIT information exchange agreements between Vietnam’s data center and foreign data centers.

Chapter III

ORGANIZATION OF IMPLEMENTATION

Article 11. Implementation responsibilities

1. The Ministry of Transport shall organize the implementation of this Regulation and coordinate with related agencies in promptly settling problems arising in the course of implementation.

2. The Ministry of National Defense, the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of Home Affairs and related ministries and sectors shall, within the ambit of their functions and tasks, coordinate with the Ministry of Transport in handling cases of transmitting, providing or using LRIT information that cause harms to national defense and security or other national interests.

3. The Ministry of Finance shall assume the prime responsibility for, and coordinate with the Ministry of Transport in, allocating, and guiding the use of, funds for management, exploitation, operation and maintenance of the LRIT system and expenses for use of LRIT information.

4. Agencies, organizations and individuals that use LRIT information shall use such information for proper purposes and assure confidentiality in accordance with law.

5. Ship owners and shipmasters shall install, and maintain the operation of, shipborne LRIT equipment according to this Regulation.

Article 12. Funding

1. Funds for management, exploitation, operation and maintenance of the LRIT system and expenses for training, retraining, management, exploitation and use of LRIT information shall be allocated from the state budget.

2. Annually, the Ministry of Transport shall direct the Vietnam Maritime Administration in estimating funds for management, exploitation, operation and maintenance of the LRIT system and expenses for training, retraining, management, exploitation and use of LRIT information and in organizing the implementation of such fund estimates after they are approved by competent authorities in accordance with law.-

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