CIRCULAR

PROVIDING AMENDMENTS TO CIRCULARS ON BUSINESS OPERATIONS IN MARITIME SECTOR

Pursuant to the Maritime Code of Vietnam dated November 25, 2015;

Pursuant to the Law on Inland Waterway Transport dated June 15, 2004; the Law on amendments to the Law on Inland Waterway Transport dated June 17, 2014;

Pursuant to the Government’s Decree No. 12/2017/ND-CP dated February 10, 2017 defining the functions, tasks, powers and organizational structure of the Ministry of Transport;

At the request of the Director of Transportation Department and the Director of Vietnam Maritime Administration;

The Minister of Transport of Vietnam promulgates a Circular providing amendments to Circulars on business operations in maritime sector.

Article 1. Amendments to Circular No. 16/2013/TT-BGTVT dated July 30, 2013 of Minister of Transport prescribing management of waterway transport routes from shores to islands within territorial waters of Vietnam

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 “1. The organization or individual (hereinafter referred to as “applicant”) shall submit an application for registration of fixed-route passenger transport services directly by hand or by post to the regional maritime administration, or submit an online application via the online public service system. Such application includes:

a) The application form made using the form in the Appendix II enclosed herewith;

b) The written agreement or contract on passenger embarkation and disembarkation signed with the port or wharf managing organization;

c) Copies presented together with their originals for verification purposes, or electronic copies of equivalent legal effect, issued by competent authorities, of the followings: Business registration certificate or enterprise registration certificate or investment certificate in which the business lines include waterway passenger transport services; ship registration certificate; certificate of satisfaction of technical safety and environmental protection requirements which is still valid and appropriate to the operating route.”.

2. Clause 3 Article 3 is amended as follows:

 “3. Within a maximum duration of 05 working days from the receipt of adequate application as prescribed in Clause 1 and Clause 2 of this Article, the regional maritime administration shall consider the received application and, if the application is satisfactory, give a written approval directly, or by post, or via the online public service system, to the applicant.   If the application is inadequate or unsatisfactory, it shall be refused and reasons for such refusal shall be provided for the applicant.”.

Article 2. Amendments to Circular No. 50/2016/TT-BGTVT dated December 30, 2016 of Minister of Transport on procedures for licensing foreign-flagged ships to provide domestic maritime transport services

1. Clause 4 Article 6 is amended as follows:

 “4. 01 (one) copy extracted from master register, or copy presented with its original for verification purposes, or electronic copy of equivalent legal effect, issued by a competent authority of one of the following documents: The agency contract or the appointment of agency to act on behalf of the foreign-flagged ship owner (in case an application is submitted by an agency representing the foreign-flagged ship owner) or the ship lease contract between the foreign-flagged ship owner and a Vietnamese juridical person.”.

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a) Clause 1 is amended as follows:

 “1. The foreign-flagged ship owner, or his agency, or Vietnamese lessee shall submit 01 (one) application as prescribed in Article 6 of this Circular directly by hand or by post to Vietnam Maritime Administration or online via the online public service system”;

b) Clause 2 is amended as follows:

 “2. Vietnam Maritime Administration shall receive and examine the application. In case the application is submitted directly by hand, the receiving official shall examine the application and notify the applicant of modifications (if required). In case the application submitted by post or via the online public service system is inadequate, within 02 (two) working days from the receipt of the application, Vietnam Maritime Administration shall notify required modifications. In case the application is submitted via the online public service system, the notification shall be made in accordance with the Government’s Decree No. 61/2018/ND-CP dated April 23, 2018 and the Government’s Decree No. 107/2021/ND-CP dated December 06, 2021.”;

c) Clause 5 is amended as follows:

 “5. The Ministry of Transport shall give the application processing result to the shipowner or his agency by post or via the online public service system, and also provide the copies of the result for the Ministry of Public Security, Ministry of National Defence, Ministry of Finance, and Vietnam Maritime Administration for cooperation in management and monitoring.”.

3. Clause 1, Clause 2 and Clause 5 Article 9 are amended as follows:

a) Clause 1 is amended as follows:

 “1. The foreign-flagged ship owner, or his agency, shall submit 01 (one) application as prescribed in Article 8 of this Circular directly by hand, or by post, or via the online public service system to Vietnam Maritime Administration.”;

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 “2. Vietnam Maritime Administration shall receive and examine the application. In case the application is submitted directly by hand, the receiving official shall examine the application and notify the applicant of modifications (if required). In case the application submitted by post or via the online public service system is inadequate, within 01 (one) working day from the receipt of the application, Vietnam Maritime Administration shall notify required modifications. In case the application is submitted via the online public service system, the notification shall be made in accordance with the Government’s Decree No. 61/2018/ND-CP dated April 23, 2018 and the Government’s Decree No. 107/2021/ND-CP dated December 06, 2021.”;

c) Clause 5 is amended as follows:

 “5. The Ministry of Transport shall give the application processing result to the shipowner or his agency by post or via the online public service system, and also provide the copies of the result for the Ministry of Public Security, Ministry of National Defence, Ministry of Finance, and Vietnam Maritime Administration for cooperation in management and monitoring.”.

4. Clause 4 Article 10 is amended as follows:

 “4. 01 (one) copy extracted from master register, or copy presented with its original for verification purposes, or electronic copy of equivalent legal effect, issued by a competent authority of one of the following documents: The agency contract or the appointment of agency to act on behalf of the foreign-flagged ship owner (in case an application is submitted by an agency representing the foreign-flagged ship owner).”.

5. Clause 1, Clause 2 and Clause 4 Article 11 are amended as follows:

a) Clause 1 is amended as follows:

 “1. The foreign-flagged ship owner, or his agency, shall submit 01 (one) application as prescribed in Article 10 of this Circular directly by hand, or by post, or via the online public service system to the maritime administration in charge of the area where the cruise ship anchors.”;

b) Clause 2 is amended as follows:

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c) Clause 4 is amended as follows:

 “4. The in-charge maritime administration shall give the application processing result to the shipowner or his agency directly by hand, or by post, or via the online public service system, and also provide the copy of the result for Vietnam Maritime Administration for reporting.”.

Article 3. Effect

1. This Circular comes into force from June 16, 2022.

2. The Circular No. 48/2018/TT-BGTVT dated August 31, 2018 of the Minister of Transport providing amendments to the Circular No. 50/2016/TT-BGTVT dated December 30, 2016 of Minister of Transport on procedures for licensing foreign-flagged ships to provide domestic maritime transport services is abrogated.

Article 4. Implementation organization

Chief of the Ministry's Office, Chief Inspector of the Ministry, Directors of Departments/Agencies affiliated to the Ministry, Director of Vietnam Maritime Administration, Director of Vietnam Inland Waterways Administration, Director of Vietnam Register, Directors of provincial Departments of Transport, heads of relevant agencies/organizations and relevant individuals shall be responsible for implementation of this Circular./.

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