Circular No. 50/2016/TT-BGTVT dated December 30, 2016 of the Ministry of Transport on the procedure for licensing foreign sea-going vessels to provide domestic marine transport service

THE MINISTRY OF TRANSPORT

Circular No.50/2016/TT-BGTVT dated December 30, 2016 of the Ministry of Transport on the procedure for licensing foreign sea-going vessels to provide domestic marine transport service

Pursuant to the 2015’s Vietnam Maritime Code;

Pursuant to the Government’s Decree No. 107/2012/ND-CP dated December 20, 2012 on the functions, missions, authority and organizational structure of the Ministry of Transport;

At the request of the Head of Department of Transport and the Head of Vietnam Maritime Administration,

Minister of Transport promulgates the Circular on the procedure for licensing foreign sea-going vessels to provide domestic marine transport service.

Chapter I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope of adjustment

This Circular defines the procedure for granting a license of domestic marine transport.

Article 2. Subject of application

This Circular applies to Vietnamese and foreign organizations and individuals in connection with the foreign sea-going vessels that provide domestic marine transport service.

Article 3. Terminology

1.Foreign sea-going vessel means a registered maritime ship that sails under the flag of a foreign nation.

2.Domestic maritime transport refers the transference of cargo, passengers and luggage by sea from a site of embarkation to a site of disembarkation in the territorial waters of Vietnam.

Article 4. Authority to grant a license of domestic maritime transport

1.Minister of Transport shall grant licenses of domestic maritime transport in the following events:

a) Transportation of oversize loads or other types of cargo on specialized sea-going vessels; clearance of cargo, passengers and luggage in congestion at a port due to Vietnamese sea-going vessels incapacity to provide transport;

b) Prevention of and recovery from natural disasters and epidemic, or humanitarian emergency aid.

2.Directors of the port authorities shall license a foreign sea-going vessel, which is a cruise ship, to transport its passengers and luggage ashore domestically at sea or vice versa via its conveyances.

Article 5. Term of a license of domestic maritime transport

1.A license of domestic maritime transport shall be valid for 01 (one) year in the following circumstances:

a) The licensed sea-going vessel is of use to 01 (one) product manufacturer;

b) The licensed vessel is not present in any Vietnamese fleets.

2.A license of domestic maritime transport granted to a sea-going vessel beyond those defined in Section 1 of this Article shall be valid 06 (six) months.

3.The term of a license of domestic maritime transport for a foreign sea-going vessel can be set as requested by the applicant; however, its term shall not exceed 01 (one) year in the circumstances defined in Section 1 of this Article or six (06) months pursuant to Section 2 of this Article.

4.A license of domestic maritime transport for a sea-going vessel that carries passengers and luggage ashore from a cruise ship and vice versa shall be valid per trip.

Chapter II

PROCEDURE FOR GRANTING AND REVOKING THE LICENSE OF DOMESTIC MARITIME TRANSPORT FOR FOREIGN SEA-GOING VESSELS

Part 1. TRANSPORT OF OVERSIZE LOADS OR OTHER TYPES OF CARGO ON SPECIALIZED SEA-GOING VESSELS; CLEARANCE OF CARGO, PASSENGERS AND LUGGAGE IN CONGESTION AT A PORT

Article 6. Application for a license of domestic maritime transport

An application for a license of domestic maritime transport includes:

1.The application form as defined in Appendix I to this Circular.

2.One (01) copy of the certificate of sea-going vessel registration.

3.One (01) set of sea-going vessel inspection documents, including the copies of the certificates of technical safety and environment protection for sea-going vessel as prescribed in the Circular No. 41/2016/TT-BGTVT dated December 16, 2016 by the Minister of Transport on the certificates and papers for sea-going vessels, sea-going vessels on official duty, submarines, submersibles, floating terminals and mobile platforms in Vietnam.

4.One (01) notarized copy of the agency contract or one (01) certified copy of the written designation of the agency that represents the owner of the foreign vessel (if the applicant is the agency representing the owner of the foreign vessel) or one (01) notarized copy of the vessel lease contract between the owner of the foreign vessel and the Vietnamese legal entity.

Article 7. Procedure for intake and processing of an application and for granting of a license of domestic maritime transport

1.The owner of the foreign vessel or the agency representing such owner or the Vietnamese legal entity renting the foreign vessel from the owner shall submit 01 (one) application defined in Article 6 of this Circular to Vietnam Maritime Administration by hand, by post or by another appropriate method.

2.Vietnam Maritime Administration shall take in and examine the application.The functionary taking in an application lodged by hand shall examine the documents and notify the applicant of the amendments (if required).Vietnam Maritime Administration shall send a notification regarding the amendments to an incomplete application sent by post in 02 (two) working days upon its receipt of such application.

3.In 07 (seven) working days upon receiving a complete application, Vietnam Maritime Administration shall verify the documents, post information on the website of Vietnam Maritime Administration for public opinions and make a verification report to the Ministry of Transport for finalization.

4.In 03 (three) working days upon receiving the verification report from Vietnam Maritime Administration, the Ministry of Transport shall consider and approve the granting of the license of domestic maritime transport, whose format is defined in Appendix II to this Circular. If rejecting the application, Ministry of Transport shall revert in writing and specify reasons.

5.Ministry of Transport shall notify the result to the vessel owner or its agency by post or by an appropriate method. In addition, the copies of the notification shall be sent to the Ministry of Public Security, Ministry of National Defense, Ministry of Finance and Vietnam Maritime Administration for cooperation in management and supervision.

Part 2. PREVENTION OF AND RECOVERY FROM NATURAL DISASTERS AND EPIDEMIC, OR HUMANITARIAN EMERGENCY AID

Article 8. Application for a license of domestic maritime transport

An application for a license of domestic maritime transport includes:

1.The official written request from a competent government authority for the foreign vessel’s provision of domestic maritime transport.

2.One (01) copy of the certificate of sea-going vessel registration.

3.One (01) set of sea-going vessel inspection documents, including the copies of the certificates of technical safety and environment protection for sea-going vessel as prescribed in the Circular No. 41/2016/TT-BGTVT dated December 16, 2016 by the Minister of Transport on the certificates and papers for sea-going vessels, sea-going vessels on official duty, submarines, submersibles, floating terminals and mobile platforms in Vietnam.

Article 9. Procedure for intake and processing of an application and for granting of a license of domestic maritime transport

1.The owner of the foreign vessel or the agency representing such owner shall submit 01 (one) application defined in Article 8 of this Circular to Vietnam Maritime Administration by hand, by post or by another appropriate method.

2.Vietnam Maritime Administration shall take in and examine the application. The functionary taking in an application lodged by hand shall examine the documents and notify the applicant of the amendments (if required). Vietnam Maritime Administration shall send a notification regarding the amendments to an incomplete application sent by post in 01 (one) working day upon its receipt of such application.

3.In 02 (two) working days upon receiving the complete application, Vietnam Maritime Administration shall verify the documents and make a verification report to the Ministry of Transport for final decision.

4.In 01 (one) working day upon receiving the verification report from Vietnam Maritime Administration, the Ministry of Transport shall consider and approve the granting of the license of domestic maritime transport, whose format is defined in Appendix II to this Circular. If rejecting the application, Ministry of Transport shall revert in writing and specify reasons.

5.Ministry of Transport shall notify the result to the vessel owner or its agency by post or by an appropriate method. In addition, the copies of the notification shall be sent to the Ministry of Public Security, Ministry of National Defense, Ministry of Finance and Vietnam Maritime Administration for cooperation in management and supervision.

Part 3. TRANSPORT OF PASSENGERS AND LUGGAGE FROM CRUISE SHIP TO LAND

Article 10. Application for a license of domestic maritime transport

An application for a license of domestic maritime transport includes:

1.The application form as defined in Appendix I to this Circular.

2.One (01) copy of the certificate of sea-going vessel registration.

3.1. One (1) set of sea-going vessel inspection documents, including the copies of the certificates of technical safety and environment protection for sea-going vessel as prescribed in the Circular No. 41/2016/TT-BGTVT dated December 16, 2016 by the Minister of Transport on the certificates and papers for sea-going vessels, sea-going vessels on official duty, submarines, submersibles, floating terminals and mobile platforms in Vietnam.

4.One (01) notarized copy of the agency contract or one (01) certified copy of the written designation of the agency that represents the owner of the foreign vessel (if the applicant is the agency representing the owner of the foreign vessel).

5.The detailed plan for transporting passengers and luggage from the cruise ship to land and vice versa.

Article 11. Procedure for intake and processing of an application and for granting of a license of domestic maritime transport

1.The owner of the foreign vessel or the agency representing such owner shall submit 01 (one) application defined in Article 10 of this Circular to the port authority in charge of the area where the cruise ship anchors by hand, by post or by another appropriate method.

2.The port authority shall take in and examine the application. The functionary taking in an application lodged by hand shall examine the documents and notify the applicant of the amendments (if required). The port authority shall send a notification regarding the amendments to an incomplete application sent by post in 01 (one) working day upon its receipt of such application.

3.In 01 (one) working day upon receiving the complete application, the port authority shall verify documents and grant the license of domestic maritime transport as defined in Appendix III to this Circular. If rejecting the application, the port authority shall revert in writing and specify reasons.

4.The port authority shall send the result notification to the vessel owner or its agency by hand, by post or by another appropriate method. In addition, a copy of the notification shall be sent to Vietnam Maritime Administration for purpose of reporting.

Part 4. REVOCATION OF A LICENSE OF DOMESTIC MARITIME TRANSPORT

Article 12. Circumstances in which a license of domestic maritime transport is revoked

The revocation of a license of domestic maritime transport occurs in the following circumstances:

1.The sea-going vessel no longer qualifies for transporting cargo, passengers and luggage as per the laws.

2.The cargo, passengers and luggage transported are contrary to those defined in the license of domestic maritime transport.

3.The information on the vessel, transport route, cargo, passengers and luggage is forged, is altered or is made deliberately misleading.

Article 13. The entities revoking the licenses of domestic maritime transport

1.Minister of Transport shall revoke the licenses of domestic maritime transport as prescribed in Section 1, Article 4 of this Circular.

2.Directors of the port authorities shall revoke the licenses of domestic maritime transport as prescribed in Section 2, Article 4 of this Circular.

Chapter III

IMPLEMENTATION ORGANIZATION

Article 14. Responsibilities of relevant bodies and individuals

1.The organizations and individuals who have foreign sea-going vessels providing domestic maritime transport service shall be responsible for:

a) Providing domestic maritime transport service according to the license of domestic maritime transport;

b) Storing the license of domestic maritime transport on the sea-going vessel to present it to a port authority and relevant bodies at a port during the formalities or upon the vessel s departure from the port;

c) Abiding by the prohibition against fraudulent alteration of the content of the license of domestic maritime transport;

d) Abiding by the prohibition against the use of a false license of domestic maritime transport;

dd) Abiding by the prohibition against other fraudulent acts to obtain a license of domestic maritime transport.

2.Vietnam Maritime Administration shall be responsible for:

a) Taking in and processing applications pursuant to this Circular and assume liability for relevant information when verifying applications;

b) Inspecting and verifying information to grant licenses of domestic maritime transport as per regulations;

c) Instructing the port authorities to inspect, supervise and detect the violations regarding foreign sea-going vessels providing domestic maritime transport service in timely manner;

d) Making and posting the list of foreign vessels providing domestic transport service on the website of Vietnam Maritime Administration on monthly basis;

dd) Acting as the lead contact for reports on foreign vessels providing domestic transport service. Handling the violations of this Circular and the legislation of Vietnam intra vires or report them to competent authorities;

e) Aggregating statistical data on cargo, passengers and luggage transported by sea and on the licensing of foreign sea-going vessels to provide domestic transport service; making reports to the Ministry of Transport before the 25^thof December each year.

3.Port authorities shall be responsible for:

a) Granting licenses of domestic maritime transport to foreign sea-going vessels that carry passengers and luggage ashore from a cruise ship and vice versa via the ship s intermediary vehicles;

b) Inspecting, supervising and detecting the violations regarding foreign vessels’ activities of domestic maritime transport in timely manner.

Article 15. Effect

1.This Circular takes effect on July 01, 2017 and replaces the Circular No. 04/2012/TT-BGTVT dated February 29, 2012 by the Minister of Transport on the procedure for licensing foreign sea-going vessels to provide domestic transport service.

2.If the documents mentioned in this Circular are amended, such amendments shall take effect.

Article 16. Implementation

1.Vietnam Maritime Administration and port authorities shall be responsible for implementing this Circular.

2.Chief of Office of the Ministry, Chief inspector of the Ministry, heads of the departments, Head of Vietnam Maritime Administration, heads of the bodies, organizations and individuals concerned shall be responsible for implementing this Circular./.

The Minister

Truong Quang Nghia