Nghị định 08/2021/NĐ-CP quy định quản lý hoạt động đường thủy nội địa

DECREE

PROVIDING FOR MANAGEMENT OF INLAND WATERWAY-RELATED ACTIVITIES

Pursuant to the Law on Government Organization dated June 19, 2015; the Law on amendment to the Law on Government Organization and the Law on Local Government Organization dated November 22, 2019;

Pursuant to the Law on Inland Waterway Traffic dated June 15, 2004; the Law on amendment to the Law on Inland Waterway Traffic dated June 17, 2014;

At request of the Minister of Transport;

The Government hereby promulgates a Decree providing for management of inland waterway-related activities.

Chapter I

GENERAL

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This Decree provides for the management of inland waterway-related activities, including: investment in construction, operation, maintenance and protection of inland waterway infrastructure; assurance about safety, security and environmental protection on inland waterways, inland ports, inland landing stages and anchorages; management of activities of foreign vessels, seagoing ships, seaplanes and watercrafts in inland ports, inland landing stages and anchorages; responsibilities for State management of inland waterway-related activities.

Article 2. Regulated entities

This Decree applies to organizations and individuals involved in inland waterway-related activities in Vietnam.

Article 3. Definitions

For the purposes of this Decree, the terms below shall be construed as follows:

1. “inland waterway infrastructure” includes inland waterway channels, channel protection corridors, inland ports, inland landing stages, anchorages, ship locks, facilities used to help vessels pass dams or falls; navigation embankments and dams; inland navigation aids and auxiliary facilities such as elevation markers, coordinate markers, boundary markers of channel protection corridors and stations; facilities, architectural structures, and equipment used directly for management and operation of inland waterway traffic.

2. “navigation channel” means a water area limited by the system of inland navigation aids so as for vessels to navigate smoothly and safely (hereinafter referred to as “inland waterway channel”).

3. “dedicated inland port or dedicated inland landing stage” means an inland port or inland landing stage which is solely used for loading and unloading raw materials, fuels, minerals, supplies and equipment in service of the production by the owner of such inland port or inland landing stage or in service of the building, modification, repair and restoration of foreign vessels, seagoing ships and watercraft.

4. “river-crossing passenger landing stage” means an inland landing stage solely used for the transport of passengers and cargoes from one bank of a river, canal, ditch, lake or lagoon to the other bank thereof. Each location of the landing stage in each bank is counted as a river-crossing passenger landing stage.

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6. “anchorage” means a water area outside the water area of an inland port or inland landing stage, including a system of mooring buoys, mooring bollards or self-mooring system in order for vessels, seagoing ships and seaplanes to berth and transship cargoes and passengers or perform other activities in accordance with regulations.

7. “owner of an inland port, inland landing stage or anchorage” means an organization or individual that owns such inland port, inland landing stage, mooring buoys, and mooring bollards and is assigned to use the land and water area of such inland port, inland landing stage, or anchorage.

8. “operator of an inland port, inland landing stage or anchorage” means the owner of such inland port, inland landing stage or anchorage directly operating the respective inland port, landing stage or anchorage or an organization or individual that leases such inland port, inland landing stage or anchorage for operation purposes or an organization or individual that is authorized to manage and operate such inland port, inland landing stage or anchorage.

9. “applicant for arrival or departure of a foreign vessel, seagoing ship, seaplane or watercraft at an inland port, inland landing stage or anchorage” means the owner of such foreign vessel, seagoing ship, seaplane or watercraft, seafarer, steersman, seaplane operator or person authorized to apply for arrival at or departure from an inland port, inland landing stage or anchorage (hereinafter referred to as the “applicant”).

10. “inland waterway vessel” means a ship, boat or another floating structure, motorized or non-motorized, operating exclusively on inland waterways (hereinafter referred to as “vessel”).

11. “foreign watercraft” means a watercraft carrying the flag of a foreign nationality.

Chapter II

MANAGEMENT OF INLAND WATERWAY INFRASTRUCTURE

Section 1. GENERAL PROVISIONS ON MANAGEMENT OF INLAND WATERWAY INFRASTRUCTURE

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1. Vietnamese and foreign organizations and individuals investing in construction of inland waterway infrastructure must comply with this Decree, regulations on investment, public investment, construction, land, minerals, environment and other relevant regulations of law.

2. Investment in construction of inland waterway channels, inland ports and inland landing stages (other than inland landing stages serving construction of main structures), and anchorages must conform to the inland waterway infrastructure planning and other relevant planning as per regulations of law on planning. If a project to invest in building inland waterway channel, inland port, inland landing stage or anchorage for which planning is unavailable or planning is different from the approved planning, during the project preparation stage, the investor must report such to a competent authority so as for it to consider making an adjustment or addition to the planning in accordance with regulations of law on planning.

Article 5. Organizing management and maintenance of inland waterway infrastructure

1. Organizing management

a) The Vietnam Inland Waterways Administration (hereinafter referred to as “VIWA”) shall organize the management and maintenance of inland waterway infrastructure under the management of the Ministry of Transport;

b) People’s Committees of provinces and central-affiliated cities (hereinafter referred to as “provincial People’s Committees”) shall organize the management and maintenance of inland waterway infrastructure under the management of the respective provincial People’s Committees;

c) Organizations and individuals investing in construction of inland waterway infrastructure without using State capital shall decide to organize the management and maintenance of facilities in accordance with this Decree and other relevant regulations of law.

2. Maintenance of inland waterway infrastructure

a) Inland waterway infrastructure facilities shall be maintained to ensure their normal operation and safety;

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c) The Minister of Transport shall elaborate the management and maintenance of inland waterway infrastructure facilities.

Article 6. Ensuring safety and security in inland waterway-related activities

1. The safety and security of facilities and activities related to inland waterways must be ensured in accordance with this Decree and other relevant regulations of law.

2. Responsibility for ensuring safety and security in inland waterway-related activities

a) Owners of inland waterway infrastructure facilities, operators of inland ports, inland landing stages and anchorages; organizations and individuals involved in inland waterway-related activities shall ensure and maintain the safety and security of facilities and activities during the investment in construction, management and operation thereof in accordance with regulations of law;

b) People’s Committees at all levels, specialized inland waterway traffic agencies, relevant agencies and units shall disseminate and provide guidance on the implementation of regulations on assurance of safety and security of facilities and activities related to inland waterways, inland ports, inland landing stages and anchorages; carry out inspection and impose penalties for violations against regulations on assurance of safety and security of inland waterways, inland ports, inland landing stages and anchorages in accordance with regulations.

Article 2. MANAGEMENT OF INVESTMENT IN CONSTRUCTION AND OPERATION OF INLAND WATERWAY CHANNELS

Article 7. Categorization and technical classification of inland waterway channels

1. Inland waterway channels are classified into three categories, including: National inland waterway channels (hereinafter referred to as “national channels”), local inland waterway channels (hereinafter referred to as “local channels”) and dedicated inland waterway channels (hereinafter referred to as “dedicated channels”).

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a) It passes through two or more provinces or central-affiliated cities and plays an important role in service of the economy, national defense and security;

b) It is located within a province or central-affiliated city but connects directly to either a coastal transport route or two national channels;

c) It crosses or runs along the border.

3. Local channel means any channel located within the administrative division of a province or central-affiliated city, unless otherwise prescribed in points b and c Clause 2 of this Article.

4. Dedicated channel means any channel connecting the water area of a dedicated inland port or landing stage with a national or local channel.

5. Inland waterway channels shall be technically classified by the Minister of Transport.

Article 8. Agreement on inland waterway channel construction specifications

1. Before approving a project to invest in building an inland waterway channel, the investor must agree with the competent authority specified in Clause 2 of this Article about the technical specifications of the channel.

2. Power to reach agreement

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b) Departments of Transport shall reach agreement on construction specifications of local channels and dedicated channels connected to local channels.

3. Contents of the agreement

a) Conformity with the planning;

b) Scale and specifications.

4. Agreement application

a) An application form for agreement on construction specifications of inland waterway channel, which is made using Form No. 01 provided in the Appendix to this Decree;

b) A copy of the written approval of the project investment guidelines granted by the competent authority (if any);

c) Preliminary design document of the inland waterway channel.

5. Agreement sequence

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Within 05 working days from the date of receiving a sufficient application as specified, the competent authority specified in clause 2 of this Article shall issue a written agreement on construction specifications of the inland waterway channel to the investor.

Article 9. Power and procedures for announcing the opening of inland waterway channels and management of inland waterway channels

1. Before being put into operation, an inland waterway channel must have its opening announced by a competent authority.

2. Power to announce the opening of channels

a) The Ministry of Transport shall decide to announce the opening of national channels and dedicated channels connected to national channels;

a) Provincial People’s Committees shall decide to announce the opening of local channels and dedicated channels connected to local channels.

3. Application for announcement of channel opening

a) An application form for announcement of channel opening, which is made using Form No. 02 provided in the Appendix to this Decree;

b) A certificate of acceptance of the construction work to be put into service, as-built drawings of the channel facility and inland navigation aids system for the channel for which a construction investment project is available or the channel that is renovated or upgraded;

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4. Sequence of announcing the opening of a channel

a) Regarding a national channel: The VIWA shall prepare and submit an application to the Ministry of Transport. Within 05 working days from the date of receiving an adequate application, the Ministry of Transport shall issue a decision on announcement of channel opening;

b) Regarding a local channel: The Department of Transport shall prepare and submit an application to the provincial People’s Committee. Within 05 working days from the date of receiving an adequate application, the provincial People’s Committee shall issue a decision on announcement of channel opening;

c) For a dedicated channel connected to a national channel: The organization or individual shall submit 01 application to the VIWA, whether in person or by another appropriate manner. Within 05 working days from the date of receiving an adequate application, the VIWA shall appraise it. If all conditions are satisfied, make a report to the Ministry of Transport. Within 05 working days from the date of receiving the application and report from the VIWA, the Ministry of Transport shall issue a decision on announcement of channel opening;

d) For a dedicated channel connected to a local channel: The organization or individual shall submit 01 application to the Department of Transport, whether in person or by another appropriate manner. Within 05 working days from the date of receiving an adequate application, the Department of Transport shall appraise it. If all conditions are satisfied, make a report to the provincial People’s Committee. Within 05 working days from the date of receiving the application and report from the Department of Transport, the provincial People’s Committee shall issue a decision on announcement of channel opening;

dd) The decision on announcement of channel opening shall be made using Form No. 03 provided in the Appendix to this Decree.

5. If an inland waterway channel has been included in the approved planning and it is only necessary to survey the channel and set up navigation aids for operation thereof, the Ministry of Transport shall assign the VIWA and the provincial People’s Committee to assign the Department of Transport to organize the channel survey and set up navigation aids. After completing the channel survey and setting up the navigation aids, the procedures for announcing the opening of the channel shall be followed in accordance with this Decree. The funding for surveying the channel and setting up navigation aids shall be covered by the State budget for recurrent expenditures in accordance with regulations on hierarchical management of state budget.

6. Management of inland waterway channels

a) The VIWA shall organize the management of national channels;

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c) Organizations and individuals owning dedicated channels shall organize the management of such dedicated channels.

7. Compilation and announcement of lists of inland waterway channels

a) The VIWA shall compile a list of national channels and dedicated channels connected to national channels and submit it to the Ministry of Transport for announcement;

b) Departments of Transport shall compile a list of local channels and dedicated channels connected to the local channel and submit it to the provincial People’s Committee for announcement. After being announced, the list of channels shall be sent to the VIWA for consolidation and monitoring;

c) Organizations and individuals owning dedicated channels shall report data on construction specifications of dedicated channels to the VIWA and Departments of Transport to service the compilation and announcement of the list of dedicated inland waterway channels;

d) A list of inland waterway channels shall be updated, adjusted and announced every 3 years. The VIWA shall consolidate lists of inland waterway channels nationwide and post them on its website.

Article 10. Conversion of inland waterway channels

1. Conditions for conversion of an inland waterway channel

a) The approved inland waterway infrastructure planning is conformed to;

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2. Power to convert inland waterway channels

a) The Ministry of Transport shall decide to convert local and dedicated channels into national channels, and national channels into local channels;

b) Provincial People’s Committees shall decide to convert dedicated channels into local channels, and local channels into dedicated channels.

3. Application for channel conversion

a) An application form enclosed with the status quo report of the channel to be converted, which is made by the VIWA (for national channels) and by the Department of Transport (for local channels);

b) An application form, which is made by the provincial People’s Committee (in case of converting local channels into national channels or vice versa).

4. Where a local channel is converted into a national channel or vice versa: the VIWA shall preside over and cooperate with the Department of Transport in preparing an application and reporting it to the provincial People’s Committee and the Ministry of Transport. Within 05 working days from the date of receiving a sufficient application as prescribed, the provincial People’s Committee shall issue a document to the Ministry of Transport. Within 10 working days from the date of receiving the document from the provincial People’s Committee, the Ministry of Transport shall issue a decision on announcement of channel conversion.

5. Where a dedicated channel is converted into a national channel: The VIWA shall preside over and cooperate with the organization or individual owning the dedicated channel in preparing an application and submit it to the Ministry of Transport. Within 10 working days from the date of receiving a sufficient application as prescribed, the Ministry of Transport shall issue a decision on announcement of channel conversion.

6. Where a dedicated channel is converted into a local channel or vice versa: the Department of Transport shall preside over and cooperate with the organization or individual owning the dedicated channel in preparing an application and submit it to the provincial People’s Committee. Within 10 working days from the date of receiving a sufficient application as prescribed, the provincial People’s Committee shall issue a decision on announcement of channel conversion.

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8. In the event that a dedicated channel is converted into a national or local channel, a part of the investment capital (if any) is considered to be returned to the organization or individual owning such dedicated channel in accordance with regulations of law and guidelines of the Ministry of Finance’s.

Article 11. Announcement of closure of inland waterway channels

1. An inland waterway channel is considered to be announced closed in the following cases:

a) The safety of transport operation is not ensured;

b) The closure is requested for national defense or security reasons;

c) The need for operation and use of thereof is obviated.

2. Power to announce the closure of inland waterway channels

The authority deciding the announcement of channel opening specified in clause 2 Article 9 of this Decree is also the one having the power to decide the announcement of channel closure.

3. Application for channel closure

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b) A written request for the closure of the channel in the case specified in point b clause 1 of this Article, which is prepared by the Ministry of National Defence or the Ministry of Public Security;

c) An application form for announcement of closure of an inland waterway channel, which is made using Form No. 04 provided in the Appendix to this Decree in the case specified in point c clause 1 of this Article;

d) A plan for removal of inland navigation aids, which is formulated by the authority, organization or individual managing the channel.

4. Procedures for closing national and local channels

a) In case of closing a channel as specified in point a clause 1 of this Article: After the inspection, if the safety of transport operation fails to be ensured, the VIWA or the Department of Transport shall send a written notice of suspension of transport operation to the unit directly managing the channel and post it on mass media, and at the same time prepare an application for announcement of channel closure and submit it to the authority having power to close the channel;

a) In case of closing a channel as specified in point b clause 1 of this Article: the Ministry of National Defence or the Ministry of Public Security requesting channel closure must send a written notice explicitly stating the reasons for channel closure and the time of channel closure to the VIWA or the Department of Transport. The notice must be sent at least 30 days prior to the date of requesting channel closure. Within 05 working days from the date of receiving the notice from the Ministry of National Defence or the Ministry of Public Security, the VIWA shall report to the Ministry of Transport or the Department of Transport shall report to the provincial People’s Committee;

c) In case of closing a channel as specified in point c clause 1 of this Article, the VIWA (for national channels) or the Department of Transport (for local channels) shall prepare and submit an application for channel closure to the Ministry of Transport or the provincial People’s Committee, and organize the removal of inland navigation aids within 60 days from the effective date of the decision on channel closure;

d) Within 10 working days from the date of receiving a sufficient application as prescribed, the Ministry of Transport or the provincial People’s Committee shall issue a decision on announcement of channel closure under their management.

5. Procedures for closing dedicated channels

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b) In the case specified in point b clause 1 of this Article, the Ministry of National Defence or the Ministry of Public Security requesting channel closure must send a written notice explicitly stating the reasons for and the time of channel closure to the organization or individual owning the dedicated channel, the VIWA or the Department of Transport and the Ministry of Transport or the provincial People's Committee. The notice must be sent at least 30 days prior to the date of requesting channel closure;

c) In the case specified in point c clause 1 of this Article, the organization or individual owning the dedicated channel shall submit 01 application in person or by another appropriate method to the VIWA (for national channels and dedicated channels connected to national channels) or the Department of Transport (for local channels and dedicated channels connected to local channels);

d) Within 10 working days from the date of receiving a sufficient application as prescribed, the VIWA shall appraise the application and if all conditions are met, report it to the Ministry of Transport or the Department of Transport shall appraise the application and if all conditions are met, report it to the provincial People’s Committee. Within 10 working days from the date of receiving the application and report in full from the VIWA or the Department of Transport, the Ministry of Transport or the provincial People’s Committee shall issue a decision on announcement of channel closure under its management;

dd) The organization or individual owning the dedicated channel shall remove inland navigation aids within 60 days from the effective date of the decision on channel closure.

6. The decision on announcement of channel closure shall be made using Form No. 05 provided in the Appendix to this Decree and must be sent to relevant authorities, organizations and individuals within 02 days from the date of its signature.

7. The costs of closing national and local channels shall be covered by the State budget for recurrent expenditures in accordance with regulation on hierarchical management of state budget.

8. Costs incurred in connection with closure of dedicated channels shall be paid by organizations and individuals owning such dedicated channels, except for the case specified in point b clause 1 of this Article where such costs shall be paid by the authority requesting the channel closure.

Article 12. Survey of inland waterway channels

1. Inland waterway channels in operation must be surveyed on a regular, periodic and ad-hoc basis.

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a) The VIWA, Departments of Transport, organizations and individuals owning dedicated channels shall conduct surveys, make and digitize topographical maps (if any), create, maintain and provide survey database and topographical maps in service of the management, announcement and operation of the channels;

b) Organizations and individuals that conduct channel surveys must provide survey results to the authority specified in clause 4 Article 13 of this Decree for issuance of channel notices, and assume responsibility for the data and information they have provided.

3. Funding for surveying and making topographical maps of inland waterway channels

a) Funding for survey in service of channel management and issuance of notices of national and local channels as prescribed in this Decree shall be covered by the State budget for recurrent expenditures in accordance with regulations on hierarchical management of state budget;

b) Organizations and individuals managing dedicated channels shall provide funding for survey in service of channel management and issuance of channel notices in accordance with this Decree.

4. The Ministry of Transport shall elaborate the survey of inland waterway channels.

Article 13. Notice of inland waterway channels

1. Notice of an inland waterway channel means a document issued and announced by the authority or organization specified in clause 4 of this Article according to the survey results in service of the management and provision of information and instructions for seafarers, steersmen, and related organizations and individuals so as to ensure traffic safety.

2. Contents of a channel notice

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b) For a periodic channel notice: name, length, start point, end point, centerline coordinates, width, depth and radius of curvature of the channel, technical classification; representative elevation of the shoals along the channel, names, coordinates, and elevations of obstacles and river-crossing facilities on the channel failing to accommodate the waterway dimensions in accordance with the technical classification, water level at the time of survey, and other noteworthy issues;

c) For a regular channel notice: name; width and depth of the channel in the area where shoals exist, obstacles along the channel; water level at the time of survey; other necessary warnings;

d) For an ad-hoc channel notice: channel name; description of the ad-hoc incident; location (coordinates, chainage, depth, vertical clearance) of the ad-hoc incident; width and depth of the channel in the area where the ad-hoc incident occurs; water level at the time of survey and the impact of ad-hoc incident on transport activities; other necessary warnings.

3. Forms of a channel notice

Notice of an inland waterway channel shall be made in writing; posted on the website and updated in the database and digital topographical maps of channels and routes (if any) of the notifying authority specified in clause 4 of this Article or on mass media.

4. Responsibility for issuing notices

a) The VIWA shall issue initial notices of national channels and dedicated channels connected to national channels;

b) Regional Inland Waterways Administration Branches shall issue periodical, regular and ad-hoc notices of national channels and dedicated channels connected to national channels;

c) Departments of Transport shall issue initial, periodic, regular and ad-hoc notices of local channels and dedicated channels connected to local channels;

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5. Time limit for issuing notice of national and local channels: Within 02 working days from the date of receiving the survey result report, the authority specified in clause 4 of this Article shall inspect data and issue an inland waterway channel notice using Form No. 06, Form No. 07, and Form No. 08 provided in the Appendix to this Decree;

6. Time limit for issuing notice of dedicated channels: The organization or individual owning the dedicated channel shall submit an application form for announcement of the channel notice made using the Form No. 09 provided in the Appendix to this Decree to the authority specified in clause 4 of this Article. Within 03 working days from the date of receiving the report from the organization or individual owning the dedicated channel, the notifying authority shall inspect the data and issue the inland waterway channel notice.

Section 3. MANAGEMENT OF INVESTMENT IN CONSTRUCTION AND OPERATIONS OF INLAND PORTS, INLAND LANDING STAGES AND ANCHORAGES

Article 14. General regulations on investment in construction and operations of inland ports, inland landing stages and anchorages

1. Investment in construction of inland ports, inland landing stages and anchorages must comply with regulations of law on construction investment and this Decree.

2. Water areas of inland ports, inland landing stages and anchorages must not overlap inland waterway channels. The length of the water areas of inland ports, inland landing stages and anchorages must not exceed the area of land adjacent to rivers, canals and ditches allocated by competent authorities for construction of inland ports and inland landing stages.

3. Operations of inland ports, inland landing stages and anchorages must be announced by competent authorities in accordance with regulations before they are put into operation and use. During the operation of inland ports, inland landing stages and anchorages, investors and operators must observe regulations of law on inland waterway traffic, other relevant laws, and contents of decisions to announce the operations. The technical safety of cargo loading and unloading machinery and equipment, and mooring equipment in service of the operations of inland ports, inland landing stages and anchorages must be ensured as per regulations.

4. For inland ports, inland landing stages and anchorages where dangerous cargoes are loaded, unloaded, or transshipped, regulations of law on storage and transport of dangerous cargoes must be complied with.

5. For an inland port, inland landing stage or anchorage whose operation period stated in the announcement decision has expired and is not extended, its owner must dismantle the facilities and equipment affecting traffic safety, sweep and clear obstacles in water area of the inland port, inland landing stage or anchorage (if any) within 60 days from the expiry of the operation period. The authority having power to announce the operations of inland port, inland landing stage or anchorage shall cooperate with the People’s Committee of the commune, ward or commune-level town (hereinafter referred to as “communal People’s Committee”) to supervise the dismantling of the facilities in the inland port or inland landing stage and the clearance of obstacles in water areas of the inland port, inland landing stage or anchorage.

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Article 15. Agreement on inland port and inland landing stage construction specifications

1. Contents of the agreement

a) Location of construction of the inland port or inland landing stage;

b) Functions of the inland port or inland landing stage;

c) Scale of the inland port or inland landing stage.

2. Power to reach agreement

a) The Ministry of Transport shall reach agreement on construction specifications of inland ports receiving foreign watercrafts;

b) The VIWA shall reach agreement on construction specifications of inland ports on national inland waterways or dedicated inland waterways connected to national inland waterways, inland ports in water and land areas on both national and local inland waterways, inland ports in seaport water areas connected to national inland waterways, except for the case prescribed in point a of this clause and other cases decided by the Ministry of Transport;

c) Departments of Transport shall reach agreement on construction specifications of inland ports on local inland waterways or dedicated inland waterways connected to local inland waterways, inland ports in seaport waters connected to local inland waterways, and inland landing stages in their provinces and central-affiliated cities, except for the case prescribed in point a of this clause and other cases decided by the Ministry of Transport;

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a) An application form for agreement on inland port construction specifications, which is made using Form No. 10 provided in the Appendix to this Decree;

b) Project dossier;

c) A copy of the written approval of the project investment guidelines granted by the competent authority (if any);

d) A topographical map of the location where the inland port will be constructed, which shows the place name, location of the port, warehouse, yard, water area, chainage (km) of the river, canal, or ditch; land area; adjacent structures (if any). The drawing of the water area must show the minimum width from the edge of the bank to the end of the channel’s width. The topographical map shall be made based on the National Coordinate Reference System VN2000 and the State elevations at the scale from 1/500 to 1/1000.

4. An application for agreement on inland landing stage construction specifications is composed of:

a) An application form for agreement on inland landing stage construction specifications, which is made using Form No. 10 provided in the Appendix to this Decree;

b) A copy of the written approval of the project investment guidelines granted by the competent authority (if any);

c) A topographical map of the location where the inland landing stage will be constructed, which shows the place name, location of the inland landing stage, area of land and area of water in front of the inland landing stage, chainage (km) of the river, canal or ditch; adjacent structures (if any).

5. Agreement sequence

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The investor shall submit 02 applications, whether in person or another appropriate method, to the VIWA (for inland ports specified in point b, clause 2 of this Article) or the Department of Transport (for inland ports specified in point b clause 2 of this Article) for appraisal. Within 05 working days from the date of receiving a sufficient application as prescribed, the VIWA or the Department of Transport shall appraise the application and if all conditions are met, send a report on appraisal results and 01 application to the Ministry of Transport.

Within 05 working days from the date of receiving the report on appraisal results from the VIWA or the Department of Transport, the Ministry of Transport shall seek opinions from the Ministry of National Defence, the Ministry of Public Security, and the provincial People’s Committee about the assurance of national defense and security for the construction of the inland port; within 05 working days from the date of receiving the written request of the Ministry of Transport, the Ministry of National Defence, the Ministry of Public Security, and the provincial People’s Committee shall send their written opinions to the Ministry of Transport. Within 05 working days from the date of receiving the written agreement of the Ministry of National Defence or the Ministry of Public Security and the provincial People’s Committee, the Ministry of Transport shall issue a written agreement on construction specifications and send it to the investor;

b) Inland ports not receiving foreign watercrafts

The investor shall submit 01 application, whether in person or another appropriate method, to the VIWA (or the Department of Transport. Within 05 working days from the date of receiving a sufficient application as prescribed, the VIWA or the Department of Transport shall send a written agreement on construction specifications to the investor;

c) Inland landing stages

The investor shall submit 01 application, whether in person or by another appropriate method, to the Department of Transport. For any inland landing stage on national inland waterways or dedicated inland waterways connected to national inland waterways, before issuing a written agreement, the Department of Transport shall seek opinions from the regional Inland Waterways Administration Branch. Within 05 working days from the date of receiving the written request from the Department of Transport, the regional Inland Waterways Administration Branch shall give a written response. Within 05 working days from the date of receiving the written response from the regional Inland Waterways Administration Branch, the Department of Transport shall send a written agreement on construction specifications to the investor;

d) For an inland port or inland landing stage located in seaport waters, before appraisal and agreement on construction specifications, the VIWA or the Department of Transport shall obtain written opinions from the maritime administration. Within 05 working days from the date of receiving the written request, the maritime administration shall give a written response.

6. The maximum validity period of the written agreement on inland port or inland landing stage construction specifications is 24 months from the date of its signature. After the expiry date of the written agreement, if the investor has yet to commence the construction and wishes to keep constructing the inland port or landing stage, they shall re-initiate the procedures for agreement on inland port or inland landing stage construction specifications as specified in this Article.

Article 16. Agreement on construction specifications of river-crossing passenger landing stages and inland landing stages in service of construction of main structures

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a) Location of construction of the landing stage;

b) Functions of the landing stage;

c) Scale of the landing stage;

2. Power to reach agreement

Departments of Transport shall reach agreement on construction specifications of river-crossing passenger landing stages and inland landing stages in service of construction of main structures in provinces and central-affiliated cities. According to specific conditions, Departments of Transport may request provincial People’s Committees to delegate authority to the People’s Committees of provincial cities, district-level towns, districts and rural districts (hereinafter referred to as “district level”) to reach agreement on construction of river-crossing passenger landing stages and inland landing stages in service of construction of main structures in the localities under their management.

3. Agreement application

a) An application form for agreement on inland landing stage construction, which is made using Form No. 10 provided in the Appendix to this Decree;

b)  A site plan of the location where the inland landing stage will be constructed, which shows the place name, location of adjacent structures, land area, water area in front of the landing stage, chainage (km) of the river, canal, or ditch.

4. Agreement sequence

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5. The maximum validity period of the written agreement is 24 months, for river-crossing passenger landing stages, or 03 months, for inland landing stages in service of construction of main structures. After the expiry date of the written agreement, if the investor has yet to commence the construction and wishes to keep constructing the landing stage, they shall re-initiate the procedures for agreement on landing stage construction as specified in this Article.

6. In the case where a river-crossing passenger landing stage has one or more counterpart landing places in another province or city, before reaching agreement on the construction of the landing stage, the competent authority specified in clause 2 of this Article must reach agreement with the locality where the counterpart landing place(s) is located.

Article 17. Naming and renaming inland ports, inland landing stages and anchorages

1. Every inland port, inland landing stage or anchorage must be named following the principles below:

a) The inland port, inland landing stage or anchorage is named when a project on investment in its construction is set up or when it is announced to be put into use;

b) Name of an inland port, inland landing stage or anchorage must not be identical to the name of another inland port, inland landing stage or anchorage located within the same province or confusingly similar to the name of an announced inland port, inland landing stage or anchorage or inconsistent with the functions of such inland port, inland landing stage or anchorage;

c) The inland port, inland landing stage or anchorage must not be named or partially named after any regulatory body, armed force unit, political organization, and socio-political organization unless otherwise agreed by such body, unit or organization;

d) Any word or symbol that infringes upon the historical, cultural and moral traditions and fine customs of the country must not be employed to name an inland port, inland landing stage or anchorage;

dd) The inland port, inland landing stage or anchorage shall have a Vietnamese name, which may be accompanied by its English translation, starting with the phrase “Cảng thủy nội địa” (“Inland port”) or “Bến thủy nội địa” (“Inland landing stage”) or “Khu neo đậu” (“Anchorage”) followed by the proper name of the inland port, inland landing stage or anchorage.

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Article 18. Announcement of operations of inland ports and inland landing stages

1. Power to announce the operations

The authority that reach agreement on inland port or inland landing stage construction specifications specified in clause 2 Article 15 of this Decree is also the authority having power to announce the operations of such inland port or inland landing stage.

2. An application for announcement of operations of an inland port

a) An application form for announcement of operations of the inland port, which is made using Form No. 12 provided in the Appendix to this Decree;

b) A certified true copy or a copy, presented together with their originals for comparison, of the written approval of the project on investment in construction of the inland port granted by the competent authority;

c) A certified true copy or a copy, presented together with their originals for comparison, of the document on land use for construction of the inland port issued by the competent authority;

d) A copy of the decision approving the project or the technical design of the inland port;

b) A certificate of acceptance of the construction work to be put into service; as-built drawing of the site, elevation and section drawings of the inland port;

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g) A copy of the technical safety and environmental protection certificate of the pontoons or mooring buoy subject to registration (if the pontoons are used to build a wharf);

h) An acceptance certificate of fire safety issued by a competent authority in accordance with regulations;

i) A copy of the certificate of conformity to security regulations of the inland port receiving foreign watercrafts (for the inland port receiving foreign watercrafts);

k) A copy of the competent authority’s decision on announcement of dedicated channel opening (if any) for the inland port that has a dedicated channel.

3. An application for announcement of operations of an inland landing stage

a) An application form for announcement of operations of the inland landing stage, which is made using Form No. 12 provided in the Appendix to this Decree;

b) A certified true copy of the competent authority’s decision approving the project on investment in construction of the inland landing stage, or a copy, presented together with its original for comparison, regarding the inland landing stage for which a construction investment project is available;

c) A certified true copy of the document on land use for construction of the inland landing stage or a copy presented together with its original for comparison, unless it is a floating terminal;

d) A certified true copy of the investor’s decision approving the economic - technical report (for the inland landing stage for which a construction investment project is available) or the plan for operation of the inland landing stage;

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e) A copy of the technical safety and environmental protection certificate of the floating structures, vessels, pontoons or mooring buoys subject to registration (if such floating structures, vessels, or pontoons are used to build the dock or floating terminal).

4. Sequence of announcing the operations

a) Before putting an inland port or inland landing stage into operation, its owner shall submit, in person or by another appropriate manner, 01 application for announcement of operations to the VIWA (for inland ports receiving foreign watercrafts on national inland waterways or dedicated inland waterways connected to national inland waterways, and inland ports specified in point b clause 2 Article 15 of this Decree), or the Department of Transport (for inland ports receiving foreign watercrafts on local inland waterways or dedicated inland waterways connected to local inland waterways, and inland ports and inland landing stages specified in point c clause 2 Article 15 of this Decree);

b) For an inland port receiving foreign watercrafts: Within 05 working days from the date of receiving a sufficient application as prescribed, the VIWA or the Department of Transport shall appraise it. If all conditions are satisfied, report to the Ministry of Transport. Within 05 working days from the date of receiving the application and appraisal report in full, the Ministry of Transport shall issue a decision on announcement of operations of the inland port;

c) For an inland port not receiving foreign watercrafts: Within 05 working days from the date of receiving a sufficient application as prescribed, the VIWA or the Department of Transport shall issue a decision on announcement of operations of the inland port;

d) For an inland landing stage: Within 05 working days from the date of receiving a sufficient application as prescribed, the Department of Transport shall issue a decision on announcement of operations of the inland landing stage.

5. The decision on announcement of operations of an inland port or inland landing stage shall be made using Form No. 13 provided in the Appendix to this Decree.

6. The effective period of a decision on announcement of operations of an inland port or inland landing stage shall be subject to the request of its owner but must not exceed the term of land use for construction of such inland port or inland landing stage or the operation period of the project mentioned in the investment certificate granted by the competent authority.

7. In the case where the construction of one or more wharves of an inland port has been completed and the investor wishes to operate it/them immediately, the investor must prepare an application for temporary operation thereof as specified in clause 2 of this Article to the competent authority. The effective period of the decision on announcement of temporary operations of the wharf/wharves shall not exceed 01 year. This regulation does not apply to inland ports receiving foreign watercrafts.

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a) In case the operations of the inland port have been announced: if its owner wishes to receive foreign watercrafts, such owner shall send a written report to the Ministry of Transport. The Ministry of Transport shall seek opinions of the Ministry of National Defence, the Ministry of Public Security and the provincial People’s Committee on assurance of national defense and security for such inland port in accordance with point a clause 5 Article 15 of this Decree. Within 02 working days from the date of receiving the written agreement of the Ministry of National Defence, the Ministry of Public Security, and the provincial People’s Committee, the Ministry of Transport shall grant a written approval for the inland port to receive foreign watercrafts to the owner;

b) The port’s owner shall submit an application for inland port announcement as specified in points a and i clause 2 of this Article to the Ministry of Transport. Within 05 working days from the date of receiving the application from the port’s owner, the Ministry of Transport shall issue a decision on announcement of operations of the inland port receiving foreign watercrafts.

9. Announcement of operations of an inland port in case where the need for receiving foreign watercrafts is obviated

a) In the case where an inland port has been announced to receive foreign watercrafts but its owner has obviated the need for receiving foreign watercrafts, the owner shall submit a written request (explicitly stating the reasons therefor) to the Ministry of Transport. Within 05 working days from the date of receiving the written request, the Ministry of Transport shall grant a written approval to the port’s owner;

 b) The port’s owner shall submit an application form for inland port announcement as specified in point a clause 2 of this Article to the VIWA or the provincial Department of Transport. Within 05 working days from the date of receiving the application form from the port’s owner, the VIWA or the Department of Transport shall issue and send the decision on announcement of operations of the inland port no longer receiving foreign watercrafts to the port’s owner and at the same time to the Ministry of National Defence, the Ministry of Public Security, and the provincial People’s Committee for monitoring.

10. The authority announcing operations of an inland port or inland landing stage shall send the announcement decision to the investor, the inland waterways port authority (hereinafter referred to as the “port authority”), the maritime administration (for an inland port or inland landing stage located within the water area of a seaport), the People’s Committee of the commune where the inland port or inland landing stage is located, and relevant organizations and individuals within 02 working days from the date of signing the decision; update information about the announced inland port or inland landing stage on the VIWA's database of inland ports and inland landing stages.

Article 19. Announcement of operations of river-crossing passenger landing stages and inland landing stages in service of construction of main structures

1. Power to announce the operations

The authority that reaches agreement on construction of the river-crossing passenger landing stage or the inland landing stage in service of construction of main structures specified in clause 2 Article 16 of this Decree is also the one having power to announce the operations of such river-crossing passenger landing stage or inland landing stage in service of construction of main structures.

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a) An application form for announcement of operations of the inland landing stage, which is made using Form No. 12 provided in the Appendix to this Decree;

b) The technical design document, an acceptance certificate of the facilities (if any), a certified true copy of the document on land use for construction of the landing stage (for river-crossing passenger landing stages); a copy of the technical safety and environmental protection certificate of floating structures, vessels, pontoons or mooring buoys subject to registration (if such floating structures, vessels, or pontoons are used to build the landing stage);

3. Sequence of announcing the operations

a) Before putting the river-crossing passenger landing stage or the inland landing stage in service of construction of main structures into operation, the landing stage's owner shall submit 01 application for the announcement of operations thereof in person or by another appropriate method to the competent authority specified in clause 2 Article 16 of this Decree;

b) Within 05 working days from the date of receiving a sufficient application as prescribed, the competent authority specified in clause 2 Article 16 of this Decree shall issue a decision on announcement of operations of the river-crossing passenger landing stage or the inland landing stage construction of main structures;

c) The decision on announcement of operations of a river-crossing passenger landing stage or inland landing stage construction shall be made using Form No. 13 provided in the Appendix to this Decree.

4. Effective period of the decision on announcement of operations

a) The effective period of a decision on announcement of operations of a river-crossing passenger landing stage shall be subject to the request of its owner but must not exceed the term of land use for construction of such river-crossing passenger landing stage granted by the competent authority;

b) A decision on announcement of operation of an inland landing stage in service of construction of main structures shall be subject to the request of by its owner but must not exceed the period of construction of main structures.

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Article 20. Re-announcement of operations and extension of operation period of inland ports and inland landing stages

1. Operations of an inland port or inland landing stage must be re-announced in the following cases:

a) Change of its scale or functions;

b) Change of its land or water areas;

b) Change of its owner.

2. Power to re-announce operations or extend operation period of an inland port or inland landing stage

The authority that announces the operations of an inland port or inland landing stage specified in clause 1 Article 18 and clause 1 Article 19 of this Decree is also the one having the power to re-announce operations or extend operation period of such inland port or inland landing stage.

3. Application for re-announcement of operations

a) An application form for re-announcement of operations of the inland port or inland landing stage, which is made using Form No. 14 provided in the Appendix to this Decree;

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c) The documents specified in points d, dd and e clause 3 Article 18 of this Decree for the structure of the inland landing stage that has been changed;

d) A certified true copy or a copy, presented together with its original for comparison, of the competent authority’s document on the change of land or water area (in the case specified in point b clause 1 of this Article);

dd) A certified true copy or a copy, presented together with its original for comparison, of the documentary evidence of the change of the port or landing stage’s owner (in the case specified in point c clause 1 of this Article).

4. Sequence of re-announcement of operations

a) The operator of the port or landing stage shall submit 01 application, in person or by another appropriate method, to the VIWA or the Department of Transport;

b) For any inland port not receiving foreign watercrafts or inland landing stage: Within 05 working days from the date of receiving a sufficient application as prescribed, the VIWA or the Department of Transport shall issue a decision on re-announcement of operations of the inland port or the inland landing stage;

c) For any inland port receiving foreign watercrafts: Within 05 working days from the date of receiving a sufficient application as prescribed, the VIWA or the Department of Transport shall appraise it. If all conditions are satisfied, report to the Ministry of Transport. Within 05 working days from the date of receiving the application and appraisal report in full as prescribed, the Ministry of Transport shall issue a decision on re-announcement of operations of the inland port;

d) Where the owner of the inland port or inland landing stage is changed, the new owner of such inland port or inland landing stage must apply for re-announcement of operations thereof within 10 working days from the date of receiving the inland port or inland landing stage.

5. The decision on re-announcement of operations of an inland port or inland landing stage shall be made using Form No. 13 provided in the Appendix to this Decree. The decision shall specify the changes only.

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a) Upon the expiry of the operation period stated in the decision on announcement, if the owner of the inland port or inland landing stage wishes to keep operating it and is granted an extension of the land use term by the competent authority, the extension of operation period shall be considered;

b) An application for extension of the operation period consists of an application form for extension of operation period of an inland port or inland landing stage; documents related to the land for construction of such inland port or inland landing stage of which the use term is extended by the competent authority;

c) The owner of the inland port or inland landing stage shall submit 01 application in person or by another appropriate method to the authority announcing the operations of such inland port or inland landing stage. Within 05 working days from the date of receiving a sufficient application as prescribed, the authority having power to announce the operations of the inland port or inland landing stage shall grant a written approval for extension of operation period of such inland port or inland landing stage.

7. The authority re-announcing operations or extending the operation period of the inland port or inland landing stage shall send the decision on re-announcement or the written approval for extension of operation period of the inland port or inland landing stage to the operator of such port or landing stage, the port authority, the People’s Committee of the commune where the inland port or landing stage is located, and relevant organizations and individuals within 02 working days from the date of signing the decision; update information about the announced inland port or inland landing stage on the VIWA's database of inland ports and inland landing stages.

Article 21. Quality inspection of inland ports

1. The port’s owner or operator shall inspect the quality of works. Details and procedures for quality inspection of inland ports shall comply with regulations of law on quality management and maintenance of construction works.

2. The VIWA and Departments of Transport shall inspect the compliance with regulations on quality control of inland ports by operators under their management.

Article 22. Repairing and dredging in water areas, renovation and upgradation of inland ports and inland landing stages

1. Inland ports and inland landing stages shall be renovated and upgraded to change their scale and functions specified in the decisions on announcement in accordance with the approved planning.

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Within 05 days from the date of receiving the written request from the owner of the inland port or inland landing stage, the competent authority specified in clause 2 Article 15 and clause 2 Article 16 of this Decree shall offer its written opinions on the renovation and upgradation of such inland port or inland landing stage.

3. The renovation and upgradation of inland ports and inland landing stages shall comply with regulations of law on construction. Before repairing, renovating, upgrading or dredging an inland port or inland landing stage, the owner or operator of such inland port or inland landing stage must send a notice (explicitly stating the name of the inland port or inland landing stage; the period; the scope of repair, renovation, upgrading or dredging) to the port authority.

Article 23. Upgrading an inland landing stage to an inland port

1. An inland landing stage will be upgraded to an inland landing stage if the following conditions are satisfied:

a) Operations of such inland landing stage have been announced;

b) The planning approved by the competent authority is conformed to.

2. Before upgrading an inland landing stage to an inland port, its owner shall submit a written request in person or by another appropriate method to the competent authority specified in clause 2 Article 15 of this Decree to obtain the latter’s agreement on the upgradation from such inland landing stage to an inland port. The written request must explicitly state the expected scale for the upgrading; period of the renovation or upgrading; impacts of the renovation or upgrading on the operations of vessels in the water area, cargo loading and unloading machinery and equipment, and passenger and cargo transport activities; adjacent structures.

Within 05 days from the date of receiving the written request from the owner of the inland port, the competent authority specified in clause 2 Article 15 of this Decree shall issue a written agreement on the specifications for the upgradation from such inland landing stage to a port.

3. The renovation and upgradation of inland landing stages shall comply with regulations of law on construction.

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4. After completing the renovation and upgrading, the landing stage’s operator must follow procedures for announcement of operations of the inland port in accordance with Article 18 of this Decree. In the case where scale and specifications of an inland landing stage are conformable to the inland port technical classification as prescribed (renovation or upgrading is not carried out), the application for announcement of upgradation from an inland landing stage to an inland port is composed of:

a) An application form for announcement upgradation from an inland landing stage to an inland port, made using Form No. 15 provided in the Appendix to this Decree;

b) A written agreement on technical specifications of the competent authority for the upgradation from the inland landing stage into an inland port;

c) As-built drawing of the inland landing stage;

d) A site plan of the work, land area and water area of the inland landing stage;

dd) A dossier on on-site inspection and calculation of the inland landing stage carried out by a consultancy having legal status.

Article 24. Closure and suspension of inland ports and inland landing stages

1. An inland port or inland landing stage is announced closed in the following cases:

b) The closure is requested for national defense or security reasons;

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2. Power to announce the closure of inland ports and inland landing stages

The authority that announces an inland port or inland landing stage specified in clause 1 Article 18 and clause 1 Article 19 of this Decree is also the one having power to announce the closure of such inland port or inland landing stage.

3. Application for announcement of closure of an inland port or inland landing stage

a) A written request, which is prepared by the Ministry of National Defence or the Ministry of Public Security in the case specified in point a clause 1 of this Article;

b) An application form for closure of the inland port or inland landing stage from the owner of such inland port or landing stage, in the case specified in point b clause 1 of this Article.

4. Procedures for announcement of closure of an inland port or inland landing stage

a) The Ministry of National Defence or the Ministry of Public Security requesting the closure of the inland port or inland landing stage must send a notice to the operator of such port or landing stage at least 60 days before the expected date of closure of such inland port or inland landing stage in the case specified in point a clause 1 of this Article. The notice must clearly state the reasons for the closure. Within 10 days from the date of receiving the notice, the operator of such inland port or inland landing stage is entitled to put forward his/her proposition about and reach agreement on the closure of the inland port or inland landing stage with the notifying authority;

b) The Ministry of National Defence or the Ministry of Public Security, and the owner of the inland port or inland landing stage shall send a written request or application form for the closure of such inland port or inland landing stage to the competent authority specified in clause 2 of this Article;

c) Within 05 working days from the date of receiving a written request or application form from the authority and the owner of the port or landing stage as prescribed in point b of this clause, the competent authority shall issue a decision on announcement of closure of the inland port or inland landing stage;

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dd) The authority that issues the decision on announcement of closure of an inland port or inland landing stage must send the decision to the owner of such inland port or inland landing stage, the port authority, the People’s Committee of the commune where the inland port or inland landing stage is located, relevant organizations and individuals, and the Ministry of National Defence or the Ministry of Public Security (in the case specified in point a clause 1 of this Article) within 02 working days from the date of official approval for removal of the inland port or inland landing stage from the registry of inland ports and inland landing stages.

5. Within 30 working days from the effective date of the decision on announcement of closure of the inland port or inland landing stage, its owner shall clear obstacles in the water area thereof (if any), and dismantle inland navigation aids of such inland port or inland landing stage. The costs of clearing obstacles in the water area of the inland port or inland landing stage (if any) and dismantling the inland navigation aids of the inland port or inland landing stage shall be paid by the owner thereof, except for the case specified in point a clause 1 of this Article where such costs shall be paid by the authority requesting the closure of the inland port or inland landing stage.

6. An inland port or inland landing stage must be suspended in following cases:

a) It has reached the end of its service life;

b) It is involved in an incident that threatens its safety or the safety of people and vessels; affects the safety of adjacent structures, the environment and the community in accordance with regulations.

7. Suspension of an inland port or inland landing stage

a) The operator of an inland port or inland landing stage must send a written notice to the port authority of the suspension of such inland port or inland landing stage in the cases specified in clause 6 of this Article;

b) Upon receiving the notice from the port’s operator in the case specified in point a clause 6 of this Article, the port authority shall notify relevant authorities and units of the suspension of the inland port or inland landing stage;

c) Upon receiving the notice from the operator of the inland port or inland landing stage in the case specified in point b clause 6 of this Article, the port authority shall send a written request to the operator of such inland port or inland landing stage to request the suspension of such inland port or inland landing stage to repair the damage or respond to the incident, and at the same time notify relevant authorities and units of the suspension of the inland port or inland landing stage;

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dd) If a port facility has reached the end of its service life, if the operator of the inland port or inland landing stage wishes to keep using it, he/she shall inspect the quality of the facility, renovate it or repair damage (if any) to ensure the safety and serve functions of the facility and request the announcement of operations thereof in accordance with this Decree.

Article 25. Establishment of anchorages

1. Contents of the agreement on establishment of an anchorage

a) Location and size of the anchorage;

b) Uses;

c) Scale of the construction site (scope and mooring equipment).

2. Power to reach agreement on establishment of an anchorage

a) The VIWA shall reach agreement on establishment of anchorages on national inland waterways or dedicated inland waterways connected to national inland waterways, or anchorages on both national and local inland waterways, and other cases decided by the Ministry of Transport;

b) The Department of Transport shall reach agreement on establishment of anchorages on local inland waterways or dedicated inland waterways connected to local inland waterways, and other cases decided by the Ministry of Transport.

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a) An application form for agreement on anchorage establishment, which is made using Form No. 17 provided in the Appendix to this Decree;

b) A copy of the written approval of the project investment guidelines granted by the competent authority (if any);

c) A site plan of the area where the anchorage will be established, which shall show the extent of the anchorage, the bottom level, the location of the channel, the adjacent structures (if any) based on the National Coordinate Reference System VN2000 and the Vietnam State elevations at the scale from 1/500 to 1/2000.

4. Sequence of agreement on establishment of an anchorage

a) Before establishing an anchorage, the investor shall submit 01 application for agreement on establishment of an anchorage in person or by another appropriate method to the competent authority specified in clause 2 of this Article;

b) Within 05 working days from the date of receiving a sufficient application as specified, the competent authority specified in clause 2 of this Article shall issue a written agreement on anchorage establishment to the investor.

Article 26. Announcement of operations of anchorages

1. Power to announce the operations of an anchorage

The authority that agrees to establish an anchorage specified in clause 2 Article 25 of this Decree is also the one having power to announce the operations of such anchorage.

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a) An application form for announcement of operations of the anchorage, made using Form No. 18 provided in the Appendix to this Decree;

b) An acceptance certificate of facilities to be put into use;

c) A topographical map of the anchorage;

g) The technical safety and environmental protection certificate of mooring buoys (if mooring buoys are used);

dd) An acceptance certificate of obstacle scanning.

3. Sequence of announcement of operations of an anchorage

a) The investor shall submit 01 application for announcement of operations of the anchorage in person or by another appropriate method to the competent authority specified in clause 1 of this Article;

b) Within 05 working days from the date of receiving a sufficient application as prescribed, the competent authority shall issue a decision on announcement of operations of the anchorage;

c) The decision on announcement of operations of the anchorage shall be made using Form No. 19 provided in the Appendix to this Decree. The authority announcing the operations of the anchorage shall send the decision on announcement of operations to the investor, the port authority, the regional Inland Waterways Administration Branch, and relevant organizations and individuals within 02 working days from the date of signing the decision.

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Article 27. Announcement of closure of anchorages

1. An anchorage shall be announced closed in the following cases:

b) For national defense or security reasons;

b) For traffic safety reasons;

c) At the request of the investor.

2. Power to announce closure of an anchorage

The authority that announces operations of the anchorage as specified in clause 1 Article 26 of this Decree is also the one having power to announce the closure of such anchorage.

3. Application for announcement of closure of the anchorage

a) A written request, which is prepared by the Ministry of National Defence or the Ministry of Public Security in the case specified in point a clause 1 of this Article;

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c) A completion certification of removal of navigation aids and mooring equipment; completion certification of obstacle scanning in the water area of the anchorage.

4. Procedures for announcing the closure of the anchorage

a) In the case specified in point a clause 1 of this Article: The Ministry of National Defence or the Ministry of Public Security shall notify the investor at least 60 days before the expected date of closure of the anchorage. The notice must clearly state the reasons for the closure. If the investor does not express any proposition about the closure of the anchorage, the Ministry of National Defence or the Ministry of Public Security shall send a written request to the authority specified in clause 2 of this Article;

b) In the case specified in point b clause 1 of this Article: The VIWA or the Department of Transport shall notify that a survey will be conducted and shall, with the participation of the investor, prepare a report on status quo of the anchorage which specifies that traffic safety is not ensured due to the change of the waterway channel; request the investor to suspend the anchorage;

c) In the case specified in point c clause 1 of this Article: The investor shall submit an application form for closure of the anchorage in person or by another appropriate method to the authority specified in clause 2 of this Article;

d) Within 05 working days from the date of receiving the written request from the Ministry of National Defence or the Ministry of Public Security or the record of site survey of the anchorage or the application from the investor in the anchorage, the competent authority specified in clause 2 of this Article shall issue a decision on announcement of closure of the anchorage.

5. The decision on announcement of anchorage closure shall be made using Form No. 21 provided in the Appendix to this Decree. The authority announcing the closure of the anchorage shall send the decision on announcement of closure of the anchorage to the investor, the port authority, and relevant organizations and individuals within 02 days from the date of signing the decision.

6. Within 15 working days from the date of receiving the decision on announcement of closure of the anchorage, the investor shall remove navigation aids and mooring equipment, and scanning obstacles in the water area of the anchorage. Where the anchorage is closed in accordance with point a clause 1 of this Article, the costs of removing navigation aids and mooring equipment, and scanning obstacles in the water area of the anchorage shall be paid by the authority requesting the closure of such anchorage.

SECTION 4. MANAGEMENT OF NAVIGATION AIDS AND OTHER INLAND WATERWAY NAVIGATION INFRASTRUCTURE FACILITIES

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1. Establishment of inland navigation aids means an authority, organization or individual installing navigation aids on inland waterways, at construction sites and locations of obstacles, and in areas where activities that affect inland waterway traffic safety are conducted. Navigation aids to be established must comply with the National technical regulation on Vietnam Inland Navigation Aids.

2. Inland waterway facilities where navigation aids must be established:

a) Inland waterway channels;

b) Inland ports, inland landing stages, anchorages;

c) Ship locks, facilities used to help vessels pass dams or falls;

d) Embankments, dams, bridges, ferry landing stages, fishing ports;

dd) Wind power, thermal power, hydro power facilities;

e) Facilities over or underneath the channel;

g) Obstacles;

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i) Other facilities.

3. Inland waterway activities for which navigation aids must be established:

a) Construction of facilities; exploration and mining of natural resources and minerals;

b) Aquaculture areas (fish rafts, fish cages, bottom gillnets and aquaculture milieus); organization of entertainment and amusement activities, drills, sports events and festivals; holding of markets and craft villages; vocational practicing on inland waterways, channel protection corridors, waters outside channels or in water areas of inland ports and inland landing stages;

c) Areas for regulation and on-duty prevention of collision, traffic support, and traffic restriction;

d) Other activities affecting the inland waterway traffic safety.

4. Responsibilities for approving navigation aids plans, establishing and maintaining navigation aids on inland waterways

a) The VIWA shall approve navigation aids plans and organize the establishment and maintenance of the navigation aids systems on national channels;

b) The VIWA shall approve navigation aids plans and organize the establishment and maintenance of the navigation aids systems on local channels;

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d) Owners of facilities, organizations and individuals causing obstacles; or organizations and individuals organizing activities on inland waterways shall establish and maintain navigation aids as specified throughout the construction of facilities or organization of activities, and existence of such facilities or obstacles;

dd) The units in charge of inland waterway management and maintenance, organizations and individuals in charge of dedicated inland waterway management shall establish navigation aids in the event of shipwrecks and in other unexpected situations that threaten traffic safety on channels and channel protection corridors. At the same time, they shall immediately report the cases to the regional Inland Waterways Administration Branches or Departments of Transport.

5. Costs of establishing inland navigation aids

a) Funding for establishing and maintaining navigation aids systems on national and local channels, except for the navigation aids specified in point c of this clause shall be covered by the state budget in accordance with regulations on hierarchical management of state budget;

b) Funding for establishing and maintaining the navigation aids systems on dedicated channels shall be paid by organizations and individuals owning the dedicated channels;

c) Funding for establishing and maintaining the navigation aids systems at facilities, obstacles and areas specified in point d clause 4 of this Article shall be paid by owners of the facilities or obstructions, and organizations and individuals that carry out such activities;

d) Regarding navigation aids at facilities invested in using the State budget under the management of the Ministry of Transport on national inland waterways, after the establishment of navigation aids is done, investors shall transfer such navigation aids to the VIWA for management and maintenance in accordance with regulations;

dd) Regarding navigation aids at facilities invested in using the state budget under the management of provincial People's Committees on local inland waterways, after the establishment of navigation aids is done, investors shall transfer such navigation aids to the Departments of Transport for management and maintenance in accordance with the regulations.

6. The Minister of Transport shall promulgate the National technical regulation on Vietnam Inland Navigation Aids.

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1. The following navigation aids must be agreed upon before being established

a) Navigation aids on dedicated channels;

b) Navigation aids at facilities specified in points d, dd and e clause 2 and clause 3 Article 28 of this Decree.

2. Power to agree on establishment of navigation aids

a) Regional Inland Waterways Administration Branches shall agree on establishment of navigation aids on dedicated channels connected to national channels, facilities and areas specified in point b clause 1 of this Article on national inland waterways and dedicated inland waterways connected to national inland waterways, except for the navigation aids to be established at inland ports and inland landing stages;

b) Departments of Transport shall agree on establishment of navigation aids on dedicated channels connected to local channels, facilities and areas specified in point b clause 1 of this Article on local inland waterways and dedicated inland waterways connected to national inland waterways.

3. Contents of the agreement

a) Location of navigation aids;

b) Quantity and size of navigation aids;

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4. Application for agreement on establishment of navigation aids

a) An application form for agreement on navigation aids establishment, which is made using Form No. 22 provided in the Appendix to this Decree;

b) Expected layout plan of navigation aids.

5. Agreement sequence

a) Any organization or individual wishing to establish navigation aids shall submit 01 application in person or by post or by another appropriate method to the competent authority specified in clause 2 of this Article;

b) Within 05 working days from the date of receiving a sufficient application as specified, the competent authority specified in clause 2 of this Article shall issue a written agreement on navigation aids establishment to the investor.

6. Each organization or individual managing dedicated inland waterways shall send a notice of the establishment of navigation aids and putting thereof into use on dedicated channels according to the Form No. 23 provided in the Appendix to this Decree.

Article 30. Investment in construction of other inland waterway infrastructure facilities

Upon making investment in construction of ship locks, facilities used to help vessels pass dams or falls; traffic embankments and dams; elevation markers, coordinate markers, boundary markers of channel protection corridors, stations and auxiliary facilities, regulations of law on construction investment, fire safety, environmental protection, and climate change response must be complied with; appropriate technological plans and construction designs must be in place to ensure quality and safety in construction, operation, and use of such facilities.

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Article 31. General regulations on protection of inland waterway infrastructure facilities

1. Inland waterway infrastructure facilities must be protected to maintain their normal operation in accordance with the Law on Inland Waterway Traffic and this Decree. Illegal encroachment, destruction, dredging and dismantling of inland waterway infrastructure facilities must be detected, promptly prevented, and handled in accordance with regulations.

2. Before putting any inland waterway infrastructure facility into operation and use, the investor must send a written notice to the People's Committee of the commune where the facility is located for cooperation in protection thereof. The notice must explicitly state the name, scale and uses of the facility, and the time it is put into operation and use.

Article 32. Contents of protection of inland waterway infrastructure facilities

1. Inland waterway infrastructure facilities must be protected to maintain their normal operation in accordance with the Law on Inland Waterway Traffic and this Decree.

2. Protection of inland waterway channels

a) Channels announced and put into use must be maintained in accordance with design standards or channel standards according to the technical classification and the capacity of the state budget;

b) For facilities over or underneath the channels (underwater/underground), the safe height and depth of channel bottoms shall align with the inland waterway technical classification standard announced;

c) Within the channel, it is not permitted to install fixed fishing gears or mine minerals against the law;

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3. Protection of inland waterway protection corridors

a) Dimensions of a channel protection corridor must not be changed, reduced or trespassed upon the channel protection corridors;

b) Within a channel protection corridor, it is not permitted to build houses or other structures, exploit natural resources without consent of competent authorities and install fixed fishing gears;

c) When a channel protection corridor is changed, facilities, mineral mining and fishing operations, craft villages, and floating markets must be moved and narrowed or obstacles on the channel shall be cleared after the change.

4. With regard to other inland waterway infrastructure facilities, the following acts are prohibited:

a) Allowing materials, vessels and equipment to cause landslides or damage facilities;

b) Anchoring or mooring vessels or tying animals to signaling buoys, signposts, water benchmarks, survey markers, coordinate markers, boundary markers of channel protection corridors;

c) Illegally using explosives or mining minerals, or committing other acts that affect facilities;

d) Discharging hazardous substances which affect the durability and service life of facilities.

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Width of a channel protection corridor shall be determined from the edge of the channel to each side. If the channel is already included in the approved planning, the width shall be determined in accordance with the planning’s technical classification. To be specific:

1. If the channel is not close to the shore, the width of the channel protection corridor is:

a) From 20 m to 25 m, for inland waterway channels on lakes, bays, and estuaries, channels along the coast, and special-class channels;

b) From 15 m to 20 m, for inland waterway channels of Class I and Class II;

c) From 10 m to 15 m, for inland waterway channels of Class III and Class IV;

d) 10 m, for inland waterway channels of Class V and Class VI;

2. If the channel is close to the shore, the width of the channel protection corridor shall be at least 5 m from the natural shoreline back to the shore. If the channel passes through any city, district-level town or commune-level towns, the width of the channel protection corridor shall be the red line boundary in the planning approved by the competent authority.

3. Depending on characteristics of each area, the VIWA or the Department of Transport shall preside over cooperating with the Department of Natural Resources and Environment in determining specific natural shorelines in service of the protection of inland waterway infrastructure.

4. In the case where the channel protection corridor overlaps the safety corridors of a road bridge or rail bridge, the width of channel protection corridor shall be determined from the edge of the channel to the natural shorelines and comply with the law regulations on protection of safety corridors of road bridges or rail bridges.

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6. In the case where the channel protection corridor overlaps the protection perimeter of works serving natural disaster management and flood control system protection, and hydraulic structures, regulations of law on natural disaster management, flood control system protection, and operation and protection of hydraulic structures shall be complied with.

7. In the case where the channel protection corridor overlaps the protection corridor of a water source, regulations of law on protection of channel protection corridors shall be complied with.

8. When setting up a project to build or upgrade or expand inland waterway channels, the investor must rely on the inland waterway infrastructure planning to clearly determine the technical classification of the inland channels, at the same time determine the width of channel protection corridors and plant boundary markers after such project is completed.

Article 34. Management of channel protection corridors

1. Prepare documentation for management of channel protection corridors

a) Documentation for management of channel protection corridors must include updates on the facilities affecting the safety of inland waterways, and the scope, time of appearance and process for handling thereof; boundary markers of channel protection corridors;

b) The VIWA shall prepare documentation for management of national channel protection corridors. Departments of Transport shall prepare documentation for management of local channel protection corridors. Organizations and individuals owning dedicated channels shall prepare documentation for management of dedicated channel protection corridors.

2. When any channel protection corridor is changed, the VIWA, Departments of Transport, organizations and individuals owning dedicated channels must notify owners of the facilities, organizations and individuals involved in activities on inland waterways so as for them to move, narrow or clear obstacles.

3. Authorities, organizations and individuals involved in channel management must plant boundary markers of channel protection corridors and inform the People's Committee of the commune where the boundary markers are located for cooperation in protection.

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1. Organizations and individuals assigned to manage facilities shall preside over and cooperate with People's Committees at all levels in protecting inland waterway infrastructure facilities.

2. Organizations and individuals, when detecting any inland waterway infrastructure facility that is infringed upon, shall promptly inform the communal People's Committee, inland waterway authority or nearest police authority. The informed authorities or units must request facility owner to promptly take remedial measures to achieve a smooth and safe traffic flow.

Chapter III

MANAGEMENT OF INVESTMENT IN CONSTRUCTION OF FACILITIES OUTSIDE OF INLAND WATERWAY INFRASTRUCTURE

Article 36. General regulations on investment in construction of facilities outside of inland waterway infrastructure and activities related to inland waterways

1. For any construction project outside inland waterway infrastructure and any activity specified in clauses 2 and 3 of this Article related to inland waterway traffic or channel protection corridors or in water areas of inland ports, inland landing stages, and anchorages, upon setting up such investment project or organizing such activity, an agreement with the competent authority specified in clause 1 Article 37 of this Decree shall be reached.

2. Facilities include:

a) Facilities in service of national defense and security tasks;

b) Embankments, irrigation dams, bridges, ferry landing stages;

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d) Facilities over or underneath channels;

dd) Other facilities affecting inland waterway traffic safety.

3. Activities include:

a) Construction activities (including dredging of water areas of inland ports, inland landing stages, and anchorages); mining of natural resources and minerals;

b) Aquaculture areas (fish rafts, fish cages, bottom gillnets and aquaculture milieus); organization of entertainment and amusement activities, drills, sports events and festivals; holding of markets and craft villages; vocational practicing;

c) Other activities affecting inland waterway traffic safety.

Article 37. Power to reach agreement on contents related to inland waterways for facilities outside of inland waterway infrastructure and activities on inland waterways

1. Power to reach agreement

a) The Ministry of Transport shall reach agreement on defense and security facilities and activities related to inland waterway traffic on national inland waterways and dedicated inland waterways connected to national inland waterways;

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c) The VIWA shall reach agreement on contents related to inland waterways for facilities and activities on national inland waterways, dedicated inland waterways connected to national inland waterways, and channel protection corridors, except for the case specified in point a of this clause;

d) Departments of Transport shall reach agreement on contents related to inland waterways for facilities and activities on local inland waterways, dedicated inland waterways connected to local inland waterways, and channel protection corridors, except for the case specified in point b of this clause.

dd) Port authorities and Departments of Transport (of the provinces where a port authority is unavailable) shall reach agreement on the dredging and renovation of water areas of inland ports, inland landing stages, and anchorages under their management.

2. Contents of the agreement

a) For permanent and temporary bridges: construction locations and dimensions of bridge opening (width and clearance height);

b) For swing bridges, drawbridges, pontoon bridges, traffic-hydraulic structures and traffic-hydropower facilities: construction locations dimensions of bridge opening (width, clearance height, length, depth of lock sill);

c) For lines, pipelines, and facilities over channels: construction locations, clearance height of lines, pipelines and facilities over channels;

d) For underground facilities, pipelines and lines underneath the channel bottoms: construction locations; depth from the top of underground facilities, pipelines and lines;

dd) For areas of construction of facilities and mining of natural resources and minerals: locations, scope of mining area, elevation of dredging and mining;

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Article 38. Procedures for agreement on contents related to inland waterways for facilities outside of inland waterway infrastructure and activities on inland waterways

Every investor, organization or individual that organizes inland waterway activities shall submit 01 application for agreement on contents related to inland waterways in person or by another appropriate method to the competent authority specified in clause 1 Article 37 of this Decree. An application includes:

1. An application form for agreement on inland landing stage construction, which is made using Form No. 24 provided in the Appendix to this Decree;

2. A cross section drawing of the facility displayed on the cross section of the river.

3. A construction site drawing based on the National Coordinate Reference System VN2000 and the Vietnam State elevations. The drawing shall show the construction location and natural elevations, terrain and topographic relief of the river or canal in the construction site, adjacent structures (if any) and the following documents:

a) For permanent and temporary bridges: dimensions of the bridge opening (location, width, and clearance height); longitudinal section of the facility displayed on the cross section of the river or canal;

b) For swing bridges, drawbridges, pontoon bridges, traffic-hydropower facilities: dimensions of bridge opening (location, width, clearance height, length, depth of lock sill); opening and closing solutions and technologies; design drawings of expected locations and water areas where vessels will anchor while waiting for passing through the facility;

c) For pipelines, lines and facilities over channels: drawing and data on clearance height, showing the highest point of the pipeline, line (the lowest point of the power cable line, including the power grid safety corridor), or facility over channels;

d) For underground facilities, lines and pipelines underneath the channel bottom: a drawing showing the distance from the top level of the facility to the bottom level of the channel design, the width of the channel and channel protection corridor;

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e) For facilities in service of national defense and security; wind and thermal power projects; for ferry landing stages, embankments: drawings showing the premises of the port; embankment and other training structures; dimensions and structure of wharves, embankments, other training structures and auxiliary works; water area of the port.

4. For any activity specified in clause 3 Article 36 of this Decree, an application consists of:

a) An application form, which is made using the Form No. 24 provided in the Appendix to this Decree;

b) A drawing showing the scope of the operation area, the channel width and the channel protection corridor, distance to the relevant facilities within the area and navigation aids layout plan for assurance of inland waterway traffic safety;

c) Cross sections and dossiers on markers to determine the scope and elevation upon dredging and mining of natural resources and minerals (for dredging and renovation of water areas of inland ports, inland landing stages, dedicated channels into inland ports, inland landing stages and anchorages; mining of natural resources and minerals).

5. Within 05 working days from the date of receiving a sufficient application as prescribed, the competent authority specified in clause 1 Article 37 of this Decree shall send a written agreement to the investor.

Article 39. Notice of putting of facilities outside of inland waterway infrastructure into use

1. Within 05 working days from the date of acceptance of a facility to put it into use, the investor shall send a written notice to the regional Inland Waterways Administration Branch (for facilities on national inland waterways, channel protection corridors, water areas outside national channels and dedicated inland waterways connected to national inland waterways), or the Department of Transport (for facilities on local inland waterways, channel protection corridors, water areas outside local channels and dedicated inland waterways connected to local inland waterways).

2. Contents of the notice

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b) Location (chainage, place name, coordinates);

c) Main specifications of the facility;

d) Starting date of operation.

3. The notice of putting of a facility outside of inland waterway infrastructure into use shall be prepared using Form No. 25 provided in the Appendix to this Decree.

Chapter IV

ASSURANCE OF SAFETY, SECURITY, ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION IN INLAND WATERWAY-RELATED ACTIVITIES

Section 1. ASSURANCE OF SAFETY IN INLAND WATERWAY-RELATED ACTIVITIES

Article 40. Safety assurance in case of restricted access

1. Cases in which access to inland waterways is restricted:

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b) Facilities are constructed on channels, channel protection corridors, water areas of ports, inland landing stages, and anchorages, and water areas that have not been managed by any organization but in which transport activities have been conducted resulting in the incidents that affect traffic safety;

c) Facilities on inland waterways restrict the announced channel standards;

d) Natural disaster management and rescue operations are carried out;

dd) National defense and security activities are carried out;

e) Drill activities, activities at sports events, festivals, amusement and entertainment activities, vocational practicing activities, activities at markets and craft villages are carried out.

2. Power to announce restricted access

a) The VIWA shall announce restricted access in cases of ensuring national defense and security on national inland waterways, dedicated inland waterways connected to national inland waterways and water areas which are not managed by any organization but in which transport activities have been conducted, which are adjacent to the national channel protection corridors;

b) Regional Inland Waterways Administration Branches shall announce restricted access in the cases specified in clause 1 of this Article on national inland waterways, dedicated inland waterways connected to national inland waterways and water areas which are not managed by any organization but in which transport activities have been conducted, which are adjacent to the national channel protection corridors, except for the case specified in point a of this clause;

c) Departments of Transport shall announce restricted access in the cases specified in clause 1 of this Article on local inland waterways, dedicated inland waterways connected to local inland waterways or water areas which are not managed by any organization but in which transport activities have been conducted in provinces and central-affiliated cities, except for the water areas specified in points a and b of this clause;

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3. Procedures for announcing restricted access to inland waterways

a) Each investor, organization or individual, before constructing any facility or organizing any activity on inland waterways, shall send an application form for announcement of restricted access to inland waterways (explicitly specifying locations and period of construction restriction) and the approved plan to ensure traffic safety to the competent authority specified in clause 2 of this Article;

b) Within 05 working days from the date of receiving a sufficient application as specified, the competent authority specified in clause 2 of this Article shall issue an announcement of restricted access to inland waterways and send it to the investor or organization or individual;

c) In case of unexpected obstacles; natural disaster management, rescue operations on inland waterways that restrict the announced channel standards, the competent authority specified in clause 2 of this Article shall, depending on actual requirements, determine measures to ensure traffic safety and announce restricted access to inland waterways.

4. The Minister of Transport shall elaborate on control and regulation for traffic safety assurance, prevention of collisions and restriction of access to inland waterways.

Article 41. Inland waterway safety assurance plans

1. For construction projects and areas where activities related to inland waterway traffic are organized (on channels, channel protection corridors, water areas of inland ports, inland landing stages, anchorages and water areas which are not managed by any organization but in which transport activities have been conducted) specified in clauses 2 and 3 Article 36 of this Decree, plans and measures should be in place to ensure traffic safety during the construction of such facilities and organization of such activities.

2. Responsibility for formulation and implementation of plans

Investors or construction contractors, organizations and individuals that organize activities related to inland waterway traffic shall be formulate and organize implementation of traffic safety assurance plans that have been approved by the competent authorities.

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a) The VIWA shall approve navigation safety assurance plans for facilities and activities in service of national defense and security on national inland waterways and dedicated inland waterways connected to national inland waterways;

b) Regional Inland Waterways Administration Branches shall approve traffic safety assurance plans for facilities and activities on national inland waterways; dedicated inland waterways connected to national inland waterways, water areas which are not managed by any organization but in which transport activities have been conducted adjacent to the national channel protection corridors, except for the cases specified in points a and d of this clause;

c) Departments of Transport shall approve traffic safety assurance plans for facilities and activities on local inland waterways; dedicated inland waterways connected to local inland waterways, water areas which are not managed by any organization but in which transport activities have been conducted in provinces or central-affiliated cities, except for the case specified in point d of this clause. Depending on the actual situation, Departments of Transport shall submit the plans to provincial People's Committees so as for them to authorize or decentralize authority to district-level People's Committees to grant approval therefor;

dd) Port authorities shall approve traffic safety assurance plans for repair, renovation, upgradation and other activities in the water areas of inland ports, inland landing stages, and anchorages under their management.

4. Contents of a traffic safety assurance plan.

a) General information about the facility, project on facility construction and organization of the activity;

b) Duration of construction or organization of the activity;

c) Plan for construction or organization;

d) Measures to ensure navigation safety;

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5. Application for approval of a traffic safety assurance plan

a) An application form for approval of the traffic safety assurance plan, which is made using the Form No. 26 provided in the Appendix to this Decree;

b) Construction plan, duration and schedule for construction of the facility or organization of the activity;

c) The traffic safety assurance plan;

d) A photocopy of overall layout drawing of the facility, the scope of construction or activity organization.

6. Approval sequence

a) Each investor, organization or individual, before constructing any facility or organizing any activity specified in clause 1 of this Article, shall send 01 application in person or by another appropriate manner to the competent authority specified in clause 3 of this Article requesting the approval thereof;

b) Within 05 working days from the date of receiving a sufficient application as specified, the competent authority specified in clause 3 of this Article shall send a written approval of the traffic safety plan to such investor, organization, or individual.

7. In case an accident or incident occurs on inland waterways due to a force majeure event, disrupting the traffic, the VIWA or Departments of Transport, organizations or individuals owning dedicated channels must promptly organize the formulation and implementation of traffic safety assurance plans in the areas where such accident or incident occurs.

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Section 2. SECURITY ASSURANCE AT INLAND PORTS RECEIVING FOREIGN WATERCRAFTS AND INLAND WATERWAY PILOTAGE

Article 42. Security assurance at inland ports receiving foreign watercrafts

1. Security assurance at an inland port receiving foreign watercrafts means the implementation of measures to ensure security and safety of persons, vessels and facilities at such port by assessing security and formulating a security plan that shall be approved by the competent authority. Such authority shall also issue the security conformity certificate to the inland port receiving foreign watercrafts.

2. Security assurance at inland ports shall apply to foreign watercrafts and seagoing ships with a total tonnage of 500 GT or more operating on international routes.

3. Security of inland ports receiving foreign watercrafts is classified into 03 levels.

a) Security Level 1 is the level at which the appropriate security protection measures are maintained continuously;

b) Security Level 2 is the level at which additional security protection measures are maintained during the period over which there is a threat of a security incident;

c) Security Level 3 is the level at which specific security protection measures are maintained for a limited period when a security incident is probable or imminent though a specific target cannot be determined.

4. Security measures for an inland port receiving foreign watercrafts must be appropriate to each security level.

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b) Regarding Security Level 2, additional security measures in the security plan must be implemented for each activity specified in point a of this clause;

b) Regarding Security Level 3, enhanced protection measures in the security plans must be implemented for each activity specified in point a of this clause.

5. The security assessment of inland ports receiving foreign watercrafts shall be made for the first time and on an annually basis by every port operator using the Form No. 27 provided in the Appendix to this Decree with participation of representatives of relevant regulatory bodies at the ports.

6. Security plans for inland ports receiving foreign watercrafts

a) A security plan for an inland port receiving foreign watercrafts (hereinafter referred to as the “security plan”) shall be made by each port operator using Form No. 28 provided in the Appendix to this Decree and sent to the competent authority for approval, which aims to facilitate the application of measures to protect the port, persons, vessels, cargoes, cargo carriers, and supplies for vessels within the port, and avoid the threat of a security incident;

b) A security plan shall be developed and maintained by way of inland port security assessment. The security plan must include appropriate measures for each security level specified in clause 3 of this Article.

7. The security commitment of an inland port receiving foreign watercrafts shall be made on the basis of the assessment of risks to persons, property and the environment that may arise from the interface between the vessels and the port or between the vessels using the Form No. 29 provided in the Appendix to this Decree.

8. The security commitment must be made by the master or security officer of the foreign watercraft or seagoing ship, and the security staff of the inland port or the organization in charge of ensuring on-shore security on behalf of the port owner, and the owner of the port or vessel must commit to adopt security measures appropriate to the security level of the port or foreign watercraft or seagoing ship. The owner of the foreign watercraft or seagoing ship or the port owner may request a security commitment in any of the following cases:

a) The foreign watercraft or seagoing ship has its security level higher than that of the port, anchorage or another foreign watercraft with which it is conducting an interface;

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c) There is a security threat or incident involving such foreign watercraft, seagoing ship or port;

d) The foreign watercraft or seagoing ship is in the port but the port is not required to have and implement the approved inland port security plan;

dd) The foreign watercraft or seagoing ship conducts an interface with another foreign watercraft or seagoing ship, but it is not required to have and implement the approved foreign watercraft or seagoing ship security plan;

e) A security commitment must consist of the commitment of the port security officer or the master or security officer of the foreign watercraft or seagoing ship to adopt security measures appropriate to the security level of the port, foreign watercraft or seagoing ship.

9. Officials and public employees of specialized management agencies and employees of port enterprises in charge of ensuring security of inland ports must complete training courses on security of inland ports at training institutions with security-related disciplines in accordance with the port security training program approved by the Ministry of Transport and be issued with a certificate of training completion.

Article 43. Procedures for approval of security assessment, security plans and issuance of security conformity certificates to inland ports receiving foreign watercrafts

1. Every port operator shall prepare and submit 03 applications as specified in clauses 2, 3 and 4 of this Article in person or by another appropriate manner to the port authority.

2. An application for approval of security assessment is composed of :

a) An application form for approval of security assessment, which is made using Form No. 30 provided in the Appendix to this Decree;

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c) Participants in the security assessment meeting, including: representatives of the district-level police authority, the Border Guard Station of the border gate, the provincial Traffic Police Division, the Sub-department of Customs, the port authority, the district-level Center for Disease Control, the district-level plant protection and quarantine agency, and the border-gate animal quarantine agency.

3. An application for approval of the security plan and issuance of a security conformity certificate to an inland port receiving foreign watercrafts includes:

a) An application form for approval of the security plan and issuance of a security conformity certificate to the inland port receiving foreign watercrafts, which is made using Form No. 31 provided in the Appendix to this Decree;

b) A security assessment form approved by the competent authority;

c) A security plan.

4. An application for annual confirmation of a security conformity certificate of an inland port includes:

a) An application form for annual confirmation of the security conformity certificate of the inland port receiving foreign watercrafts, which is made using Form No. 32 provided in the Appendix to this Decree;

b) A security assessment form, which consists of opinions of the authorities specified in point c clause 2 of this Article;

c) A record of refresher courses or drills or training sessions according to the approved security plan program;

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5. Within 05 working days from the date of receiving a sufficient application as prescribed, the port authority shall appraise it and submit the report on appraisal results, enclosed with 02 dossiers, to the VIWA. Within 05 working days from the date of receiving a sufficient application and report from the port authority in full, the VIWA shall approve the security assessment form and the security plan, issue a security conformity certificate to the inland port receiving foreign watercrafts, and provide annual confirmation of the security conformity certificate of the inland port.

The certificate of approval of the security assessment, certificate of approval of the security plan and the security conformity certificate issued to the inland port receiving foreign watercrafts shall be prepared using the Forms No. 33, No. 34, and No. 35 provided in the Appendix to this Decree.

6. The security conformity certificate issued to the inland port receiving foreign watercrafts shall be valid for 05 years and annual confirmation of conformity with security of inland ports receiving foreign watercrafts must be provided by the VIWA.

Article 44. Security inspection and supervision of inland ports receiving foreign watercrafts

1. The VIWA and port authorities shall, within the ambit of their functions, tasks and powers assigned to them, organize the security inspection and supervision, and impose penalties for violations against regulations on security at inland ports. The security checklist for an inland port shall be made using Form No. 36 provided in the Appendix to this Decree.

2. Every port operator shall organize the inspection of security in service of security assessment and development of a security plan.

3. Foreign watercrafts and seagoing ships that arrive at and depart from inland ports receiving foreign watercrafts must comply with the same regulations of maritime law on maritime security and safety as those applicable to vessels arriving at and departing from Vietnamese seaports and this Decree, unless otherwise prescribed by the law.

4. Operators of inland ports receiving foreign watercrafts must satisfy safety and security conditions in accordance with regulations.

Article 45. Inland waterway pilotage

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Foreign watercrafts, when operating on inland waterways, or arriving at or departing from inland ports, must be guided by pilots, except for inland waterway vessels of the Kingdom of Cambodia operating under the Agreement between the Government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and the Royal Government of Cambodia on waterway transportation. Where necessary, masters of vessels or seagoing ships may request pilotage.

2. Pilotage on inland waterways or in water areas of inland ports shall comply with regulations of maritime law on pilotage and shall be performed by marine pilots.

Section 3. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION IN INLAND WATERWAY-RELATED ACTIVITIES

Article 46. Environmental protection in investment in construction, maintenance, renovation and upgradation of inland waterway infrastructure

1. Each owner of an inland waterway infrastructure construction, maintenance, renovation or upgradation project shall:

a) Organize the preparation of an environmental impact assessment report or an environmental protection plan and submit it to the competent authority for approval or confirmation in accordance with regulations of law on environmental protection;

b) Determine and include funding for environmental protection in the total investment of the project; integrate waste treatment measures and measures to minimize adverse impacts on the environment into the environmental impact assessment report or the environmental protection plan approved or certified by the competent authority in the fundamental design, technical design and bidding dossiers, contracts with construction contractors of the project;

c) Organizing the management, supervision and report to the competent state authorities the environmental protection in project construction activities in accordance with regulations of law on construction and environmental protection.

2. Construction contractors must comply with regulations of law on environmental protection, standards and technical regulations on environment and fully meet the requirements for environmental protection in the contract signed with the project owner.

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Article 47. Environmental protection in operation of inland ports and inland landing stages

Operators of inland ports and inland landing stages shall:

1. Formulate and implement oil spill response plans in accordance with regulations for inland ports and inland landing stages involved in petroleum trading.

2. Assign personnel to manage and carry out the work of environmental protection in the ports and landing stages.

3. Collect and treat wastewater generated during the operation of ports and landing stages in line with environmental technical regulations; carry out periodical monitoring of wastewater before and after treatment as required in the approved dossier; archive monitoring data in service of inspection of operation of the wastewater treatment system.

4. Collect, classify and store solid wastes and hazardous wastes generated during the operation of ports and landing stages for treatment or hire organizations licensed to treat wastes so as to receive, transport and treat wastes as prescribed by law.

5. Provide vessels, tools and equipment at ports and landing stages to receive normal solid wastes from vessels, seagoing ships, foreign watercrafts and seaplanes; list and provide a list of organizations licensed to treat hazardous wastes to receive, transport and treat hazardous wastes generated from vessels, seagoing ships, foreign watercrafts and seaplanes.

6. Minimize dust and restrict noise and vibration that adversely affect the surrounding environment and workers.

7. Isolate and maintain a safe distance in receiving and storing dangerous cargoes, and flammable and explosive cargoes in accordance with regulations.

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Owners of establishments that build, repair, modify, restore and dismantle vessels shall:

1. Develop and formulate environmental protection plans and oil spill response plans in accordance with regulations.

2. Assign personnel to manage and carry out environmental protection in operations of the establishments.

3. Collect and treat wastewater, solid wastes and hazardous wastes generated during the operations of the establishments for treatment in accordance with regulations.

Article 49. Environmental protection for vessels, seagoing ships, seaplanes and foreign watercrafts operating on inland waterways

1. Seagoing ships must comply with the National Technical Regulation on marine pollution prevention systems of ships.

2. Vessels must comply with the National technical regulation on rules for pollution prevention of inland waterway ships.

3. Management of ordinary wastes

a) Vessels, seagoing ships and foreign watercrafts operating on inland waterways and coastal transport routes must be covered to prevent cargoes from falling or dust from being released causing environmental pollution;

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c) Vessels, seagoing ships and foreign watercrafts must be fitted with wastewater treatment equipment or storage tanks before being transported to shore for treatment;

d) Information on the discharge of wastes must be recorded in the garbage record books of the ships or vessels;

dd) Where vessels carrying cargoes potentially causing pollution, measures should be in place to prevent pollution corresponding to such cargoes.

4. Management of hazardous wastes

Vessels, seagoing ships, foreign watercrafts and seaplanes that generate hazardous wastes must comply with regulations of law on hazardous waste management.

5. It is not permitted to discharge oil, ballast water, cooling water or oily bilge water containing pollutants into the environment in excess of the permissible limits specified in the environmental standards or use oil spill dispersants in water.

6. When detecting risks or acts of causing environmental pollution or oil spills, operators of vessels, seagoing ships or foreign watercrafts must immediately apply effective response measures; at the same time, must immediately report the environmental pollution incidents or oil spills, or forecasted possibility of environmental pollution incidents or oil spills to the nearest specialized management agencies.

7. Vessels, seagoing ships, seaplanes and foreign watercrafts that operate on inland waterways, in water areas of ports, inland landing stages, and anchorages, shall be subject to inspection and supervision by relevant regulatory bodies regarding environmental protection regulations.

8. The following acts on board vessels, seagoing ships, seaplanes and foreign watercrafts anchored in water areas of inland ports, inland landing stages, and anchorages are prohibited:

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b) Cleaning the cargo hold or deck, thereby causing environmental pollution;

c) Discharging dirty water, oil, oily bilge water and other hazardous liquids;

d) Disposing garbage or other objects and solid wastes from vessels or ships into water or on wharves or landing stages;

dd) Removing rust and paint ships, thereby causing environmental pollution.

9. Masters of vessels, seagoing ships, seaplanes and foreign watercrafts, when operating on inland waterways and in water areas of inland ports and inland landing stages, must comply with the following requirements:

a) When detecting risks or acts causing environmental pollution, masters must immediately inform port authorities; at the same time, clearly record the time, place and nature of the pollution incidents in the logbooks of the ships or vessels;

b) If an environmental pollution incident occurs due to the operations of their ships or vessels, the masters must immediately apply effective response measures and promptly inform the port authorities.

10. Operators of vessels, seagoing ships and foreign watercrafts that cause damage or environmental pollution must compensate and incur penalties in accordance with regulations.

Chapter V

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Article 50. Procedures for arrival and departure of vessels, seagoing ships, seaplanes and foreign watercrafts at inland ports and inland landing stages

1. Vessels, seagoing ships, seaplanes and foreign watercrafts arriving at and departing from inland ports or inland landing stages must undergo the procedures to obtain entry permits and clearances.

2. Before a vessel or seaplane arrives at or departs from an inland port or inland landing stage, the applicant shall send a notice of the vessel (registration number), arrival and departure time, type of cargoes or number of passengers to the port authority. The notice shall be sent via message, phone call or by any other method. The master or steersman may only operate the vessel or seaplane to arrive at or depart from the inland port or inland landing stage with port authority’s consent. The notice shall be sent:

a) 02 hours in advance, for a cargo vessel;

b) 01 hour in advance, for a passenger vessel or seaplane.

3. Procedures for arrival and departure of vessels and seaplanes at inland ports and inland landing stages may be initiated in person, by electronic means or any other method as prescribed.

4. Vessels, seagoing ships, seaplanes and foreign watercrafts arriving at or departing from inland ports and inland landing stages must pay fees and charges in accordance with regulations.

5. Regulations on procedures for arrival and departure of vessels inland ports, inland landing stages and anchorages specified in this Decree do not apply to the vessels which arrive at and depart from inland ports, inland landing stages and anchorages to perform national defense and security tasks.

Article 51. Methods, deadlines and locations for initiating procedures for arrival and departure of vessels, seagoing ships, seaplanes and foreign watercrafts at inland ports and inland landing stages

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a) Submitting or presenting documents in person at port authorities;

b) Electronic procedures via the web portal of the Ministry of Transport (applicable to vessels, domestic seagoing ships, seaplanes);

c) Electronic procedures through the National Single-Window System (applicable to vessels, seagoing ships entering or exiting Vietnam, foreign watercrafts);

d) Electronic procedures through the ASEAN Single Window System;

dd) Other methods prescribed by law.

2. Time limit for initiating the procedures: within 30 minutes after all required documents are received, except for seagoing ships and foreign watercrafts.

3. If documents are submitted or presented in person for vessels, seagoing ships, seaplanes and foreign watercrafts, the procedures may be initiated at the offices of port authorities or at the ports, inland landing stages or on such vessels (in the case where such vessels come from areas hit by human, animal or plant diseases).

4. The process for initiating the electronic procedures through the National Single Window System and the ASEAN Single Window System shall comply with relevant regulations of law.

Article 52. Documentation for issuance of inland port/inland landing stage entry permits to vessels and seaplanes

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a) The inland port/inland landing stage clearance, except where electronic procedures are initiated;

b) The passenger list (applicable to passenger vessels).

2. The applicant shall present the originals of the following documents:

a) The certificate of vessel or seaplane registration (or a photocopy certified by a credit institution in the case where the vessel is pledged or mortgaged);

b) The technical safety and environmental protection certificate of the vessel;

c) Certificates of competency and professional certificates of seafarers and steersmen;

d) The crew registry (if any);

dd) The contract of carriage or the cargo delivery note;

e) Civil liability insurance (applicable to vessels subject to compulsory civil liability insurance);

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h) Permit for transport of dangerous cargoes, plan for transport of oversized and overloaded cargoes (applicable to vessels that transport dangerous cargoes, oversized and overloaded cargoes).

3. The person checking documents must return the documents specified in clause 2 of this Article to the applicant after checking them, unless otherwise prescribed by law.

4. The applicant is not required to present the documents specified in clause 2 of this Article if they are stored on the electronic database.

Article 53. Documentation for issuance of inland port/inland landing stage clearances to vessels and seaplanes

1. The applicant shall submit and present the following documents:

a) Documents to be submitted: passenger list (applicable to passenger vessels);

b) Documents to be presented: contract of carriage or waybill or cargo delivery note; certificates of competency and professional certificates of seafarers and steersmen if they are changed after the vessel enters the port.

2. For any vessel that is newly built, modified or repaired, when it is launched, its owner or the owner of the establishment that builds, modifies or repairs such vessel must present the following documents to the port authority:

a) An inspection record certifying that the vessel is eligible for operation by the Registry;

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Article 54. Inspection and issuance of inland port/inland landing stage entry permits or clearances to vessels and seaplanes

1. The applicant may select one of the methods specified in clause 1 Article 51 of this Decree to initiate the procedures for arrival or departure of a vessel or seaplane at an inland port or inland landing stage and shall comply with the following regulations:

a) If the procedures are initiated in person at the place where procedures are initiated, the applicant shall submit and present the documents specified in Articles 52 and 53 of this Decree to the port authority;

b) If electronic procedures are initiated, the applicant shall present the documents specified in Articles 52 and 53 of this Decree on the electronic software (selected by the applicant).

2. Checking documents of seafarers and the vessel

a) In case of receiving documents from the applicant in person, the port authority shall check the conformity of the documents in accordance with regulations;

b) In case of receiving documents via the electronic procedures, the port authority shall only check the database without physically checking the documents of the vessel, its seafarers and steersmen. If any error is found, it shall only physically check the documents.

3. Inspection of the vessel

a) The port authority shall inspect the vessel on the basis of its technical safety and environmental protection certificate;

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4. Vessels and seaplanes may be granted inland port/inland landing stage entry permits and clearances if they satisfy the conditions set out in this Decree.

5. For a vessel that is granted the inland port/inland landing stage clearance but still anchored in the water area of the inland port or inland landing stage for more than 24 hours, it is required to reapply for the inland port/inland landing stage clearance in order to adjust the time of departure from the inland port or inland landing stage.

6. An inland port/landing stage entry permit or clearance may be in physical or electronic form. The inland port/inland landing stage entry permits and clearances of vessels and seaplanes shall be prepared using the Forms No. 37 and No. 38 provided in the Appendix to this Decree.

7. Inland port/inland landing stage entry permits and clearances granted by inland waterways port authorities and seaport/inland port/inland landing stage clearances granted by maritime administrations shall be retained in physical or electronic form. The retention period of physical permits is 02 years from the date of issuance. At the end of the retention period, port authorities and maritime administrations shall cancel such permits and clearances.

Article 55. Procedures for arrival or departure of waterway vessels crossing the Vietnam - Cambodia border at inland ports

1. For the Kingdom of Cambodia’s inland waterway vessels arriving at or departing from Vietnam's inland ports and Vietnamese vessels departing from Vietnam's inland ports for Cambodia, in addition to the procedures specified in Articles 51, 52, 53 and 54 of this Decree, a cross-border waterway transport permit issued by a competent authority must also be presented.

2. Where the Kingdom of Cambodia’s inland waterway vessels and Vietnam’s waterway vessels entering or exiting for arrival at or departure from Vietnam’s inland ports follow the electronic procedures, Articles 56 and 57 of this Article shall apply.

3. Where the Kingdom of Cambodia’s inland waterway vessels and Vietnam’s waterway vessels entering or exiting for arrival at or departure from Vietnam’s inland ports do not follow the electronic procedures, the documents shall be submitted and presented in person at port authorities.

4. When a vessel arrives at the border gate, the documents showing that it has completed exit procedures at the exit port to the regulatory body at the border gate must be presented before it leaves the Vietnamese territory.

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6. Inland port clearances issued to Vietnamese and Cambodian inland waterway vessels to depart from Vietnamese inland ports for Cambodia shall be prepared using Form No. 39 provided in the Appendix to this Decree.

Article 56. Electronic procedures for entry of Vietnamese and Cambodian inland waterway vessels at Vietnamese inland ports

1. At least 02 hours before the expected arrival of a vessel at the border gate, the applicant shall declare the following documents by electronic means via the National Single Window Portal:

a) A notice of vessel’s arrival at inland port, which is made using the Form No. 48 provided in the Appendix to this Decree;

b) An inland port clearance, which is made using the Form No. 39 provided in the Appendix to this Decree;

c) A general declaration, which is made using Form No. 40 provided in the Appendix to this Decree;

d) A crew list, which is made using the Form No. 41 provided in the Appendix to this Decree;

dd) A passenger list, which is made using the Form No. 42 provided in the Appendix to this Decree;

e) A cargo declaration, which is made using the Form No. 43 provided in the Appendix to this Decree or contract of carriage or cargo delivery note or waybill;

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h) An animal quarantine declaration for cargoes subject to animal quarantine, which is made using the Form No. 45 provided in the Appendix to this Decree;

i) A declaration of arms and explosives (if any), which is made using the Form No. 46 provided in the Appendix to this Decree;

k) A declaration of stowaway (if any), which is made using the Form No. 47 provided in the Appendix to this Decree.

2. Documents to be presented

a) Documents presented to the port authority: Technical safety and environmental protection certificate of the vessel, documents related to cargoes carried on board, certificate of vessel registration (or a copy certified by a credit institution in the case where the vessel is being pledged or mortgaged), certificates of competency, professional certificates of seafarers and steersmen, a copy of the certificate of civil liability insurance (applicable to vessels subject to compulsory civil liability insurance), a permit for transport across the Vietnam-Cambodia border;

b) Documents presented to the customs authority: Documents related to the cargoes carried on the vessel;

c) Documents presented to the Border Guard at the border gate: Passports and international travel documents of seafarers and passengers (if any);

d) Documents presented to the plant quarantine agency: plant quarantine certificates (for cargoes subject to plant quarantine);

dd) Documents presented to the animal quarantine agency: animal quarantine certificates of the country of departure (for cargoes subject to animal quarantine);

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3. Checking documents related to the vessel and seafarers

a) The port authority shall check the information declared and look up data on the vessel and Vietnamese seafarers on the electronic databases of the competent authorities in order to initiate the procedures for granting an inland port entry permit to the vessel;

b) The port authority shall only require the applicant to submit and present documents in case the database does not contain data on the vessel, seafarers or steersmen, or there is not enough electronic data for check and comparison or the electronic documents cannot be viewed and the applicant shall only declare data on the vessel and seafarers one time on the electronic software (selected by the applicant). The port authority that initiates the first procedures shall check and compare the declared data with the originals that have been presented to initiate procedures for entry of the vessel at the inland port or when there is any change. The database of seafarers, steersmen, vessels and inland ports shall be stored on the National Single Window Portal to serve as a database for subsequent procedures;

c) Deadline for presenting documents that are not contained in the database: Within 02 hours from the time the vessel anchors at the port or 04 hours when the vessel anchors in another location in the water area of the inland port.

4. Responsibility of relevant regulatory bodies for initiating procedures at inland ports

a) Each port authority shall check the documents specified in points a, b, c, d, dd and e clause 1 and point a clause 2 of this Article; bear the primary responsibility and have the power to make final decisions on the documents specified in points a, b, and c clause 1 of this Article in the case where relevant regulatory bodies jointly handle the case and have different opinions;

b) Each customs authority shall check the documents specified in points a, c, d, dd, and e clause 1 of this Article; bear the primary responsibility and have the power to make final decisions the documents specified in point b clause 2 of this Article in the case where relevant regulatory bodies jointly handle the case and have different opinions;

c) The Border Guard at each border gate shall check the documents specified in points a, b, c, d, dd, i, and k clause 1 and point c clause 2 of this Article; bear the primary responsibility and have the power to make final decisions on the documents specified in points i and k clause 1, and point c clause 2 of this Article in the case where relevant regulatory bodies jointly handle the case and have different opinions;

d) Each plant quarantine agency shall check the documents specified in points c and g clause 1 and point d clause 2 of this Article; bear the primary responsibility and have the power to make final decisions on the documents specified in point g clause 1 of this Article in the case where relevant regulatory bodies jointly handle the case and have different opinions;

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e) Each medical quarantine agency shall check the documents specified in point e clause 2 of this Article and have the power to make final decisions on the documents it has checked in the case where relevant regulatory bodies jointly handle the case and have different opinions.

5. Issuance of e-permits

No later than 30 minutes from the time the applicant completes the electronic declaration procedures and presents all the required documents, based on the feedback of the relevant authorities, the port authority shall issue the vessel with an electronic inland port entry permit via the National Single Window Portal.

Article 57. Electronic procedures for departure of Vietnamese and Cambodian inland waterway vessels from Vietnamese inland ports

1. At least 02 hours before the departure of a vessel from an inland port, the applicant shall declare the following documents by electronic means via the National Single Window Portal:

a) A notice of vessel’s departure from inland port, which is made using the Form No. 48 provided in the Appendix to this Decree;

b) List of seafarers and steersmen with their full titles;

c) A passenger list (for passenger vessels);

d) A declaration of cargoes, contract of carriage or bill of lading or waybill (for cargo vessels).

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a) Documents presented to the port authority: Documents related to the cargoes carried on the vessel; documents evidencing the payment of fees and charges as prescribed by law, except for the case of electronic payment; certificates of competency, professional certificates of seafarers and steersmen; documents related to changes compared to the documents used to initiate procedures for entry of the vessel at the inland port;

b) Documents presented to the customs authority: Documents related to the cargoes carried on the vessel;

c) Documents presented to the border guards at the border gate: Passports and international travel documents of seafarers and passengers (if any);

d) Documents presented to the plant quarantine agency: plant quarantine certificates (for cargoes subject to plant quarantine);

dd) Documents presented to the animal quarantine agency: animal quarantine certificates of the country of departure (for cargoes subject to animal quarantine);

e) Documents to be presented to the medical quarantine agency: international certificates of vaccination of seafarers, steersmen, passengers (in the case where they depart from or go through an area affected by an epidemic, or are suspected of having an infection or carrying a pathogen).

3. Checking certificates of the vessel and seafarers.

a) The port authority shall check the information declared and look up data on the vessel and Vietnamese seafarers on the electronic databases of the competent authorities in order to initiate the procedures for granting an inland port clearance to the vessel;

 b) The port authority shall only require the applicant to submit and present documents in case the database does not contain data on the vessel, seafarers or steersmen, or there is not enough electronic data for check and comparison or the electronic documents cannot be viewed and the applicant shall only declare data on the vessel and seafarers one time on the electronic software (selected by the applicant). The port authority initiating the final procedures shall check and compare the declared data with the originals that have been presented to initiate procedures for departure of the vessel at the Vietnamese inland port or when there is any change The database of seafarers, steersmen and vessels departing from Vietnam's inland ports shall be stored on electronic software to serve as a database for subsequent procedures.

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5. Responsibility of relevant regulatory bodies for initiating procedures at inland ports

a) Each port authority shall check the documents specified in clause 1 and point a clause 2 of this Article; bear the primary responsibility and have the power to make final decisions on the documents specified in point a clause 1 of this Article in the case where relevant regulatory bodies jointly handle the case and have different opinions;

b) Each customs authority shall check the documents specified in clause 1 and point b clause 2 of this Article; bear the primary responsibility and have the power to make final decisions the documents specified in point b clause 2 of this Article in the case where relevant regulatory bodies jointly handle the case and have different opinions;

c) The Border Guard at each border gate shall check the documents specified in points a, b and c clause 1 and point c clause 2 of this Article; bear the primary responsibility and have the power to make final decisions on the documents specified in points b and c clause 1 of this Article in the case where relevant regulatory bodies jointly handle the case and have different opinions;

d) Each plant quarantine agency shall check the documents specified in point a clause 1 and point d clause 2 of this Article; bear the primary responsibility and have the power to make final decisions on the documents specified in point d clause 2 of this Article in the case where relevant regulatory bodies jointly handle the case and have different opinions;

dd) Each animal quarantine agency shall check the documents specified in point a clause 1 and point dd clause 2 of this Article; bear the primary responsibility and have the power to make final decisions on the documents specified in point dd clause 2 of this Article in the case where relevant regulatory bodies jointly handle the case and have different opinions;

e) Each medical quarantine agency shall check the documents specified in point e clause 2 of this Article; bear the primary responsibility and have the power to make final decisions on the documents specified in point e clause 2 of this Article in the case where relevant regulatory bodies jointly handle the case and have different opinions.

6. Issuance of e-permits

a) No later than 30 minutes from the time the applicant completes the electronic declaration procedures and presents all the required documents, based on the feedback of the relevant authorities, the port authority shall issue the vessel with an inland port clearance via the National Single Window Portal.

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Article 58. Procedures for arrival, departure, entry and exit of seagoing ships and foreign watercrafts at inland ports

1. Foreign watercrafts and seagoing ships arriving at or departing from an inland port and entering or exiting Vietnam through an inland port shall follow procedures as specified by regulations of maritime law regarding vessels arriving at or departing from seaports and entering or exiting Vietnam through seaports and this Decree.

2. Forms of inland port clearances, inland port entry permits, and permits for entry to or exit from Vietnam through inland ports shall comply with regulations of maritime law.

Article 59. Vessels, seaplanes and seagoing ships arriving at or departing from anchorages

1. Vessels, seaplanes and seagoing ships arriving at or departing from the anchorages to transship cargoes or embark and disembark passengers must follow the same procedures as procedures for arrival and departure at inland ports or inland landing stages specified in this Decree.

2. Permits for arrival at or departure from anchorages shall be prepared using the Form No. 37 and Form No. 38 provided in the Appendix to this Decree

3. The Ministry of Finance shall prescribe the rates of charges and fees for arrival at or departure from anchorages applicable to vessels, seaplanes and seagoing ships specified in clause 1 of this Article.

Article 60. Exemption and simplification of inland port, inland landing stage and anchorage entry and clearance procedures

1. The following vessels are exempt from inland port/inland landing stage/anchorage entry and clearance procedures

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b) On-duty vessels of regulatory bodies and units of the armed forces; vessels or vessel convoys escorted or guided by the police;

c) Special-use vessels of specialized inland waterway units;

d) Pilot boats, fishing boats;

dd) River-crossing passenger vessels at river-crossing passenger landing stages;

e) Vessels (feeders) transporting passengers and cargoes from vessels, seagoing ships, and foreign watercrafts (mother vessels) to ports or landing stages and vice versa. In this case, the mother vessel must undergo the same port/landing stage/anchorage entry and clearance procedures. Before arriving at an inland port or inland landing stage, the master and steersmen of the vessel (feeder) specified in this point must notify the port authority in writing or by another appropriate means of communication;

g) Vessels carrying people, supplies and equipment to and from fish and seafood farms, and construction works on rivers, lakes, marshes, lagoons, coves, bays and at sea;

h) Non-commercial rudimentary vessels;

i) Cargo vessels (except those transporting dangerous cargoes) with the gross tonnage of less than 10 tonnes;

k) Vessels, seagoing ships, foreign watercrafts, seaplanes arriving at inland ports to receive fuel, food and foodstuffs.

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a) When passenger vessels, which have been registered to operate on fixed routes along which there are multiple inland ports and inland landing stages,  embark and disembark passengers, if no seafarers or steersmen are changed, they shall only undergo port entry and clearance procedures at the port/landing stage of arrival and the last port/landing stage of call;

b) When a vessel, seagoing ship or seaplane, during one cargo shipment or passenger voyage, arrives at or departs from various inland ports, inland landing stages or anchorages under the management of a port authority’s representative without any change of passengers, seafarers or steersmen, it shall only undergo entry procedures at the port/landing stage of arrival and port clearance procedures at the last port/landing stage of call. In this case, the movement of such vessel, seagoing ship or seaplane between inland ports and inland landing stages shall subject to the port authority’s shifting order. The shifting order shall be made using the Form No. 49 provided in the Appendix to this Decree;

c) Passenger vessels and seaplanes regularly arrive at or depart from an inland port or inland landing stage without any change of seafarers or steersmen, and vessels with an unexpired technical safety and environmental protection certificates shall undergo port/landing stage entry and clearance procedures for the first arrival. From the second arrival, only safety inspection and port/landing stage clearance are required;

d) Vessels carrying raw materials, agricultural products and aquatic products from the place of production or farming to the port or landing stage of the processing plant, from which they depart without any cargo or any change of seafarers and steersmen, shall not undergo port/landing stage clearance procedures;

dd) When a vessel arrives at or departs from an inland port or inland landing stage under the management of a port authority’s representative twice or more in a day, if no seafarers or steersmen are changed, the Port Authority shall check documents of such vessel and its seafarers one time. The inspection of safety conditions for the arrivals/departures shall comply with the regulations enshrined in this Decree;

e) Vessels, seagoing ships, seaplanes, and foreign watercrafts arrive at piers or seaports or maritime areas and then move to inland ports or inland landing stages within the seaport waters or maritime areas to depart from such seaport waters or maritime areas, the port authority shall only initiate the port/landing stage clearance procedures;

g) Vessels, seagoing ships, seaplanes, and foreign watercrafts arrive at inland ports or inland landing stages within seaport waters or maritime areas and move to piers or seaports within the same seaport waters or maritime areas, the port authority shall only initiate the port/landing stage entry procedures;

h) Vessels, seagoing ships, seaplanes, and foreign watercrafts arrive at piers or seaports, or at inland ports or inland landing stages within seaport waters or maritime areas and then travel among inland ports or inland landing stages, or seaports within seaport waters or maritime areas, the port authority shall grant shifting orders to such vessels. The shifting order shall be made using the Form No. 49 provided in the Appendix to this Decree.

3. In the case where the cargo vessel arrives at an inland port or inland landing stage but the next port of call stated in its port clearance is a different inland port or inland landing stage, the port authority shall initiate procedures for arrival of such vessel at such inland port or inland landing stage and request the applicant to state the reasons for the change in the vessel's itinerary.

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Chapter VI

RESPONSIBILITIES FOR ORGANIZING MANAGEMENT OF INLAND WATERWAY-RELATED ACTIVITIES

Article 61. Responsibility for cooperation in management of inland waterway-related activities

1. Relevant regulatory bodies on inland waterways and at inland ports, inland landing stages and anchorages must cooperate in performing their tasks and comply with the regulations of law to ensure safety, security and efficiency.

2. Any problem that arise from the performance of functions and tasks of other relevant regulatory bodies must be discussed and agreed in order to be tackled in a timely manner. In case of failure to reach agreement, they must promptly notify the VIWA, the Vietnam Maritime Administration, the Traffic Police Department and the Departments of Transport for instructions in accordance with regulations of law.

3. Responsibility for cooperation in management at inland ports receiving foreign watercrafts

a) Relevant regulatory bodies at inland ports receiving foreign watercrafts, when performing their tasks, must comply with regulations of law and not cause any trouble or affect normal activities of enterprises, shipowners, cargo owners, vessel owners and other organizations and individuals in the inland port areas;

b) Relevant regulatory bodies at inland ports shall closely cooperate with in promptly and lawfully initiating procedures related to vessels, cargoes, passengers and seafarers when operating at inland ports in accordance with this Decree and other relevant regulations of law; notify the port authority of the results of procedures related to vessels, cargoes, seafarers and passengers when operating at inland ports;

c) Port authorities shall preside over coordinating activities between relevant regulatory bodies at inland ports receiving foreign watercrafts; discuss with authorities and enterprises to reach agreement on the handling of problems arising from inland waterway-related activities in the inland port waters under their charge; request other relevant regulatory bodies at inland ports to promptly notify the results of procedures; request operators of inland ports, owners of vessels, masters and other relevant agencies and organizations to provide data and information on inland waterway-related activities at inland ports.

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Article 62. Responsibilities of the Ministry of Transport for management of inland waterway-related activities

1. Perform the State management of inland waterway-related activities nationwide; preside over and cooperate with other ministries and central authorities and provincial People's Committees in organizing the implementation of this Decree.

2. Publicize the list of inland ports every 03 years by way of review, consolidation and reporting by the VIWA.

3. Direct the VIWA to:

a) Inspect and provide guidance on the implementation of planning, management and maintenance of inland waterway infrastructure on national inland waterways and dedicated inland waterways connected to national inland waterways;

b) Make report forms and provide guidance on the reporting of management of operation and maintenance of inland waterway infrastructure; and operations of inland ports, inland landing stages and anchorages;

c) Set up a database to manage channels, inland ports, inland landing stages and anchorages; vessels arriving at and departing from inland ports, inland landing stages and anchorages nationwide;

d) Publicize an annual list of inland landing stages and anchorages on the basis of the consolidated reports of the Departments of Transport;

dd) Organize the inspection and examination of the compliance with regulations on inland waterway-related activities falling under their authority in accordance with regulations of law.

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5. Perform other tasks and exercise other powers as prescribed in this Decree.

Article 63. Responsibility for management of inland waterway-related activities of relevant ministries

1. The Ministry of Public Security shall:

a) Preside over and cooperate with the Ministry of Transport, relevant ministries and sectors and the provincial People's Committees in adopting measures to maintain order and safety of inland waterway traffic;

b) Form waterway traffic police forces to patrol, control and handle violations of law on inland waterways regarding people and vessels participating in inland waterway traffic as per regulations of law; investigate, produce statistics and provide data on inland waterway traffic accidents;

c) Direct local police forces to intensify cooperation in protecting inland waterway infrastructure.

2. The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment shall:

a) Preside over and cooperate with provincial People's Committees and the Ministry of Transport in managing the mining of sand, gravels and other minerals on rivers, canals, ditches, lakes, marshes, and lagoons related to the channels and channel protection corridors, thereby ensuring traffic safety and protecting the environment on inland waterways, and at inland ports and inland landing stages;

b) Direct specialized inspectorates to cooperate with relevant authorities in inspecting mineral mining and environmental protection activities on inland waterways in accordance with regulations.

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a) Direct and instruct organizations and individuals involved in aquaculture and fishing, and fishing vessels operating on inland waterways to apply measures to ensure traffic safety;

b) Direct localities to enable owners of inland ports and inland landing stages to establish cargo warehouses and yards on land areas of inland ports and inland landing stages; drain the flood in a practical manner that avoids suspending operation of inland ports and inland landing stages during the flood-free period;

c) Cooperate with provincial People's Committees to review and remove cargo yards and landing stages infringing upon the dyke protection corridors and other hydraulic structures.

4. Relevant ministries and central authorities shall direct and instruct their affiliated relevant regulatory bodies to cooperate in performing state management of inland waterways, inland ports, inland landing stages and anchorages.

Article 64. Responsibilities of provincial People's Committees for management of inland waterway-related activities

1. Direct and instruct People's Committees of districts and communes to organize the management and operation of river-crossing passenger landing stages; take measures to protect inland waterway infrastructure, prevent encroachment and occupation of channel protection corridors; maintain order and safety of inland waterway traffic and take responsibility for local inland waterway traffic order and safety.

2. Organize the management of rivers, canals, lakes, marshes and lagoons in provinces where the construction of channels has not yet been invested in or the opening thereof is announced but transport activities have been conducted with the aim of assuring traffic order and safety.

3. Prioritize stable allocation of land for construction of inland ports and inland landing stages. Direct advisory agencies to enable organizations and individuals wishing to build and operate inland ports and inland landing stages to be allocated or leased land, and to prepare applications for announcement of operations as per regulations.

4. Organize the removal of cargo loading and unloading landing stages whose operations fail to satisfy the conditions for announcement, and floating structures, restaurants, and hotels operating in contravention of regulations.

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6. Direct and organize the specialized state management of inland waterway traffic at inland ports, inland landing stages and anchorages on local inland waterways and dedicated inland waterways connected to inland waterways in their provinces.

7. Direct Departments of Transport to:

a) Inspect and provide guidance on the implementation of planning, management and maintenance of inland waterway infrastructure within their jurisdiction;

b) Compile lists of local channels, dedicated channels connected to local channels, inland ports, inland landing stages and anchorages under their management, river-crossing passenger landing stages in provinces, and report them to provincial People's Committees and VIWA; organize the state management at inland ports, inland landing stages, and anchorages within their jurisdiction;

c) Form the traffic inspector forces to inspect the compliance with regulations on inland waterway-related activities within their jurisdiction in accordance with regulations of law.

8. Perform other tasks and exercise other powers as prescribed in this Decree.

Article 65. Specialized state management at inland ports, inland landing stages and anchorages

1. Specialized state management at inland ports, inland landing stages and anchorages shall comply with Articles 71 and 72 of the Law on Inland Waterway Traffic and this Decree.

2. Port authorities affiliated to the VIWA shall exercise the functions of specialized sate management at inland ports, inland landing stages (except river-crossing passenger landing stages), and anchorages that have been announced and licensed to operate on national inland waterways and dedicated inland waterways connected to national inland waterways, and inland ports, inland landing stages, and anchorages with land and water areas that are both on national inland waterways and local inland waterways, inland ports, inland landing stages, and anchorages in seaport waters connected to national inland waterways, and other cases decided by the Ministry of Transport.

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Article 66. Responsibilities of owners of ports and landing stages, operators of inland ports, inland landing stages and anchorages

Owners and operators of inland ports, inland landing stages and anchorages shall implement the regulations below:

1. Maintain safe and secure operation of inland ports, inland landing stages, anchorages, mooring equipment and inland navigation aids at inland ports and inland landing stages; perform the tasks in the plans to ensure security of inland ports receiving foreign watercrafts.

2. Formulate operating rules of inland ports, inland landing stages and anchorages; list prices for loading and unloading cargoes and other services. Operating rules and lists of prices for loading and unloading cargoes must be displayed in conspicuous places and their contents shall be unambiguous and legible.

3. Install lighting systems for night operation; build passenger terminals in ports and landing stages where passengers are embarked and disembarked; for ports and passenger terminals, establish traffic connections to support the disabled and the elderly.

4. Ensure loading and unloading equipment satisfies technical safety standards and is appropriate the load-bearing structure and capacity of the facilities. Assign loading and unloading equipment operators who must possess an operating license/certificate as prescribed by law.

5. Not receive vessels without registration certificates or technical safety and environmental protection certificates or with expired technical safety and environmental protection certificates.

6. Not load cargoes that exceed the size of a vessel or in a manner that results the vessel being immersed more deeply than its waterline, or not load cars in excessive quantity or weight onto the vessels; not load passengers more than the specified number of passengers onto the vessel; not load cargoes in excess of the allowable tonnage of the vessels.

7. Fully comply with regulations of law on loading and unloading of hazardous and dangerous cargoes.

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9. Maintain standardized dedicated channels to inland ports, inland landing stages and water areas of inland ports, inland landing stages and anchorages.

10. Take responsibility for ensuring safety and security of facilities at inland ports, inland landing stages and anchorages and passengers and vessels berthed at inland ports, inland landing stages and anchorages.

11. Provide human resources to manage and operate inland ports, inland landing stages and anchorages to assure order, safety, security and environmental protection.

12. If the operation of an inland port, inland landing stage or anchorage is outsourced or authorized, the outsourced or authorized operator must comply with regulations of law on management and operation of inland waterway infrastructure specified in this Decree and other relevant regulations of law.

13. Proactively rescue people, cargoes and vessels when accidents occur; report and cooperate with competent authorities to deal with and overcome consequences of accidents and environmental pollution; obey the shifting orders of port authorities or relevant authorities when rescuing people, cargoes and vessels in distress in water areas of inland ports and inland landing stages, and performing natural disaster management.

14. Receive and preserve the lists of passengers submitted by the applicants.

15. Regularly update data on inland ports, inland landing stages and anchorages in operation, data on vessels, cargoes and passengers passing through inland ports, inland landing stages and anchorages on the VIWA’s database.

Article 67. Responsibilities of masters and seafarers of vessels, seagoing ships, foreign watercrafts and seaplanes operating in water areas of inland ports, inland landing stages and anchorages

Masters and seafarers of vessels, seagoing ships, foreign watercrafts and seaplanes operating in water areas of inland ports, inland landing stages and anchorages shall implement the regulations below:

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2. Comply with regulations of inland ports, inland landing stages and anchorages and regulations on natural disaster management, fire safety, and environmental emergencies; comply with port authorities’ shifting orders in case of emergency.

3. Assign persons to keep watch to maintain the operation of engines and safety equipment; communication equipment; main engines of vessels at the ready to promptly respond to incidents threatening safety.

4. In case of detecting persons and animals contracting infectious diseases or plants capable of causing diseases on board vessels, immediately report the cases to the port authorities or the local authorities of the localities where the inland ports, inland landing stages and anchorages are located, and other relevant authorities, and anchor vessels in separate areas for handling.

5. In the course of loading and unloading cargoes or embarking and disembarking passengers, carry out a check and make necessary preparations to ensure labor safety; if detecting any sign of unsafety, immediately stop loading and unloading cargoes to adopt remedial measures. Not load cargoes that exceed the size of a vessel or in a manner that results in the vessel being immersed more deeply than its waterline or not embark passengers in excess of the allowable number.

6. Only allow vessels to depart from inland ports, inland landing stages and anchorages when they remain stable and the weather conditions are favorable. Masters and steersmen of vessels must be responsible for the safety and security of passengers, vessels, seagoing ships, seaplanes and foreign watercrafts when departing from inland ports, inland landing stages and anchorages; after departing from inland ports or inland landing stages, if there is any change of seafarers, the masters must notify the port authorities issuing the inland port/inland landing stage clearances.

7. Not obstruct or hinder law enforcement officers or seafarers of other vessels passing through their vessels.

8. When a vessel drifts or has its anchorage changed due to objective reasons, immediately adopt measures to ensure safety and notify the port authority.

9. Masters and steersmen of vessels operating at inland ports, inland landing stages and anchorages are obliged to rescue people and watercrafts that suffer accidents in the waters of such inland ports, inland landing stages and anchorages.

10. When detecting an accident or the danger of an accident, the master, seafarers, or steersmen of the vessel in distress must immediately give a distress signal as specified and immediately adopt measures to rescue people and property, and promptly notify the port authority or the police or the People's Committee of the commune where the inland port or inland landing stage is located for timely handling.

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12. In the case of a shipwreck, after rescuing people and property, the ship's master or steersmen must put up a signal as prescribed, provide warnings and immediately report the case to the vessel's owner for salvage. The handling of ships and property sunk in water areas of inland ports and inland landing stages shall comply with the Government's regulations on handling of sunken property on inland waterways.

13. Masters of foreign watercrafts must raise the national flag of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam at the top of the highest mast. If it is needed to fly the ceremonial flag or mourning flag or blow the whistle on the ceremonial occasions of their countries, the port authorities must be notified in advance.

Chapter VII

IMPLEMENTATION CLAUSE

Article 68. Effect

1. This Decree comes into force from March 15, 2021.

2. Article 3, Article 4, Article 5 and Article 10 of the Government’s Decree No. 24/2015/ND-CP dated February 27, 2015 are repealed.

3. Regulations related to electronic procedures for inland vessels of the Kingdom of Cambodia entering and exiting Vietnam through Vietnamese inland ports and Vietnamese inland waterway vessels departing for Cambodia from inland ports in the Prime Minister’s Decision No. 34/2016/QD-TTg dated August 23, 2016 are repealed.

Article 69. Transitional clauses

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2. Where the construction guidelines of an investment project on construction of inland waterway infrastructure facility have been approved before the effective date of this Decree and remain valid, they shall continue to be implemented in accordance with the written approval. Where the validity period of the written approval has expired but the project has yet to be executed, if the construction investment continues, regulations set out in this Decree shall prevail.

3. Any inland port or inland landing stage that has been announced or licensed for operation before the effective date of this Decree may be operated within the time limit specified in the decision or license. Upon expiry, if the operation continues, the operations shall be re-announced in accordance with this Decree.

4. With regard to inland ports and inland landing stages within seaport waters under specialized management by port authorities at inland ports and inland landing stages before the effective date of this Decree, they shall continue to exercise their management functions until December 31, 2023. From January 01, 2024 onwards, the management of inland ports and inland landing stages in seaport waters shall comply with this Decree.

5. With regard to inland ports and inland landing stages in seaport waters for which construction guidelines have been approved before the effective date of this Decree, the written approval shall prevail. The authority approving the guidelines for construction of inland ports and inland landing stages shall announce the operations of such inland ports and inland landing stages.

6. The retention period of the inland port/inland landing stage entry permits and clearances or seaport clearances that have been issued before the effective date of this Decree shall comply with clause 7 Article 54 of this Decree.

Article 70. Responsibility for implementation

Ministers, heads of ministerial agencies, heads of Governmental agencies, Chairpersons of People’s Committees of provinces and central-affiliated cities and relevant organizations and individuals are responsible for the implementation of this Decree./.

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