Circular No. 04/2017/TT-BGTVT Amending and supplementing some articles of Circular No. 47/2015/TT-BGTVT dated September 14, 2015, issued by the Minister of Transport, stipulating the scope, responsibilities of crew members, drivers of vessels, and the minimum safety staffing on inland waterway vessels.

CIRCULAR

Amending and supplementing certain Articles of Circular No. 47/2015/TT-BGTVTdated September 14, 2015 issued by the Minister of Transportstipulating the scope, responsibilities of crew members, drivers of vehicles and minimum safety staffing on inland waterway vessels

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Pursuant to the Law on Inland Waterway Traffic Management dated June 15, 2004 and the Law Amending and Supplementing Certain Provisions of the Law on Inland Waterway Traffic Management dated June 17, 2014;

Pursuant to Decree No. 107/2012/NĐ-CP dated December 20, 2012 of the Government stipulating the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Transport;

At the proposal of the Director of the Personnel Department and the Director of the Vietnam Inland Waterway Administration;

The Minister of Transport hereby issues this Circular amending and supplementing certain Articles of Circular No. 47/2015/TT-BGTVT dated September 14, 2015 issued by the Minister of Transport stipulating the scope, responsibilities of crew members, drivers of vehicles and minimum safety staffing on inland waterway vessels (hereinafter referred to as Circular No. 47/2015/TT-BGTVT).

Article 1. Amending and supplementing certain Articles of Circular No. 47/2015/TT-BGTVT

1. Amend Article 3 as follows:

"Article 3. Explanation of Terms

In this Circular, the following terms are understood as follows:

1. 2. Ensure sufficient number and appropriate qualifications of seafarers working on the vessel, matching the number of work shifts in a day. is the time that crew members perform their duties according to their assigned positions on inland waterway vessels but not exceeding eight hours of work in one day.

2. Voyage is the time the vessel operates from the first departure port to the final destination port.

3. Crew member is a person working according to the position prescribed on non-motorized vessels with a total load capacity of over 15 tons or motorized vessels with a total engine power of over 15 horsepower or vessels carrying more than 12 passengers.

4. Position of crew member on the vessel includes captain, chief mate, chief engineer, second engineer, seaman, machinist.

5. Service staff is a person working on the vessel but not a crew member or driver of the vehicle."

2. Amending and supplementing Clause 5 as follows:

"Article 5. Responsibilities of the vehicle owner

1. Establish a crew member logbook according to the model prescribed in Appendix I attached hereto, equip a vessel logbook for cargo vessels with a total load capacity of 300 tons or more or passenger vessels carrying 50 passengers or more.

2. Ensure sufficient number and meet the standard of positions of crew members working on the vessel, appropriate to the number of shifts worked in a day.

3. In addition to the positions of crew members already specified in the minimum safety staffing at Article 19 of this Circular, in case of necessity, the vessel owner may arrange additional crew members or other positions such as: nurse, telegraph operator, diver, excavator, suction worker, winch operator, service staff to ensure job requirements.

4. Specify the scope of responsibility of other positions working on the vessel which are not included in the minimum safety staffing prescribed in this Circular.

5. Ensure labor safety and hygiene for crew members and other positions working on the vessel."

3. Amend and supplement Article 6 as follows:

"Article 6. Vessel Logbook

Before using the vessel logbook, it must be stamped by the Vietnam Inland Waterway Administration or the Provincial Department of Transport under the central government at the cover page. The vessel logbook includes voyage logbook and engine logbook.

1. Voyage Logbook

a) The voyage logbook is always kept in the control room.

b) The captain and chief mate are responsible for recording the voyage logbook daily.

c) The voyage logbook continuously records, updates, and reflects all data and information about the journey and maintenance of the vessel during operation; when changing shifts, the handover between two shifts must be recorded in the voyage logbook.

d) The captain is responsible for monitoring the recording and managing the logbook during its use. The logbook must be stored for at least two years after use, then must be handed over to the vessel owner for storage in accordance with the law on archiving.

đ) In case the voyage logbook is lost or damaged, it must be reported immediately to the Vietnam Inland Waterway Administration, the Provincial Department of Transport under the central government, representatives of maritime port offices, inland waterway port offices in regions, and inland waterway port offices under the Provincial Department of Transport under the central government nearest to the location.

2. Engine Logbook

a) The engine logbook is always kept in the engine room.

b) The chief engineer and second engineer are responsible for recording the engine logbook daily.

c) The engine logbook continuously records, updates, and reflects all data and information about the operation and maintenance of the vessel's engine; when changing shifts, the handover between two shifts must be recorded in the engine logbook.

d) The chief engineer is responsible for monitoring the recording and managing the logbook during its use. The logbook must be stored for at least two years after use, then must be handed over to the vessel owner for storage in accordance with the law on archiving.

đ) In case the engine logbook is lost or damaged, it must be reported immediately to the Vietnam Inland Waterway Administration, the Provincial Department of Transport under the central government, representatives of maritime port offices, inland waterway port offices in regions, and inland waterway port offices under the Provincial Department of Transport under the central government nearest to the location."

4. Amend and supplement Article 18 as follows:

"Article 18. Classification of vessels for crew allocation

1. Group I

a) Passenger vessels, overnight tourist accommodation vessels, floating restaurants, floating hotels, hovercrafts, high-speed vessels with a capacity of over 100 people.

b) Ferries with a total deadweight of over 150 tons.

c) Cargo vessels with a total deadweight of over 1,000 tons.

d) Tugboat groups with a total deadweight of over 1,000 tons.

đ) Vessels not falling under points a, b, c, d of Clause 1 of this Article with a total main engine power of over 400 horsepower.

2. Group II

a) Passenger vessels, overnight tourist accommodation vessels, floating restaurants, floating hotels, hovercrafts, high-speed vessels with a capacity of over 50 to 100 people.

b) Ferries with a total deadweight of over 50 to 150 tons.

c) Cargo vessels with a total deadweight of over 150 to 1,000 tons.

d) Tugboat groups with a total deadweight of over 400 to 1,000 tons.

đ) Vessels not falling under points a, b, c, d of Clause 2 of this Article with a total main engine power of over 150 to 400 horsepower.

3. Group III

a) Passenger vessels, overnight tourist accommodation vessels, floating restaurants, floating hotels, hovercrafts, high-speed vessels with a capacity of over 12 to 50 people.

b) Ferries with a total deadweight up to 50 tons.

c) Cargo vessels with a total deadweight of over 15 to 150 tons.

d) Tugboat groups with a total deadweight up to 400 tons. đ) Vessels not falling under points a, b, c, d of Clause 3 of this Article with a total main engine power of over 15 to 150 horsepower."

5. Amend and supplement Article 19 as follows:

"Article 19. Crew allocation table

1. Passenger vessels

Vessels equipped with external engines with a total main engine power up to 150 horsepower or internal engines with a total main engine power up to 50 horsepower do not necessarily have to be assigned the position of chief engineer or assistant engineer, but the master or chief officer must hold a first-class motorman certificate. Vessels equipped with external engines with a total main engine power over 150 horsepower to 400 horsepower do not necessarily have to be assigned a chief engineer or assistant engineer, but the master or chief officer must hold a chief engineer's license or a certificate of chief engineer's competence corresponding to the total main engine power.

2. Cargo vessels

Vessels equipped with external engines with a total main engine power up to 150 horsepower or internal engines with a total main engine power up to 50 horsepower do not necessarily have to be assigned the position of chief engineer or assistant engineer, but the master or chief officer must hold a first-class motorman certificate. Vessels equipped with external engines with a total main engine power over 150 horsepower to 400 horsepower do not necessarily have to be assigned a chief engineer or assistant engineer, but the master or chief officer must hold a chief engineer's license or a certificate of chief engineer's competence corresponding to the total main engine power.

3. Ferries

Vessels equipped with external engines with a total main engine power up to 150 horsepower or internal engines with a total main engine power up to 50 horsepower do not necessarily have to be assigned the position of chief engineer or assistant engineer, but the master or chief officer must hold a first-class motorman certificate. Vessels equipped with external engines with a total main engine power over 150 horsepower to 400 horsepower do not necessarily have to be assigned a chief engineer or assistant engineer, but the master or chief officer must hold a chief engineer's license or a certificate of chief engineer's competence corresponding to the total main engine power.

4. Tugboats

5. Towage Vessels

a) The number of crew members on tugboat groups towing one vessel is determined based on the total deadweight of each type of vessel as follows:

b) For tugboat groups towing multiple types of vessels, the minimum number of crew members in one shift is determined by the sum of the number of crew members required to be assigned to each towed vessel according to point a of this clause.

c) For tugboat groups pushing or pulling from two towed vessels and above, the minimum number of crew members in one shift is determined as follows: the first towed vessel is assigned the number of crew members according to point a of this clause, and for each additional towed vessel starting from the second, one additional able seaman must be assigned.

6. Overnight tourist accommodation vessels

7. Floating restaurants, floating hotels

8. Hovercrafts, high-speed vessels

Vessels belonging to Group III, if equipped with external engines, do not necessarily have to be assigned the position of motorman.

9. High-speed vessels with a capacity up to 12 people:

a) With a total main engine power up to 15 horsepower.

b) Equipped with external engines with a total main engine power up to 150 horsepower or internal engines with a total main engine power up to 50 horsepower.

The operator of the vessel must hold a first-class motorman certificate.

c) Equipped with external engines with a total main engine power over 150 horsepower to 400 horsepower or internal engines with a total main engine power over 50 horsepower to 150 horsepower.

The operator of the vessel or able seaman must hold a first-class motorman certificate.

d) Equipped with external engines with a total main engine power over 400 horsepower or internal engines with a total main engine power over 150 horsepower.

10. Coastal vessels carrying the VR-SB class

a) For voyages with a total duration exceeding one shift but less than two shifts, the following arrangements must be made:

b) For voyages with a total duration exceeding two shifts, the following arrangements must be made:

c) For cargo vessels with a total deadweight of over 5,000 tons to 10,000 tons, if the voyage has a total duration exceeding two shifts, the following arrangements must be made:

d) For cargo vessels with a total deadweight of over 10,000 tons, if the voyage has a total duration exceeding two shifts, the following arrangements must be made:

6. Replacing Appendix II issued together with Circular No. 47/2015/TT-BGTVT with the Logbook Model prescribed in the Appendix issued together with this Circular.

7. Supplementing the Code of the Logbook Region specified in the Appendix issued together with this Circular.

8. Regulations on serial numbering of logbooks. Serial numbers of logbooks include a letter part and a numeric part.

a) Letter part: is the code of the logbook region specified in the Appendix issued together with this Circular.

b) Numeric part: consists of nine digits, numbered sequentially starting from 000.000.001.

Example: The serial number of the Vietnam Inland Waterways Administration starts with CĐT 000.000.001. The serial number of the Transport Department of An Giang Province starts with AG 000.000.001.

Article 2. Effective Date

This Circular takes effect from March 15, 2017.

Article 3. Responsibility for Implementation

1. The Director of the Vietnam Inland Waterways Administration shall be responsible for:

a) Taking the lead and coordinating with relevant agencies to implement this Circular;

b) Printing, issuing, and uniformly managing the use of logbooks for vessels by serial number within the entire country.

2. The Director of the Department of Transport has the responsibility to:

a) Implement this Circular within their local jurisdiction;

b) Print, issue, and uniformly manage the use of logbooks for vessels by serial number within their local jurisdiction.

3. The agencies issuing logbooks for vessels are: the Vietnam Directorate of Waterways, the Departments of Transport of provinces and centrally governed cities, representatives of Marine Port Control Units, inland waterway port control units in regions, and inland waterway port control units under the Departments of Transport of provinces and centrally governed cities shall be responsible for issuing logbooks for vessels to vessel owners.

4. The Heads of the Ministry's Office, the Inspectorate, the Heads of Departments, the Director of the Vietnam Directorate of Waterways, the Directors of the Departments of Transport of provinces and centrally governed cities, the Heads of agencies, organizations, and individuals related to this matter are responsible for implementing this Circular./.