Decision No. 137/2007/QĐ-TTg Approves the Scheme on Organizing Information to Serve Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Work at Sea

Pursuant to …;

APPROVING THE PLAN ON ORGANIZING INFORMATION TO SERVE WORKS OF PREVENTION AND CONTROL OF NATURAL DISASTERS AT SEA

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PRIME MINISTER

Pursuant to the Law on Organization of the Government dated December 25, 2001;
Pursuant to the Law on Flood and Storm Prevention and Control dated March 8, 1993, and the Law Amending and Supplementing Certain Provisions of the Law on Flood and Storm Prevention and Control dated August 24, 2000;
Considering the proposal of the Minister of Posts and Telecommunications (now the Ministry of Information and Communications),

DECISION:

Article 1. Approves the Plan on organizing information to serve works of prevention and control of natural disasters at sea with the main contents as follows:

I. OBJECTIVES

1. Investment in construction and upgrading of technical infrastructure for the system of information on prevention and control of natural disasters at sea based on maximizing the utilization of existing material resources, telecommunications networks, radio, and television systems to meet the requirements of state management in fields of prevention and control of natural disasters, search and rescue at sea, as well as the requirements of state management over fishing activities, marine transportation, and production activities at sea.

2. Reorganizing information for guidance, management, and coordination among relevant agencies and units to best meet the requirements of prevention and control of natural disasters, minimize losses of life and property for fishermen and coastal residents; providing accurate, comprehensive, and timely weather forecast bulletins about typhoons, tropical depressions, and other natural disasters at sea to ship owners, captains, and operators to enable them to take proactive measures to avoid and counteract natural disasters; simultaneously, accurately, comprehensively, and promptly transmitting and receiving search and rescue information from ships and vessels operating at sea to competent authorities and units responsible for timely organization of search and rescue operations.

3. Enhancing Vietnam's capacity in international search and rescue operations and national sovereignty over the seas; improving the capacity to provide maritime telecommunications services.

II. PRINCIPLES OF IMPLEMENTATION

1. Utilizing and enhancing the effectiveness of existing technical infrastructure, telecommunications networks, and broadcasting systems, particularly the coastal information stations and communication systems of the Border Guard Force to serve the work of prevention and control of natural disasters and management of ships and vessels at sea.

2. Weather disaster forecasts and search and rescue information must be transmitted directly and as quickly as possible from responsible agencies to entities operating at sea and vice versa.

3. Ensuring that there is an official agency responsible for organizing and implementing weather disaster forecasts, search and rescue operations, and managing ships and vessels at sea.

III. SCOPE OF THE PLAN

1. Organizing weather disaster forecasting information at sea, focusing on information about typhoons, tropical depressions, and tsunami warnings that may directly affect the South China Sea and coastal areas of Vietnam;

2. Organizing information to serve search and rescue operations and coordination in search and rescue for ships and vessels operating at sea;

3. Organizing information to serve the management of ships and vessels operating at sea immediately before and during natural disasters affecting the South China Sea;

4. Organizing specialized information to serve central-level guidance and management of natural disaster prevention and control at sea in coordination with coastal provinces and cities.

IV. CONTENT OF THE PLAN

1. Upgrading the technical infrastructure of the system of information serving the work of prevention and control of natural disasters at sea including:

a) Shore-based information system:

- Coastal information station system:

+ Improving the speed and quality of connections between components of the coastal information station system;

+ Increasing transmission power, frequency, and broadcast mode of the coastal information station system;

+ Studying and deploying the issuance of information in Vietnamese through the NAVTEX system and guiding fishermen to use it better for fishing vessels;

+ Standardizing channels (frequencies) for issuing marine weather forecasts, search and rescue, and vessel management information; while training related units and fishermen on communication equipment operation skills to understand and utilize information effectively.

- Strengthening the capacity, number, and transmission power of the wireless communication system of the Border Guard Force in coastal provinces and cities;

- Communication system of the Vietnam Post and Telecommunications Corporation and other telecommunications enterprises:

+ Improving the speed and quality of connections between relevant ministries and from central to local levels to ensure smooth information flow in all situations;

+ Researching, testing, and deploying large mobile transceivers installed in coastal areas to ensure communication for nearshore fishing vessels (within approximately 50 km);

+ Building a dedicated satellite and shortwave communication network to serve central-level guidance and management of natural disaster prevention and control at sea for coastal provinces and cities.

b) Communication equipment on ships and vessels:

- For transport ships, communication equipment must comply with Vietnamese and international inspection regulations, according to the GMDSS standard set out in Appendix I attached to this Decision;

- For fishing vessels, minimum communication equipment must be provided according to the A1, A2, A3 sea zones defined in Appendix I attached to this Decision.

2. Completing the organization of information to serve the work of prevention and control of natural disasters at sea.organization Information to serve the prevention and control of natural disasters at sea is organized for cooperation and sharing among relevant agencies and marine operating entities as follows:

a) Natural disaster forecast information:

- The Central Meteorological and Hydrological Forecast Center under the National Meteorological and Hydrological Center, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment is the sole agency constructing natural disaster forecast bulletins, providing these bulletins to the Prime Minister, the Central Steering Committee for Flood and Storm Prevention and Control, the National Search and Rescue Commission, and related ministries and sectors (in accordance with the regulation on tropical depression, typhoon, and flood forecasts) to guide and manage natural disaster prevention and control operations.

- The Central Hydro-meteorological Forecasting Centre under the National Hydro-meteorological Centre, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment is the sole agency responsible for developing weather disaster forecast bulletins, providing such bulletins to the Prime Minister, the Central Steering Committee for Flood and Storm Prevention and Control, the National Committee for Search and Rescue, and relevant ministries and sectors (in accordance with the Regulation on Tropical Depression, Typhoon, and Flood Reporting System) for guidance and management of disaster prevention and control operations;

- The Voice of Vietnam Radio, Vietnam Television, and the coastal information station system shall receive direct news from the Central Meteorological and Hydrological Forecasting Center and promptly and accurately disseminate disaster forecast news to entities operating at sea.

- The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development shall cooperate with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to prepare guidance bulletins for vessels operating in dangerous areas to return to shore or find safe shelter, and transfer these bulletins to the Voice of Vietnam Radio, Vietnam Television, and the coastal information station system for simultaneous broadcast with disaster forecast news.

- The organizational structure of disaster forecast information is presented in Appendix II issued together with this Decision.

b) Rescue and search information:

- For transport vessels:

+ The coastal information station system shall monitor emergency rescue frequencies as prescribed, receive rescue and search information, and directly transmit it to the Vietnam Maritime Administration and the National Committee for Search and Rescue to mobilize maritime rescue forces and equipment.

+ Upon receiving information, the Vietnam Maritime Administration shall instruct the Search and Rescue Centers to implement rescue operations. In cases where specialized maritime rescue forces are insufficient, the Vietnam Maritime Administration shall directly request the National Committee for Search and Rescue to mobilize national rescue forces and equipment.

+ The organizational structure of rescue and search information for transport vessels is presented in Appendix III issued together with this Decision.

- For fishing vessels:

+ The coastal information station system (official information) or the information system of the Coastal Border Guard Force and other organizations' communication systems (supplementary information) shall receive marine rescue and search information, and directly transmit it to the Provincial Flood Control and Search and Rescue Command and the National Committee for Search and Rescue.

+ Upon receiving rescue and search information, the Provincial Flood Control and Search and Rescue Command shall implement rescue operations. If local forces are insufficient, the Provincial Flood Control and Search and Rescue Command shall request the National Committee for Search and Rescue to mobilize national rescue forces and equipment to carry out the operation.

+ The system diagram for rescue and search information for fishing vessels is presented in Appendix IV issued together with this Decision.

c) Information management system for vessels:

- Management of vessels operating at sea:

+ Transport vessels must register their entry and exit from ports (automatically or manually) with the port authority. Information is transferred to the Vietnam Maritime Administration for management based on the transport vessel database.

+ Fishing vessels must register their entry and exit from the coast (automatically or manually) with border guard posts and stations. Information is transferred to the People's Committees of provinces and cities for management according to the provincial fishing vessel database, and simultaneously updated in the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development's fishing vessel database.

+ The system diagram for managing vessels operating at sea is presented in Appendix V issued together with this Decision.

- Management of vessels during natural disasters (typhoons, tropical depressions):

+ Disaster warning news must include a requirement for vessels operating at sea to report their positions.

+ Transport vessels must report their positions to the coastal information station system, and the information is transferred to the Vietnam Maritime Administration for data compilation and reporting to the Ministry of Transport for submission to the Central Flood Control and Typhoon Prevention Steering Committee.

+ Fishing vessels must report their positions to the Border Guard information system (official information) or the coastal information station system and other organizations' communication systems (supplementary information). The information is transferred to the Provincial Flood Control and Search and Rescue Command for vessels operating at sea. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development shall coordinate with the People's Committees of coastal provinces and cities to compile data on fishing vessels and report to the Central Flood Control and Typhoon Prevention Steering Committee.

+ The system diagram for managing vessels operating at sea during natural disasters is presented in Appendix V issued together with this Decision.

d) Specialized information system serving the work of directing and managing disaster prevention and control at sea by the Prime Minister and central ministries and sectors for coastal provinces and cities.

Prior to typhoons making landfall, direction and management of disaster prevention and control mainly rely on public telecommunications networks. When typhoons make landfall and public telecommunications networks are affected, direction and management information will be transmitted through specialized information networks or both networks will be flexibly combined depending on specific conditions.

3. Component projects:

a) The information organization plan for disaster prevention and control at sea consists of seven component projects. The project names, implementing agencies, coordinating agencies, total investment capital, and implementation periods of the component projects are specified in Appendix VI issued together with this Decision.

b) The total estimated investment capital for the projects under the Plan is 231.355 billion VND.

Where:

- State budget capital: 182.407 billion VND.

- Capital invested by the people: 48.948 billion VND.

c) Implementation period for the component projects: from 2007 to 2009.

12/2025/TT-BNNMT dated June 19, 2025 issued by the Minister of Agriculture and Environment Implementation

1. The Ministry of Information and Communications:

- Direct telecommunication enterprises to enhance the speed and quality of connections between relevant ministries and sectors and the coastal information station system, the Border Guard information system, to serve disaster forecasting and search and rescue operations.

- Direct the Vietnam Post and Telecommunications Group to establish and organize a specialized information network to serve the direction and management of disaster prevention and control operations at sea.

- Planning and allocation of frequencies for disaster forecasting and search and rescue operations;

- Organizing and perfecting the issuance of permits for radio frequency usage on ships and vessels operating at sea;

- Overseeing the implementation of the project to organize information services for marine disaster prevention and control, and compiling reports to the Prime Minister on the progress of the project;

2. The Ministry of Transport:

- Being the investor for projects: upgrading and completing technical infrastructure for coastal information stations; establishing a vessel management center and a vessel transport database;

- Guiding, disseminating, and promoting the use of disaster warning and emergency response frequencies by ships and vessels operating at sea from coastal information stations;

- Establishing regulations for communication with transport vessels;

- Inspecting, supervising, and implementing registration and inspection of transport vessels to ensure that communication equipment on board meets international maritime standards and Vietnamese inspection regulations;

3. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development:

- Being the investor for the construction of a marine fishery information system phase I;

- Implementing registration and inspection of fishing vessels and directing localities to organize registration and inspection of fishing vessels according to classification levels, ensuring that vessels have minimum communication equipment as specified for their operational sea zones;

- Establishing regulations for communication with fishing vessels;

- Establishing a management center for fishing vessels and building a database for managing fishing vessels;

4. The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment:

- Being the investor for the construction of a regulation system for marine disaster forecasts;

- Directing the organization of marine disaster forecast information in accordance with the Marine Disaster Forecast Information Regulation;

5. The Ministry of Industry and Trade shall take the lead and coordinate with the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to direct Vietnam Electronics Corporation to continue researching, testing, and evaluating the trial of specialized weather forecasting receivers; recommending the provision of such equipment for fishing vessels;

6. The Ministry of National Defense:

- Being the investor for projects: upgrading the radio communication system for border guard forces in coastal provinces and cities; establishing regulations for coordinated information exchange in search and rescue operations at sea;

- Directing border guard forces and related functional forces in coordinating and supporting the organization of information services for marine disaster prevention and control and vessel management;

7. The National Committee for Search and Rescue shall direct the organization of receiving and processing search and rescue information at sea;

8. Voice of Vietnam Radio shall improve the quality and coverage area of Voice of Vietnam Radio to serve the broadcasting of marine disaster forecast bulletins;

9. Vietnam Post and Telecommunications Group shall be the investor for the construction of a dedicated network for directing and managing disaster prevention and control operations;

10. The Ministry of Planning and Investment, the Ministry of Finance:

- Based on the investment list, phased investment schedule, and the approved progress of component projects, annually allocate state budget funds for relevant ministries and sectors to implement;

- Establish tax incentives mechanisms and policies for technology transfer, import, and production of communication equipment for marine disaster forecasting and search and rescue operations in accordance with current tax regulations;

11. People's Committees of coastal provinces and cities:

- Directing and organizing the registration and inspection of fishing vessels according to classification levels; inspecting compliance with regulations on safety and communication equipment installation on vessels;

- Building provincial databases on fishing vessel management, connecting them to the national fishing vessel management database;

- Organizing, promoting, and guiding fishermen on the use of communication equipment;

Article 3. This Decision takes effect fifteen days after its publication in the Official Gazette;

Article 4. Ministers, heads of ministerial-level agencies, heads of government-affiliated agencies, Chair of the Central Steering Committee for Flood and Storm Control, Chair of the National Committee for Search and Rescue, Chair of Provincial People's Committees directly under the central government are responsible for enforcing this Decision./;