Consolidated Document number 16/VBHN-BGTVT stipulates on officers inspecting seagoing vessels.

CIRCULAR

Regulations on Marine Vessel Inspectors

Circular No. 54/2013/TT-BGTVT dated December 16, 2013, issued by the Minister of Transport regarding marine vessel inspectors, which took effect from February 10, 2014, was amended and supplemented by:

Circular No. 33/2017/TT-BGTVT dated September 28, 2017, issued by the Minister of Transport to amend and supplement certain articles of Circular No. 54/2013/TT-BGTVT dated December 16, 2013, issued by the Minister of Transport regarding marine vessel inspectors, which took effect from December 1, 2017.

Pursuant to the Maritime Code of Vietnam dated June 14, 2005;

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;

Pursuant to Resolution A.1052 (27) of the International Maritime Organization on the Port State Control Procedures 2011;

At the proposal of the Director of the Vietnam Maritime Administration and the Head of the Legal Department; The Minister of Transport issues this Circular on regulations concerning marine vessel inspectors

This Circular stipulates the standards for marine vessel inspectors (including Vietnamese Marine Vessel Inspectors and Port State Control Inspectors), training, examination, issuance, renewal, and revocation of inspector cards. This Circular applies to marine vessel inspectors, organizations, and individuals related to the training, examination, issuance, renewal, and revocation of inspector cards.[1],

Chapter I. GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope of Regulation

This Circular applies to Vietnamese Marine Vessel Inspectors who are civil servants or employees of the Vietnam Maritime Administration holding a Vietnamese Marine Vessel Inspector Card to perform inspections of maritime safety conditions, maritime security, pollution prevention, and seafarer labor conditions on Vietnamese-flagged vessels.

Article 2. Applicability

Port State Control Inspectors are civil servants or employees of the Vietnam Maritime Administration holding a Port State Control Inspector Card to conduct inspections of maritime safety conditions, maritime security, pollution prevention, and seafarer labor conditions on Vietnamese and foreign-flagged vessels moored or anchored in Vietnamese port waters.

Article 3. Explanation of Terms

Article 1. Vietnamese Marine Vessel Inspectors are civil servants or employees of the Vietnam Maritime Administration holding a Vietnamese Marine Vessel Inspector Card to inspect maritime safety conditions, maritime security, pollution prevention, and seafarer labor conditions on Vietnamese-flagged vessels.

Article 2. Port State Control Inspectors are civil servants or employees of the Vietnam Maritime Administration holding a Port State Control Inspector Card to inspect maritime safety conditions, maritime security, pollution prevention, and seafarer labor conditions on Vietnamese and foreign-flagged vessels moored or anchored in Vietnamese port waters.

Article 4. Powers of Marine Vessel Inspectors

Clause 1. Inspect compliance with international conventions to which Vietnam is a party and relevant Vietnamese laws concerning maritime safety, maritime security, pollution prevention, and seafarer labor conditions; request ship owners and captains to provide necessary documents and create conditions on board ships to facilitate inspection activities.

Clause 2. Reserve and report to the Vietnam Maritime Administration any opinions differing from the decision of the Port Director regarding the conclusion on the maritime safety, maritime security, pollution prevention, and seafarer labor conditions of inspected vessels.

Clause 3. Refuse to inspect vessels if the working conditions are not guaranteed.

Article 5. Responsibilities of Marine Vessel Inspectors

Clause 1. When conducting inspections, present the Marine Vessel Inspector Card to the watchkeeping crew.

Clause 2. Conduct vessel inspections objectively, in accordance with the law, and without personal gain; any abuse of power or intentional violation will be dealt with according to the law.

Chapter II. STANDARDS FOR MARINE VESSEL INSPECTORS

Article 6. Standards for Vietnamese Marine Inspector Officers

1. Knowledge requirements:

a) Legal provisions of Vietnam and international treaties to which Vietnam is a party concerning maritime safety, maritime security, prevention of environmental pollution, and maritime labor conditions;

b) Functions, tasks, authorities, organizational structure, and operations of the Vietnam Maritime Administration and Port Maritime Services.

2. Qualification requirements:

a) Graduation from one of the following majors: marine vessel control, marine vessel machinery, marine electrical and radio communication, marine vessel design at the bachelor's degree level or higher;

b)[1] Or be a Master or Chief Engineer of a marine vessel with a gross tonnage of 3000 GT or main engine power of 3000 KW or more, having served in such positions for at least six months, or be a marine vessel surveyor, or a civil servant or staff member of the Vietnam Maritime Administration or Port Maritime Services engaged in maritime safety work or maritime inspection for at least five years;

c)[2] English language proficiency at the B1 level according to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages or an international certificate such as TOEIC scoring 450 points or higher, IELTS scoring 4.5 points or higher, TOEFL CBT scoring 133 points or higher, TOEFL PBT scoring 450 points or higher, TOEFL IBT scoring 45 points or higher, or hold a Bachelor’s degree in English;

d) Office computer skills;

đ) Completion of training courses on marine vessel inspection business organized by the Vietnam Maritime Administration or foreign organizations;

e) Meeting the requirements in examinations organized by the Vietnam Maritime Administration;

g)[3] Having completed a minimum of thirty internship sessions in inspecting Vietnamese marine vessels confirmed by the Director of the Port Maritime Service where the internship took place according to a specified form; Appendix III promulgated together with this Circular.

3. Possess good moral character and sufficient health to perform assigned duties.

Article 7. Standards for State Marine Port Inspector Officers

1. Knowledge requirements:

a) Legal provisions of Vietnam and international treaties to which Vietnam is a party concerning maritime safety, maritime security, prevention of environmental pollution, and maritime labor conditions;

b) Functions, tasks, authorities, organizational structure, and operations of the Vietnam Maritime Administration and Port Maritime Services;

c) Functions and activities of the International Maritime Organization and state marine port inspection organizations.

2. Qualification requirements:

a) Graduation from one of the following majors: marine vessel control, marine vessel machinery, marine electrical and radio communication, marine vessel design at the bachelor's degree level or higher;

b)[4] Or be a Master or Chief Engineer of a marine vessel with a gross tonnage of 3000 GT or main engine power of 3000 KW or more, having served in such positions for at least twelve months, or be a marine vessel surveyor, or a civil servant or staff member of the Vietnam Maritime Administration or Port Maritime Services engaged in maritime safety work or maritime inspection for at least seven years;

c)[5] English language proficiency at the B2 level according to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages or an international certificate such as TOEIC scoring 600 points or higher, IELTS scoring 5.5 points or higher, TOEFL CBT scoring 173 points or higher, TOEFL PBT scoring 500 points or higher, TOEFL IBT scoring 61 points or higher, or hold a Bachelor’s degree in English;

d) Office computer skills;

đ) Completion of training courses on marine vessel inspection business organized by the Vietnam Maritime Administration or sent abroad for training;

e) Meeting the requirements in examinations organized by the Vietnam Maritime Administration;

g)[6] Having completed a minimum of forty-five internship sessions in inspecting foreign marine vessels confirmed by the Director of the Port Maritime Service where the internship took place according to a specified form Appendix III promulgated together with this Circular.

3. Possess good moral character and sufficient health to perform assigned duties.

Chapter III. TRAINING, EXAMINATION, ISSUANCE AND REVOCATION OF MARINE INSPECTOR BADGES

Article 8. Training and Internship for Marine Inspector Officers

1. The Vietnam Maritime Administration shall issue a training program for Marine Inspector Officers and organize annual refresher courses on marine inspection work for Vietnamese Marine Inspector Officers and State Marine Port Inspector Officers.

2. The training program for Marine Inspector Officers includes the following main contents:

a) Vietnamese laws and international treaties related to maritime safety, maritime security, prevention of environmental pollution, and maritime labor conditions;

b) Marine vessel inspection procedures;

c) Marine vessel inspection processes.

3. Marine Inspector Officers shall intern in inspecting Vietnamese and foreign marine vessels moored in Vietnamese port waters under the guidance of competent and experienced State Marine Port Inspector Officers designated by the Director of the Port Maritime Service.

Article 9. Examination Board for Marine Vessel Inspectors

1. The Director of the Vietnam Maritime Administration shall organize the examination for Marine Vessel Inspectors and decide to establish the Examination Board for Marine Vessel Inspectors (hereinafter referred to as the Board).

2. The Board shall consist of from three to five members, including: the Chairman of the Board being the Leader of the Vietnam Maritime Administration, and the other members being representatives of relevant functional departments of the Vietnam Maritime Administration.

3[7]. The Board shall be responsible for organizing new examination sessions and re-examination sessions for expired inspector cards.

4. The Board shall have the following duties and powers:

a)[8] Examine the standards prescribed in Article 6 (except Point e Clause 2) and Article 7 (except Point e Clause 2) of this Circular for candidates participating in the new examination session for Marine Vessel Inspector cards; the standards prescribed in Point a and Point b Clause 1 Article 13 of this Circular for candidates participating in the re-examination session for expired Marine Vessel Inspector cards;

b) Advise the Director of the Vietnam Maritime Administration on establishing a question bank; propose timely adjustments, modifications, and supplements to the questions to better reflect reality;

c) Direct and monitor examination sessions;

d) Handle incidents occurring during examination sessions (if any);

đ) Establish the Examination Committee for Marine Vessel Inspectors (hereinafter referred to as the Committee);

e) Compile examination results and report to the Director of the Vietnam Maritime Administration for recognition.

Article 10. Examination Committee for Marine Vessel Inspectors

1. The Committee shall consist of from three to five members, meeting one of the following criteria:

a) Being a State Marine Port Inspector with at least five years of experience;

b) Being a specialist with expertise in maritime safety, maritime security, environmental pollution prevention, and maritime working conditions.

2. The Committee shall have the following duties and powers:

a) Organize questioning, grading, and compiling examination result reports as prescribed;

b) Recommend the Examination Board for Marine Vessel Inspectors to promptly correct errors in the examination questions;

c) Handle examination violations within its authority and report to the Examination Board for Marine Vessel Inspectors.

Article 11. Recognition of Examination Results for Marine Vessel Inspectors

1. Candidates who achieve a score of five or higher out of ten in all subjects are considered successful.

In cases where candidates only pass some subjects, the results of these subjects will be retained for one year from the date of examination result announcement.

2. The Director of the Vietnam Maritime Administration shall recognize the examination results based on the recommendation of the Chairman of the Examination Board for Marine Vessel Inspectors.

Article 12. Application Documents for Marine Vessel Inspector Cards

1. The Marine Vessel Inspector Card issued by the Vietnam Maritime Administration has a validity period of five years and includes two types:

a) The Vietnamese Marine Vessel Inspector Card issued to Vietnamese Marine Vessel Inspectors according to the model prescribed in Appendix I of this Circular;

b) The State Marine Port Inspector Card issued to State Marine Port Inspectors according to the model prescribed in Appendix II this Circular.

2. The application documents for Marine Vessel Inspector Cards include the following papers:

a) Decision recognizing the examination results for Marine Vessel Inspectors;

b) Request letter from the Head of the unit;

c)[9] (Repealed)

d) Two recent photographs measuring 3x4 cm taken within six months.

Article 13. Exchange and Reissue of Marine Inspector Officer CardsFor power plants invested under the Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) model, n is determined according to the operational period of the power plant stipulated in the BOT contract.

1. The Marine Inspector Officer Card shall be exchanged when it expires, and the Marine Inspector Officer must meet the following conditions:

a) Conducting inspections on 60 ships within five years or having at least two consecutive years of work related to ship inspections;

b) Participating in refresher courses on ship inspection procedures.

c)[10] Passing the examination for Marine Inspector Officers organized by the Vietnam Maritime Administration.

2. Documents for exchanging the Marine Inspector Officer Card:

a) A request letter from the head of the agency or unit specifying the number of ship inspections conducted or the period of continuous work related to ship inspections;

b) A copy of the Marine Inspector Officer Card;

c) Two recent photographs measuring 3x4 cm taken within six months.

3. The Marine Inspector Officer Card shall be reissued if it is damaged or lost. The head of the unit shall submit a request letter along with two recent photographs measuring 3x4 cm taken within six months to the Vietnam Maritime Administration for reissuance.

Article 14. Revocation of Marine Inspector Officer Cards

1. The Marine Inspector Officer Card shall be revoked in the following cases:

b) Engaging in corrupt behavior, harassment, or intentionally causing difficulties for customers during the performance of tasks.

b) Not being assigned further ship inspection tasks by the head of the agency or unit.

2. The Vietnam Maritime Administration is responsible for revoking the Marine Inspector Officer Card in the cases specified in Clause 1 of this Article.

This Circular takes effect from October 1, 2015.[11]

Article 15. Effective Date

1. This Circular takes effect from February 10, 2014.

2. As of July 1, 2015, Marine Inspector Officers who have been issued cards prior to the effective date of this Circular must meet the following requirements to exchange their cards:

a) Provisions set out in points c, d, đ, and e of Clause 2 of Article 6 of this Circular for Vietnamese Marine Inspector Officers; b) Provisions set out in points c, d, đ, and e of Clause 2 of Article 7 of this Circular

for State Marine Inspector Officers. 3. The Vietnam Maritime Administration shall revoke the ship inspection cards issued before February 10, 2014 and issue new cards according to the model prescribed in of this Circular for those meeting the requirements stipulated in Clause 2 of this Article.

The Director of the Ministry's Office, the Director of the Ministry's Inspectorate, Heads of Departments under the Ministry, the Director of the Vietnam Maritime Administration, Heads of agencies, units, and relevant individuals are responsible for implementing this Circular./. Appendix I and Appendix II Number: 16/VBHN-BGTVT

Article 16. Implementation Organization

Hanoi, June 25, 2024

(Annexed to Circular No. 54/2013/TT-BGTVT dated December 16, 2013 issued bythe Minister of Transport)

1) Front side (Figure 01) with a bright red background, white capitalized letters, consisting of two lines: The top line reads "SOCIALIST REPUBLIC OF VIETNAM"

in capitalized letters, bold font, size 11; The bottom line reads "MINISTRY OF TRANSPORT"

in capitalized letters, bold font, size 11;

Between the two lines is the National Emblem, diameter 45 mm, gold color. 2) Back side (Figure 02): Information on the back side includes:

- Left side: Names of the supervising agencies: MINISTRY OF TRANSPORT, VIETNAM MARITIME ADMINISTRATION, in capitalized letters, size 7;

- Right side:

+ National Emblem: "SOCIALIST REPUBLIC OF VIETNAM", in capitalized letters, size 8;

+ Motto: "INDEPENDENCE - FREEDOM - HAPPINESS", in lowercase letters, size 8, below which there is a horizontal line;

VIETNAMESE MARINE INSPECTOR OFFICER CARD:

in capitalized letters, bold font, red color, size 8;

- Card No.: where the card number is recorded;

- - Name: where the name of the Vietnamese Marine Inspector Officer is recorded; - Agency: where the name of the working agency of the Vietnamese Marine Inspector Officer is recorded;

- Hanoi, day... month... year...: where the date of issuance of the card is recorded;

- Expiry Date: where the validity period of the card is recorded.

(The font of the card is the Vietnamese character code font, Vietnamese Unicode font, according to Vietnamese Standard TCVN 6909:2001)

ANNEX II. SAMPLE OF THE STATE PORT CONTROL OFFICER CARD

1) Front side (Figure 03) with a bright red background, white capitalized letters, consisting of two lines in English:

The top line reads: "SOCIALIST REPUBLIC OF VIETNAM"

(CỘNG HÒA XÃ HỘI CHỦ NGHĨA VIỆT NAM) in capitalized letters, bold font, size 11;

1) Front side (Figure 01) with a bright red background, white capitalized letters, consisting of two lines: The top line reads "SOCIALIST REPUBLIC OF VIETNAM"

The bottom line reads:

"MINISTRY OF TRANSPORT" (BỘ GIAO THÔNG VẬN TẢI) in capitalized letters, bold font, size 11; 2) Back side (Figure 04):

Information on the back side includes English text:

- Left side: Names of the supervising agencies: MINISTRY OF TRANSPORT, VIETNAM MARITIME ADMINISTRATION (BỘ GIAO THÔNG VẬN TẢI, CỤC HÀNG HẢI VIỆT NAM), in capitalized letters, size 7; Right side: + National Emblem: "SOCIALIST REPUBLIC OF VIETNAM" (CỘNG HÒA XÃ HỘI CHỦ NGHĨA VIỆT NAM), in capitalized letters, size 8;

- Left side: Names of the supervising agencies: MINISTRY OF TRANSPORT, VIETNAM MARITIME ADMINISTRATION, in capitalized letters, size 7;

+ Motto: in English "INDEPENDENCE - FREEDOM - HAPPINESS" (ĐỘC LẬP - TỰ DO - HẠNH PHÚC), in lowercase letters, size 8, below which there is a horizontal line;

PORT STATE CONTROL OFFICER CARD

(THẺ SỸ QUAN KIỂM TRA NHÀ NƯỚC CẢNG BIỂN): bold font, red color, size 8;

- No (Card No.): where the card number is recorded;

- Full Name (Name): where the name of the State Port Control Officer is recorded;

- Office (Agency): where the name of the working agency of the State Port Control Officer is recorded;

- - Hanoi, date... month... year... (Hà Nội, ngày... tháng... năm...): where the date of issuance of the card is recorded; - Valid Until (Expiry Date): where the validity period of the card is recorded.

(The font of the card is the Vietnamese character code font, Vietnamese Unicode font, according to Vietnamese Standard TCVN 6909:2001)

ANNEX III. SAMPLE OF THE PRACTICE CONFIRMATION LETTER

VIETNAM MARITIME ADMINISTRATION

PORT DIRECTION DEPARTMENT OF VIETNAM...

..., day ..., month ..., year 20...

PRACTICE CONFIRMATION LETTER FOR SHIP INSPECTION The Director of the Port Direction Department of Vietnam ... confirms:

Mr./Ms: ...

1) Front side (Figure 01) with a bright red background, white capitalized letters, consisting of two lines: The top line reads "SOCIALIST REPUBLIC OF VIETNAM"

Date

Inspection

Inspection Location

Date of Birth: ...

Inspector (Guide)

PRACTICE PARTICIPANT

___________________________

¹ Name of the Maritime Port Office for practice.

² Name of the Maritime Port Office for work.