Circular No. 40/2023/TT-BGTVT stipulates quality criteria and procedures for inspection, supervision, and evaluation to accept the quality of maritime public service information services.

CIRCULAR

Regulations on quality criteria and inspection, supervision, evaluation work for acceptance of quality of maritime public service information

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Pursuant to the Vietnam Maritime Code on November 25, 2015;

1. Amending Clause 2 Article 2 as follows:

Pursuant to Decree No. 43/2018/NĐ-CP dated March 12, 2018 of the Government on management, use, and exploitation of marine infrastructure assets;

Pursuant to Decree No. 32/2019/NĐ-CP dated April 10, 2019 of the Government on assignment of tasks, placing orders, or tendering for provision of products and services using state budget funds from regular expenditure;

BASED ON THE DECREE NO. 56/2022/ND-CP dated August 24, 2022 of THE GOVERNMENT stipulating the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of THE MINISTRY OF TRANSPORT;

At the proposal of the Director of the Department of Science and Technology and the Director General of the Vietnam Maritime Administration;

The Minister of Transport issues this Circular regulating quality criteria and inspection, supervision, evaluation work for acceptance of quality of maritime public service information.

PART I
GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope of Regulation

This Circular regulates quality criteria and inspection, supervision, evaluation work for acceptance of quality of maritime public service information.

Article 2. Applicability

This Circular applies to:

1. Vietnam Maritime Administration.

2. Vietnam Marine Electronics Joint Stock Company Limited (Vietnam Marine Electronics Corporation Limited).

3. Organizations and individuals related to inspection, supervision, evaluation, and acceptance of quality of maritime public service information.

Article 3. Explanation of Terms

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

1. Abbreviations:

Vietnam mission control center

2. The Vietnam coastal information system includes:

a) Coastal information stations;

b) Hai Phong INMARSAT ground station (HAIPHONG LES);

c) Vietnam COSPAS-SARSAT ground station (VNLUT/MCC);

d) Long-range identification and tracking station (LRIT);

e) Hanoi maritime information processing center.

3. INMARSAT emergency watch service: is the service of receiving emergency alarms from distressed vessels through INMARSAT, then processing and forwarding information to support search and rescue operations to relevant agencies and organizations, and supporting communication between shore units and distressed vessels and other search and rescue vessels during the operation.

4. COSPAS-SARSAT emergency watch service: is the service of receiving emergency alarms from distressed vessels through COSPAS-SARSAT, then processing and forwarding information to support search and rescue operations to relevant agencies and organizations, and supporting communication between shore units and distressed vessels and other search and rescue vessels during the operation.

5. DSC emergency watch service: is the service of receiving emergency alarms from distressed vessels via DSC, then processing and forwarding to relevant agencies and organizations for search and rescue operations, and supporting communication between shore units and distressed vessels and other search and rescue vessels during the operation.

6. RTP emergency watch service: is the service of receiving emergency calls from distressed vessels via RTP on channel 16 VHF, then processing and forwarding to relevant agencies and organizations for maritime search and rescue operations, and supporting communication between shore units and distressed vessels and other search and rescue vessels during the operation.

7. MSI RTP broadcast service: is the service of broadcasting maritime safety information and search and rescue information via RTP on channel 16 VHF.

8. MSI NAVTEX broadcast service: is the service of broadcasting maritime safety information and search and rescue information via narrowband direct-printing telegraphy on frequencies 518 kHz, 490 kHz, and 4209.5 kHz.

10. LRIT information service: is a service providing LRIT information of vessels flying the flag of Vietnam and foreign-flagged vessels under the SOLAS Convention.

11. Maritime industry information connection service: is an information technology service aimed at connecting and sharing specialized maritime industry information.

12. Sea Area A1: is an area within the range of VHF radio communication coverage of at least one coastal radio station, where continuous distress alerting DSC capability is maintained. This area has a radius of approximately 30 nautical miles from the coastal radio station.

13. Sea Area A2: is an area within the range of MF radio communication coverage of at least one coastal radio station, where continuous distress alerting DSC capability is maintained, except for Sea Area A1. This area has a radius of approximately 250 nautical miles from the coastal radio station.

14. Sea Area A3: is an area within the coverage range of INMARSAT geostationary satellites, where continuous distress alerting capability is maintained, except for Sea Areas A1 and A2. This area extends from latitude 70° North to latitude 70° South.

15. Sea Area A4: are the polar regions of the Earth from latitude 70° North to the North Pole and from latitude 70° South to the South Pole, excluding Sea Areas A1, A2, and A3.

16. LRIT information: is information about the identification code, position, and time of position determination of vessels according to Coordinated Universal Time (UTC), transmitted from LRIT equipment.

17. Vietnam's Long Range Identification and Tracking Information Zone (hereinafter referred to as Vietnam's LRIT Information Zone): is an information zone organized and announced by the Ministry of Transport in accordance with Vietnamese laws and related international treaties to which Vietnam is a party, including: Inland Waterways LRIT Zone, Territorial Seas LRIT Zone, 1000 Nautical Miles LRIT Zone, and Optional LRIT Zone.

18. Shore-based units are agencies and organizations cooperating in search and rescue operations, ship owners, and relevant agencies and units involved in receiving and processing distress and urgency alerts, safety, and security information.

Chapter II
REGULATIONS ON QUALITY CRITERIA AND INSPECTION, SUPERVISION, AND EVALUATION WORK TO COMMISSION QUALITY OF MARITIME INFORMATION PUBLIC SERVICE

Article 4. Quality criteria for maritime information public services

1. INMARSAT distress watch service

a) The quality criteria for INMARSAT distress watch service include: service area; watch language; service availability; success rate of distress alerts processed; time to relay information for search and rescue to the distressed vessel; watch method; communication method between the distressed vessel and shore-based units;

b) Requirements for meeting and methods for determining the quality criteria for INMARSAT distress watch service are specified in Appendix I attached hereto.

2. COSPAS-SARSAT distress watch service

a) The quality criteria for COSPAS-SARSAT distress watch service include: service area; service availability; success rate of distress alerts processed; time to contact the distressed vessel; data transmission channels to MCCs and SPOCs/RCCs in the system; communication method with the distressed vessel; communication method with shore-based units;

b) Requirements for meeting and methods for determining the quality criteria for COSPAS-SARSAT distress watch service are specified in Appendix II attached hereto.

3. DSC distress watch service

a) The quality criteria for DSC distress watch service include: service area; watch language; service availability; success rate of distress alerts processed; time to relay information for search and rescue to the distressed vessel; follow-up communication method; communication method with shore-based units; communication method between the distressed vessel and shore-based units;

b) Requirements for meeting and methods for determining the quality criteria for DSC distress watch service are specified in Appendix III attached hereto.

4. RTP distress watch service

a) The quality criteria for RTP distress watch service include: service area; watch language; service availability; success rate of distress alerts processed; time to relay information for search and rescue to the distressed vessel; communication method with shore-based units;

b) Requirements for meeting and methods for determining the quality criteria for RTP distress watch service are specified in Appendix IV attached hereto.

5. RTP MSI broadcast service

a) The quality criteria for RTP MSI broadcast service include: service area; language; service availability; success rate of broadcasts; source information processing time;

b) Requirements for meeting and methods for determining the quality criteria for RTP MSI broadcast service are specified in Appendix V attached hereto.

6. NAVTEX MSI broadcast service

a) The quality criteria for NAVTEX MSI broadcast service include: service area; language; content of NAVTEX MSI bulletin; service availability; success rate of broadcasts; source information processing time;

b) Requirements for meeting and methods for determining the quality criteria for NAVTEX MSI broadcast service are specified in Appendix VI attached hereto.

7. EGC MSI broadcast service

a) The quality criteria for EGC MSI broadcast service include: service area; language; content of EGC MSI bulletin; service availability; success rate of broadcasts; source information processing time;

b) Requirements for meeting and methods for determining the quality criteria for EGC MSI broadcast service are specified in Appendix VII attached hereto.

8. LRIT information service

a) The quality criteria for LRIT information service include: service area; service availability; success rate of LRIT bulletins processed;

b) Requirements for meeting and methods for determining the quality criteria for LRIT information service are specified in Appendix VIII attached hereto.

9. Maritime industry information connection service

a) The quality criteria for maritime industry information connection service include: service availability; success rate of incident resolution;

b) Requirements for meeting and methods for determining the quality criteria for maritime industry information connection service are specified in Appendix IX attached hereto.

Article 5. Period for retaining electronic data to serve inspection, supervision, evaluation, and acceptance of quality of coastal information public service

1. For INMARSAT distress monitoring service

Electronic data of INMARSAT distress events (distress alerts data and distress alert handling process) collected by the HAIPHONG LES Station must be retained for a period of two years to serve inspection, supervision, evaluation, and acceptance of quality of coastal information public service.

2. For COSPAS-SARSAT distress monitoring service

Electronic data of COSPAS-SARSAT distress events (distress alerts data and distress alert handling process) collected by the VNLUT/MCC Station must be retained for a period of two years to serve inspection, supervision, evaluation, and acceptance of quality of coastal information public service.

3. For DSC distress monitoring service

Electronic data of DSC distress events (distress alerts data and distress alert handling process) collected by the Coastal Radio Stations must be retained for a period of two years to serve inspection, supervision, evaluation, and acceptance of quality of coastal information public service.

4. For RTP distress monitoring service

Electronic data of RTP distress events (distress alerts data and distress alert handling process) collected by the Coastal Radio Stations must be retained for a period of five months to serve inspection, supervision, evaluation, and acceptance of quality of coastal information public service.

5. For RTP MSI broadcast service

Electronic data of source messages, processed source messages, and received messages of the RTP MSI broadcast service transmitted by the Coastal Radio Stations must be retained for a period of five months to serve inspection, supervision, evaluation, and acceptance of quality of coastal information public service.

6. For NAVTEX MSI broadcast service

Electronic data of source messages, processed source messages, and received messages of the NAVTEX MSI broadcast service transmitted by the Coastal Radio Stations must be retained for a period of two years to serve inspection, supervision, evaluation, and acceptance of quality of coastal information public service.

7. For EGC MSI broadcast service

Electronic data of source messages, processed source messages, and received messages of the EGC MSI broadcast service transmitted by the HAIPHONG LES Station must be retained for a period of two years to serve inspection, supervision, evaluation, and acceptance of quality of coastal information public service.

8. For LRIT information service

Electronic data of LRIT information (messages containing LRIT information, LRIT information request messages, and other related information) processed by the LRIT Station must be retained for a period of two years to serve inspection, supervision, evaluation, and acceptance of quality of coastal information public service.

9. For maritime industry information connection service

Electronic data of system monitoring and fault handling during the provision of maritime industry information connection service by the Ha Noi Maritime Information Processing Center Station must be retained for a period of two years to serve inspection, supervision, evaluation, and acceptance of quality of coastal information public service.

Article 6. Inspection and supervision of the quality of coastal information public service

1. The inspection and supervision of the quality of coastal information public services shall be carried out according to the quality criteria and methods of determination prescribed in this Circular on a quarterly basis or at any time.

2. The Vietnam Maritime Administration shall be responsible for organizing the inspection and supervision of the quality of coastal information public services as prescribed in this Circular.

3. The Vietnam Maritime Electronic Information Joint Stock Company Limited shall be responsible for providing data, files, documents, and preparing equipment to serve the inspection and supervision of the quality of coastal information public services as prescribed in this Circular.

Article 7. Evaluation and acceptance of the quality of coastal information public services

1. Quality evaluation of coastal information public services

a) The quality evaluation of coastal information public services shall be conducted for each type of service, including: INMARSAT distress monitoring service, COSPAS-SARSAT distress monitoring service, DSC distress monitoring service, RTP distress monitoring service, MSI RTP broadcast service, NAVTEX MSI broadcast service, EGC MSI broadcast service, LRIT information service, and maritime industry information connection service;

b) Based on the results of service provision, inspection, and supervision, and the method of determining quality criteria, calculations shall be made to determine the quality criteria of each service and compared with the requirements set forth in this Circular to evaluate whether the criteria are "Met" or "Not Met". Each service's quality is considered "Met" when all its quality criteria are evaluated as "Met". Each service's quality is considered "Not Met" if any of its quality criteria are evaluated as "Not Met";

c) The Vietnam Maritime Administration shall be responsible for organizing the quality evaluation of coastal information public services for each type of service on a quarterly basis;

d) The evaluation of quality criteria for services will consider excluding factors influenced by force majeure events.

2. Acceptance of the quality of coastal information public services

Based on the results of the quality evaluation as stipulated in Clause 1 of this Article, the Vietnam Maritime Administration shall conduct the acceptance of the quality of coastal information public services in accordance with Article 10 of Circular No. 03/2023/TT-BGTVT dated March 30, 2023, issued by the Minister of Transport detailing the ordering of the provision of coastal information public services using state budget funds from regular expenditure.

Chapter III
IMPLEMENTATION

Article 8. Implementation clause

1. This Circular takes effect from April 1, 2024.

2. Repeal Circular No. 05/2019/TT-BGTVT dated January 29, 2019, issued by the Minister of Transport regarding the criteria for supervising and accepting coastal information public utility services.

3. In cases where legal normative documents cited in this Circular are amended, supplemented, or replaced, they shall be implemented in accordance with the amended, supplemented, or replaced legal normative documents.

Article 9. Implementation Organization

The Director of the Ministry’s Office, the Inspector General of the Ministry, the Heads of Departments, the Director of the Vietnam Maritime Administration, the General Director of the Vietnam Maritime Electronic Information Joint Stock Company Limited, the Heads of agencies, organizations, and individuals related to this matter are responsible for implementing this Circular./.