Integrated document No. 01/VBHN-BXD dated March 19, 2025 Decrees on conditions for provision of maritime safety assurance services

THE MINISTRY OF CONSTRUCTION OF VIETNAM ----------	THE SOCIALIST REPUBLIC OF VIET NAM Independence-Freedom-Happiness -----------------
No. 01/VBHN-BXD	Hanoi, March 19, 2025

DECREE

CONDITIONS FOR PROVISION OF MARITIME SAFETY ASSURANCE SERVICES

The Government’s Decree No. 70/2016/ND-CP dated July 01, 2016 on conditions for provision of maritime safety assurance services is amended by:

1. The Government’s Decree No. 147/2018/ND-CP dated October 24, 2018 providing amendments to Decrees on business operations in maritime sector, coming into force from October 24, 2018;

2. The Government’s Decree No. 69/2022/ND-CP dated September 23, 2022 providing amendments to Decrees on business operations in maritime sector, coming into force from October 30, 2022.

3. The Government’s Decree No. 34/2025/ND-CP dated February 25, 2025 providing amendments to Decrees on business operations in maritime sector, coming into force from April 10, 2025.

Pursuant to the Maritime Code of Vietnam dated November 25, 2015;

Pursuant to the Law on Government Organization dated June 19, 2015;

Pursuant to the Law on Investment dated November 26, 2014;

Pursuant to the Law on Enterprises dated November 26, 2014;

At the request of the Minister of Transport of Vietnam;

The Government promulgates a Decree introducing conditions for provision of maritime safety assurance services[1].

Chapter I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope

1. This Decree provides for conditions for provision of maritime safety assurance services, consisting of:

a) Establish, operate, sustain and maintain maritime signaling systems, navigational channels and routes;

b) [2] (abrogated)

c) Survey activities in service of Notices to mariners;

d) Regulation of maritime safety assurance;

dd) Survey, preparation and issuance of nautical charts of seaport waters, navigational channels and sea lanes; formation and issuance of maritime safety publications and documents;

e) Electronic maritime information;

g) Maritime pilotage services;

h) Removal of obstructions to navigation;

i) Import of marine flares.

2. Other maritime safety assurance services which are not prescribed in Clause 1 of this Article shall be governed by prevailing laws.

Article 2. Regulated entities

This Decree applies to Vietnamese and foreign organizations and individuals that get involved in maritime safety assurance services in Vietnam.

Article 3. Definitions

For the purpose of this Decree, the terms below are construed as follows:

1. Area where maritime pilotage is compulsory (hereinafter referred to as compulsory pilotage area) refers to a restricted area within a seaport waters area or an offshore oilfield, stretching from the area where a pilot boards or leaves a vessel to a wharf, harbor, anchoring area, transshipment area, storm shelter, shipbuilding and repairing plant or offshore petroleum depot and vice versa, where vessels must be steered by pilots in accordance with the Vietnam Maritime Code. A compulsory pilotage area includes one or several vessel navigation routes.

2. Vessel navigation route refers to the itinerary route of a vessel steered by a pilot from a pilot-receiving area to a wharf, harbor, anchoring area, transshipment area, storm shelter or shipbuilding and repairing plant of a seaport or an offshore oil depot within a compulsory pilotage area.

3. Electronic maritime information services include the construction, management and operation of maritime telecommunications network, and the provision of coastal information service and other communication and electronics services for the purpose of maintaining information regarding search and rescue activities, prevention of disasters, maritime safety and security, and protection of maritime environment.

4. Notice to mariners is a document providing information and instructions to seafarers and relevant entities for the purposes of ensuring the maritime safety and security, and preventing environmental pollution.

5. Marine flares are used in maritime safety, search and rescue activities, including handheld flares/torches and buoyant smoke signals which satisfy law regulations and relevant international treaties to which Vietnam is a signatory.

Article 4. Rules for provision of maritime safety assurance services

1. Maritime safety assurance service providers in Vietnam are allowed to carry out their operations only when they ensure the compliance with regulations in this Decree and other relevant law regulations.

2. Maritime safety assurance services must be provided in conformity with law regulations, international treaties to which Vietnam is a signatory and actual conditions of maritime operations in relevant regions.

Chapter II

CONDITIONS FOR PROVISION OF MARITIME SAFETY ASSURANCE SERVICES

Section 1. CONDITIONS FOR PROVISION OF AIDS TO NAVIGATION, NAVIGATIONAL CHANNEL AND SEA LANE INSTALLATION, OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE SERVICES

Article 5. Conditions for provision of public aids to navigation, berth pocket, water area, navigational channel, and sea lane installation, operation and maintenance services[3]

A provider of public aids to navigation, berth pocket, water area, navigational channel, and sea lane installation, operation and maintenance services must satisfy all of the following conditions:

1. It must be a wholly state-owned enterprise and have its Charter approved by the Minister of Transport.

2. The person in charge of provision of public aids to navigation, berth pocket, water area, navigational channel and sea lane installation, operation and maintenance services must obtain a bachelor’s degree, or higher, in economics or engineering and have at least 03 years’ experience of working in the field of maritime safety assurance [4].

3. It must have at least 01 wharf, workshop for manufacturing and maintaining aids to navigation.

Article 6. Conditions for provision of dedicated aids to navigation, berth pocket, water area and navigational channel installation, operation and maintenance services [5]

A provider of dedicated aids to navigation, berth pocket, water area and navigational channel installation, operation and maintenance services must satisfy all of the following conditions:

1. It must be an enterprise duly established under the law.

2. The person in charge of provision of dedicated aids to navigation, berth pocket, water area and navigational channel installation, operation and maintenance services must obtain a bachelor’s degree, or higher, in economics or engineering and have at least 03 years’ experience of working in the field of maritime safety assurance[6].

Section 2. CONDITIONS FOR PROVISION OF SURVEY SERVICES TO SERVE ANNOUNCEMENT OF NOTICES TO MARINERS

Article 7. Conditions for provision of public berth pocket, water area and navigational channel, and sea lane survey services to serve announcement of Notices to mariners[7]

A provider of public berth pocket, water area and navigational channel, and sea lane survey services to serve announcement of Notices to mariners must satisfy all of the following conditions:

1. It must be a wholly state-owned enterprise and have its Charter approved by the Minister of Transport.

2. The person in charge of provision of public berth pocket, water area and navigational channel, and sea lane survey services must obtain a bachelor’s degree, or higher, in economics or engineering and have at least 03 years’ experience of working in the field of maritime survey[8].

3. It must have the following specialized survey equipment at a minimum, including echo sounder, equipment for determination of coordinates and elevation, side scan sonar, tide gauge, heave compensator, velocimeter and specialized survey software.

Article 8. Conditions for provision of dedicated berth pocket, water area and navigational channel survey services to serve announcement of Notices to mariners[9]

A provider of dedicated berth pocket, water area and navigational channel survey services to serve announcement of Notices to mariners must satisfy all of the following conditions:

1. It must be an enterprise duly established under the law.

2. The person in charge of provision of dedicated berth pocket, water area and navigational channel survey services must obtain a bachelor’s degree, or higher, in economics or engineering and have at least 03 years’ experience of working in the field of maritime survey[10].

3. It must have the following specialized survey equipment at a minimum, including echo sounder, equipment for determination of coordinates and elevation, side scan sonar, tide gauge, heave compensator, velocimeter and specialized survey software.

Section 3 [11] (abrogated)

Section 4. CONDITIONS FOR PROVISION OF REGULATORY SERVICES TO ASSURE MARITIME SAFETY

Article 11. Conditions for provision of regulatory services to assure maritime safety within public berth pockets, water areas and navigational channels[12]

A provider of regulatory services to assure maritime safety within public berth pockets, water areas and navigational channels must satisfy all of the following conditions:

1. It must be a wholly state-owned enterprise and have its Charter approved by the Minister of Transport.

2. The person in charge of provision of regulatory services to assure maritime safety must obtain a bachelor’s degree, or higher, in economics or engineering and have at least 03 years’ experience of working in the field of regulation of maritime safety assurance [13].

Article 12. Conditions for provision of regulatory services to assure maritime safety within dedicated berth pockets, water areas and navigational channels[14]

A provider of regulatory services to assure maritime safety within dedicated berth pockets, water areas and navigational channels must satisfy all of the following conditions:

1. It must be an enterprise duly established under the law.

2. The person in charge of provision of regulatory services to assure maritime safety must obtain a bachelor’s degree, or higher, in economics or engineering and have at least 03 years’ experience of working in the field of regulation of maritime safety assurance [15].

Section 5. CONDITIONS FOR PROVISION OF SURVEY, PREPARATION AND ISSUANCE SERVICES OF NAUTICAL CHARTS OF SEAPORT WATERS, NAVIGATIONAL CHANNELS AND SEA LANES; FORMATION AND ISSUANCE SERVICES OF MARITIME SAFETY PUBLICATIONS AND DOCUMENTS

Article 13. Organization and capital conditions [16]

A provider of survey, preparation and issuance services of nautical charts of seaport waters, navigational channels and sea lanes, and formation and issuance services of maritime safety publications and documents must satisfy these organization and capital conditions: It must be an enterprise that is duly established under the law and of which 100% of charter capital is held by the State; have its Charter approved by Minister of Transport.

Article 14. Personnel and facility conditions [17]

A provider of survey, preparation and issuance services of nautical charts of seaport waters, navigational channels and sea lanes, and formation and issuance services of maritime safety publications and documents must satisfy the following personnel and facility conditions:

1. The person in charge of provision of survey, preparation and issuance services of nautical charts of seaport waters, navigational channels and sea lanes, and formation and issuance services of maritime safety publications and documents must obtain a bachelor’s degree, or higher, in economics or engineering and have at least 03 years’ experience of working in the field of maritime survey[18].

2. It must have the following specialized survey equipment at a minimum, including echo sounder, equipment for determination of coordinates and elevation, side scan sonar, tide gauge, heave compensator, velocimeter, specialized survey software and software used for editing and publishing physical and electronic nautical charts.

Section 6. CONDITIONS FOR PROVISION OF ELECTRONIC MARITIME INFORMATION SERVICES

Article 15. Organization and capital conditions[19]

An electronic maritime information service provider must satisfy these organization and capital conditions: It must be an enterprise duly established under the law and of which 100% of charter capital is held by the State;; have its Charter approved by Minister of Transport.

Article 16. Personnel and facility conditions [20]

An electronic maritime information service provider must satisfy the following personnel and facility conditions: The person in charge of provision of electronic maritime information services must obtain a bachelor’s degree, or higher, in maritime information or telecommunication – electronics engineering and have at least 03 years’ experience of working in the field of electronic maritime information[21].

Section 7. CONDITIONS FOR PROVISION OF MARITIME PILOTAGE SERVICES

Article 17. Organization and capital conditions

A maritime pilotage service provider must be an enterprise that is duly established under the law and of which at least 75% of charter capital is held by the State.

Article 18. Personnel and facility conditions[22]

A maritime pilotage service provider must satisfy the following personnel and facility conditions:

1. The person in charge of provision of maritime pilotage service must be an expert pilot.

2. It must have sufficient number of pilots who must have operational area certificates granted in conformity with the assigned ship navigation route. The minimum number of pilots and means for taking and returning pilots shall be determined as follows:

a) The minimum number of pilots of various classes shall be determined according to the ship navigation route, number of ships and deadweight tonnage of the ship operation on the route in the previous 03 years (for newly opened ship navigation route, the minimum number of pilots of various classes shall be determined according to the number of ships and deadweight tonnage of the ship expected to operate within the route in 03 first years). The maximum number of days that employees work shall comply with regulations of law. The minimum number of pilots on each route must ensure the demand for pilotage service is fully satisfied and standby pilots account for at least 10% of total pilots.

b) The minimum number of means for taking and returning pilots shall be determined according to the number of ships annually piloted by the pilotage service provider and maritime conditions that exist at the ship piloting zone.

c) Vietnam Maritime Administration shall publish the minimum number of pilots of various classes and means for taking and returning pilots on ship navigation routes; assign compulsory pilotage areas and ship navigation routes to pilotage service providers according to the principle: each provider shall only provide maritime pilotage service on one ship navigation route.

Article 19. Procedures for ship navigation route assignment

1. An application for ship navigation route assignment includes:

a) An application form which is made using Form No. 01 in the Appendix enclosed herewith;

b) The list of pilots, accompanied with the copies of the certificate of competency and the operational area certificate of each pilot;

c) Declaration about means for taking pilots on board and returning them to land, enclosed with the copies of registration certificates of those means of transport.

2. Procedures for ship navigation route assignment:

a) [23] A maritime pilotage company shall, in person or by post or via the online public service system or in any other appropriate form, submit the application including the documents prescribed in Clause 1 of Article to Vietnam Maritime Administration;

b) If the application is submitted in person and adequate, Vietnam Maritime Administration shall give a note of application receipt and appointment to return application processing result within the prescribed period. If the application is inadequate, it shall be immediately returned to the applicant that shall be also provided with specific instructions for completing the application;

c) [24] If the application is submitted by post or via the online public service system or in any other appropriate form and is inadequate, Vietnam Maritime Administration shall, within 02 working days from the receipt of the application, send a written request for modification of the application in which reasons for the modification must be indicated, by post or via the online public service system or in any other appropriate form, to the applicant;

d) Within 05 working days from the receipt of an adequate application as prescribed, Vietnam Maritime Administration shall appraise the received application and send it to the Ministry of Transport for seeking its approval. Ministry of Transport shall give a written response within 03 working days from the receipt of the written request for approval from Vietnam Maritime Administration. If the application is refused, Ministry of Transport shall clearly provide reasons for such refusal in writing for Vietnam Maritime Administration for its response to the applicant;

dd) Within 03 working days from the receipt of a written approval from Ministry of Transport, Vietnam Maritime Administration shall assign ship navigation route to the maritime pilotage company.

Section 8. CONDITIONS FOR PROVISION OF OBSTRUCTION REMOVAL SERVICES

Article 20. Organization and capital conditions[25]

An obstruction removal service provider must be an enterprise duly established under the law.

Article 21. Personnel and facility conditions

Facilities and equipment must be available in service of removal of obstructions to navigation and prevention of environmental pollution.

Section 9. CONDITIONS TO BE SATISFIED BY IMPORTERS OF MARINE FLARES

Article 22. Conditions to be satisfied by importers of marine flares [26]

1. It must be an enterprise duly established under the law.

2. It must satisfy all fire fighting requirements as prescribed by law.

Article 23. Procedures for issuance of license to import marine flares

1. An application for issuance of a license to import marine flares includes:

a) An application form for license to import marine flares, clearly indicating types of flares, quantity, manufacturing country, product specifications/characteristics, and uses, code and expiry date of each type, and import period;

b) Certified translation of certificate of origin issued by a competent authority of the manufacturing country to certify that imported flares have been tested in conformity with regulations of the International Maritime Organization;

c) The report made by the applicant on the licensed import of marine flares in the previous year and the import monitoring sheet given by Customs Sub-department at the checkpoint (if any).

2. Licensing procedures:

a) An application including the documents prescribed in clause 1 of this Article shall be submitted in person, or by post, or in any other appropriate form, to Ministry of Transport;

b) If the application is submitted in person and adequate, Ministry of Transport shall give a note of application receipt and appointment to return application processing result within the prescribed period. If the application is inadequate, it shall be immediately returned to the applicant that shall be also provided with specific instructions for completing the application;

c) If the application is submitted by post, or in any other appropriate form, and is inadequate, Ministry of Transport shall, within 02 working days from the receipt of the application, send a written request for modification of the application which clearly indicates reasons for modification to the applicant;

d) Within 02 working days from the receipt of a valid and adequate application, Ministry of Transport shall send written request to ask for opinions of Ministry of National Defence and Ministry of Public Security;

dd) Ministry of National Defence and Ministry of Public Security must give their opinions in writing within 05 working days from their receipt of the request from the Ministry of Transport. Over the said time-limit, if Ministry of National Defence and Ministry of Public Security do not give any written response, they shall be considered to have approved of contents specified in the written request for opinions sent by Ministry of Transport.

e) Within 05 working days from the receipt of written opinions given by Ministry of National Defence and Ministry of Public Security, Ministry of Transport shall issue a license to import marine flares using Form No. 02 in the Appendix enclosed herewith; if the application is refused, Ministry of Transport shall give a written response clearly indicating reasons for such refusal.

3. Ministry of Transport shall not grant license to import marine flares whose expiry date is past or those of unclear or unknown origin.

Chapter III

IMPLEMENTATION

Article 24. Effect[27]

1. This Decree comes into force from July 01, 2017; particularly, the regulations on conditions for import of marine flares come into force from July 01, 2016.

2. The following decrees and regulations are abrogated:

a) The Government’s Decree No. 173/2007/ND-CP dated November 28, 2007 providing for maritime pilotage organization and operation;

b) The Government’s Decree No. 49/2011/ND-CP dated June 21, 2011 on amendments to certain articles of the Government’s Decree No. 173/2007/ND-CP dated November 28, 2007 providing for maritime pilotage organization and operation;

c) Ministry of Transport provides regulations on licensing procedures stated in Section II (List of goods imported/exported under license and subject to the specialized management by Ministry of Transport) of Appendix II (List of goods imported/exported under license and subject to the specialized management) enclosed to the Government’s Decree No. 187/2013/ND-CP dated November 20, 2013 elaborating the implementation of the Commercial Law with regard of international trade in goods and agencies' sale, purchase, processing and in transit of goods for foreign parties.

Article 25. Transition

Enterprises that have rendered maritime safety assurance services before the effective date of this Decree may continue their operations but must gain satisfaction of all conditions prescribed in this Decree within 02 years from the date on which this Decree comes into force.

Article 26. Implementation organization

1. Minister of Transport shall be responsible for promulgating regulations, national technical regulations, economic – technical norms in service of provision of maritime safety services; providing guidelines, and presiding over and/or coordinating with relevant ministries/regulatory bodies and people's committees of central-affiliated cities or provinces to implement this Decree.

2. Ministers, heads of ministerial agencies, heads of Governmental agencies and Chairpersons of provincial People’s Committees are responsible for the implementation of this Decree./.

CERTIFIED BY PP. MINISTER DEPUTY MINISTER Nguyen Xuan Sang