Maritime Traffic Safety Law of the People's Republic of China (2021 Revision)

Maritime Traffic Safety Law of the People's Republic of China (2021 Revision) 中华人民共和国海上交通安全法(2021修订) Order of the President of the People's Republic of China (No. 79) The Maritime Traffic Safety Law of the People's Republic of China, as revised and adopted at the 28th session of the Standing Committee of the Thirteenth National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China on April 29, 2021, is hereby issued, and shall come into force on September 1, 2021. Xi Jinping, President of the People's Republic of China April 29, 2021 Maritime Traffic Safety Law of the People's Republic of China (Adopted at the Second Session of the Standing Committee of the Sixth National People's Congress on September 2, 1983; amended in accordance with the Decision of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress on Amending Twelve Laws Including the Foreign Trade Law of the People's Republic of China at the 24th Session of the Standing Committee of the Twelfth National People's Congress on November 7, 2016; and revised at the 28th session of the Standing Committee of the Thirteenth National People's Congress on April 29, 2021) Contents Chapter I General Provisions Chapter II Vessels, Offshore Installations and Crews Chapter III Maritime Traffic Conditions and Navigation Safeguards Chapter IV Navigation, Berthing and Operations Chapter V Safety of Maritime Passenger and Cargo Transportation Chapter VI Maritime Search and Rescue Chapter VII Investigation and Handling of Maritime Traffic Accidents Chapter VIII Supervision and Administration Chapter IX Legal Liability Chapter X Supplemental Provisions Chapter I General Provisions Article 1 This Law is developed for the purposes of strengthening maritime traffic management, maintaining the maritime traffic order, ensuring the safety of life and property, and safeguarding the rights and interests of the state. Article 2 This Law shall apply to the navigation, berthing, operations and other activities relevant to the maritime traffic safety in the sea areas within the jurisdiction of the People's Republic of China (hereinafter referred to as “China”). Article 3 The state shall guarantee the use of sea for traffic in accordance with the law. The maritime traffic safety work shall be completed under the principles of safety first, prevention first, convenient traffic, and legal management to ensure the safety, order, and smoothness of maritime traffic. Article 4 The transport department under the State Council shall be in charge of the maritime traffic safety work across the country. The maritime safety administration of the state shall be uniformly responsible for the supervision and administration of maritime traffic safety, and other maritime safety administrations at all levels shall, according to their functions and duties, be specifically responsible for the supervision and administration of maritime traffic safety within their jurisdictions. Article 5 The people's governments at all levels and relevant departments shall support the maritime traffic safety work, strengthen the publicity and education of maritime traffic safety, and raise the awareness of maritime traffic safety in the whole society. Article 6 The state shall protect the labor safety and occupational health of crews in accordance with the law, and safeguard the lawful rights and interests of crews. Article 7 Entities and individuals that carry out navigation, berthing, operations, and other maritime traffic-related activities of vessels and offshore installations shall comply with the laws, administrative regulations, rules, mandatory standards and technical specifications concerning maritime traffic safety; and be entitled to the right to navigation support and maritime rescue according to the law, and perform the obligations of maintaining maritime traffic safety and protecting the marine ecology and environment. Article 8 The state shall encourage and support the application of advanced science and technology in maritime traffic safety, promote the modernization construction of maritime traffic safety, and improve the scientific and technological level of maritime traffic safety. Chapter II Vessels, Offshore Installations and Crews Article 9 Vessels of Chinese nationality, offshore installations and shipping containers installed in the waters within the jurisdictions of China, and major maritime equipment, parts and materials related to maritime traffic safety determined by the maritime safety administration of the state shall comply with the applicable laws and administrative regulations, rules, as well as the requirements of mandatory standards and technical specifications, pass the inspections of vessel survey institutions, and obtain the corresponding certificates and documents. The list of certificates and documents shall be developed and announced by the maritime safety administration of the state. The formation of a vessel survey institution shall be subject to approval by the maritime safety administration of the state. The formation conditions and procedures for and the management of vessel survey institutions shall be governed by the laws and administrative regulations on vessel inspection. Entities holding relevant certificates and documents shall use vessels, offshore installations, shipping containers, and important maritime equipment, parts and materials for the prescribed purposes, and conduct technical safety inspection on a regular basis in accordance with the law. Article 10 A vessel may not navigate, berth, and carry out operations under the flag of China until it has applied to the maritime safety administration for vessel nationality registration and obtained a nationality certificate in accordance with the applicable laws and administrative regulations on vessel registration. Where a vessel of Chinese nationality is lost or scrapped, the vessel owner shall apply for cancellation of nationality registration within the time limit prescribed by the transport department under the State Council; and where a vessel owner fails to apply for cancellation of nationality registration within the prescribed time limit, the maritime safety administration may issue an announcement on proposed mandatory cancellation of nationality registration of vessels. Where a vessel owner fails to raise an objection within 60 days from the date of issuance of the announcement, the maritime safety administration may cancel the nationality registration of the vessel. Article 11 The owner, operator or manager of a vessel of Chinese nationality shall establish and run a management system for safe operation and prevention and control of vessel pollution. The maritime safety administration shall issue a compliance certificate and a corresponding vessel safety management certificate, if the management system as prescribed in the preceding paragraph has passed the examination. Article 12 The owner, operator or manager of a vessel of Chinese nationality sailing on international routes shall, according to the provisions of the transport department under the State Council, establish a vessel security system, develop security plan for vessels, be equipped with vessel security equipment according to the security plan for vessels, and carry out drills on a regular basis. Article 13 Chinese crew members and staff members working on offshore installations shall receive professional education and training on maritime traffic safety and corresponding positions. A Chinese crew member shall, according to the provisions of the laws and administrative regulations on the management of crews, apply to the maritime safety administration for a certificate of competency and obtain a health certificate. A foreign crew member working on a vessel of Chinese nationality shall be governed by the laws and administrative regulations on the management of crews. A crew member working on a vessel shall comply with the scope of the vessel, navigation area, and duties specified in his certificate of competency. Article 14 The owner, operator or manager of a vessel of Chinese nationality shall apply to the maritime safety administration for a maritime labor certificate for its international voyage vessel. To obtain a maritime labor certificate, a vessel shall meet the following conditions: (1) The owner, operator or manager shall recruit crew members in accordance with the law, enter into labor contracts or employment agreements with them, and appoint crew members that satisfy the requirements for the vessel. (2) The owner, operator or manager has ensured that the working environment, occupational health protection and safety protection, work and rest time, wages, living conditions, medical conditions, and social insurance, among others, of the crew on the vessel comply with the relevant provisions of the state. (3) The owner, operator or manager has established a complaint filing and handling mechanism for the crew which satisfies the requirements. (4) The owner, operator or manager has provided corresponding financial guarantee or purchased corresponding insurance for the expenses for repatriation of crew members and the expenses to be paid according to the law for injuries, illness or deaths of crew members during the period of employment on the vessel. The maritime safety administration shall, upon consultation with the administrative department of human resources and social security, and according to their respective duties, examine whether the applicant and its vessel meet the conditions as prescribed in the preceding paragraph. Where the prescribed conditions are met upon examination, the maritime safety administration shall, within 10 working days from the date of acceptance of the application, issue a maritime labor certificate; and where the conditions are not met, the maritime safety administration shall notify the applicant and explain the reasons. The specific measures for the issuance of maritime labor certificates and for the supervision and inspection shall be developed and issued by the transport department under the State Council, in conjunction with the administrative department of human resources and social security under the State Council. Article 15 The maritime safety administration shall, in accordance with the provisions of the laws and administrative regulations on the management of crews, manage entities' training for crews of seagoing vessels. Article 16 The transport department under the State Council, and other relevant departments, and relevant local people's governments at or above the county level shall establish and improve the early warning and emergency response mechanisms for overseas emergencies of crews, and develop contingency plans for overseas emergencies of crews. The emergency response of overseas emergencies of crews shall be in the charge of the people's governments of the provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government at the places where the entities dispatching crew members are located, and the people's governments of the provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government at the places of crew members' permanent household residence shall provide cooperation. The embassies and consulates of China in foreign countries and relevant maritime safety administrations shall assist in handling overseas emergencies of crews. Article 17 The scope of vessels to which the provisions of Articles 9 to 12 and Article 14 of this Chapter apply shall be specified by the applicable laws and administrative regulations, or shall be drafted by the transport department under the State Council, and be announced after being reported to the State Council for approval. Chapter III Maritime Traffic Conditions and Navigation Safeguards Article 18 The transport department under the State Council shall make overall plans for and manage maritime traffic resources, and promote the rational development and effective utilization of maritime traffic resources. The planning of maritime traffic resources shall comply with the national land space planning. Article 19 The maritime safety administration shall, on the basis of the natural conditions of the sea areas, the maritime traffic conditions and the needs of maritime traffic safety management, demarcate, adjust and promptly announce the vessel alignment areas, vessel reporting areas, traffic control areas, restricted navigation areas, safe operation areas, roadsteads, and other maritime traffic functional areas. To demarcate or adjust vessel alignment areas, roadsteads, and safe operation areas that affect other maritime functional areas or sea-use activities, the maritime safety administration shall seek the opinions of relevant departments such as fishery, ecology and environment, and natural resources. To demarcate or adjust restricted navigation zones for military purposes, the military authorities in charge of demarcating and adjusting restricted navigation zones shall make a decision, and the maritime safety administration shall make an announcement. Article 20 Where the construction of a maritime or coastal project affects maritime traffic safety, facilities and equipment for preventing collisions of vessels shall be provided according to the situation, and special aids to navigation shall be set. Article 21 The state shall establish and improve the vessel positioning, navigation, timing, communication, remote monitoring and other maritime traffic support service systems to provide information services for vessels and offshore installations. Article 22 No entity or individual may damage any maritime traffic support service system or hinder its work efficiency. Where the construction of buildings and structures, or the use of facilities and equipment may affect the normal use of the maritime traffic support service system, the construction employer, owner or user thereof shall negotiate with the management entity of the relevant maritime traffic support service system to make appropriate arrangements. Article 23 The transport department under the State Council shall take necessary measures to ensure the rational layout and effective coverage of radio communication facilities for maritime traffic safety, plan the construction layout and sites of maritime radio stations in its system (industry), and verify and issue standard radio station licenses and radio station identification codes of vessels. The transport department under the State Council shall organize the construction of the maritime radio monitoring system in its system (industry) and monitor its radio signals, and maintain the order of maritime radio waves in conjunction with the radio regulatory authority of the state. Article 24 A vessel that needs to use shore-based radio stations to transfer communications in the sea areas within the jurisdiction of China shall conduct transfer through domestic coastal radio stations or satellite gateway stations established in accordance with the law. Crew members assuming radio communication tasks and staff members of shore-based radio stations shall comply with the maritime radio communication rules, and keep watch on and maintain smoothness of the maritime traffic safety communication channels, and shall not use the maritime traffic safety communication frequency to exchange contents irrelevant to maritime traffic safety. No entity or individual may use the radio station identification code in violation of the relevant provisions issued by the state to affect identification in maritime search and rescue. Article 25 Relevant entities of astronomy, meteorology, and ocean shall forecast, broadcast and provide information on nautical astronomy, universal time, maritime meteorology, ocean waves, ocean currents, tides, and ice conditions, among others, in a timely manner. Article 26 The transport department under the State Council shall unify the layout, construction and management of public aids to navigation. A construction employer, owner or operator of a maritime or coastal project that needs to install or remove special aids to navigation, move the position of special aids to navigation, or change the lights and power of the aids to navigation shall report to the maritime safety administration for approval. Where temporary aids to navigation need to be set, they shall be set at the setting points of aids to navigation determined by the maritime safety administration. The departments of natural resources shall ensure the use of land, sea and island by navigation aid facilities and installations in accordance with the law, and handle the relevant formalities in accordance with the law. The construction, maintenance and preservation of aids to navigation shall satisfy the requirements of relevant mandatory standards and technical specifications. The maintenance entities of aids to navigation and owners of special aids to navigation shall inspect, maintain, and preserve the aids to navigation to ensure that the aids to navigation are in good condition. Where an aid to navigation is displaced, damaged or lost, the maintenance entity of aids to navigation or the owner of special aids to navigation shall restore it in a timely manner. Article 27 Any entity or individual finding any of the following circumstances shall immediately report to the maritime safety administration; and where the duties of the channel management institution or special aids to navigation are involved, the maritime safety administration shall notify the channel management institution or owners of special aids to navigation in a timely manner: (1) Aids to navigation or navigation facilities are displaced, damaged, or lost. (2) There are sunken objects, floating objects, stranded objects or other obstructions that hinder the maritime traffic safety. (3) Other abnormal conditions that hinder maritime traffic safety. Article 28 The maritime safety administration shall, on the basis of the needs of maritime traffic safety management, issue navigational warnings of urgent and dangerous situations, and issue navigational notices of other situations that affect the maritime traffic safety. The maritime safety administration shall notify the naval navigation assurance department of navigational warnings, navigational notices, and the demarcation of and adjustment to vessel alignment areas, and provide relevant information in a timely manner. Article 29 The maritime safety administration shall broadcast maritime traffic safety information to vessels and offshore installations in a timely manner. When vessels and offshore installations are navigating, berthing, or carrying out operations in alignment areas, traffic control areas, or areas with dense navigable vessels, the maritime safety administration shall provide corresponding safety information services upon request. Article 30 The following vessels navigating, berthing or shifting berths in the pilotage zones demarcated by the transport department under the State Council shall apply to the pilotage institutions for pilotage: (1) Vessels of foreign nationality, excluding those can be exempted as prescribed by the transport department under the State Council after being reported to the State Council for approval. (2) Nuclear-powered vessels, vessels carrying radioactive materials, and ultra-large oil tankers. (3) Vessels carrying bulk liquefied gas and bulk hazardous chemicals that may endanger port safety. (4) Vessels whose length, width, and height are close to the limits as prescribed in the navigation conditions of corresponding channels. The specific standards for vessels in subparagraphs (3) and (4) of the preceding paragraph shall be developed and announced by the relevant maritime safety administration in light of the actual conditions of ports. Where a vessel voluntarily applies for pilotage, the pilotage institution shall provide pilotage services. Article 31 The pilotage institution shall designate pilots with corresponding capabilities and experience in a timely manner to provide pilotage services for vessels. A pilot shall, as designated by the pilotage institution, embark on and disembark from the vessel piloted in the prescribed waters, and implement the vessel piloting tasks safely and cautiously. A vessel piloted shall be equipped with an embarking and disembarking device that comply with the provisions, and ensure the safety of the pilot during the period of embarking on and disembarking from the vessel and during piloting period on board. When a pilot pilots a vessel, the master shall not be relieved of the responsibility of commanding and managing the vessel. Article 32 The transport department under the State Council shall, on the basis of the security threats faced by vessels, offshore installations and ports, determine and issue the security level in a timely manner. Vessels, offshore installations and ports shall adopt corresponding security measures on the basis of the security level. Chapter IV Navigation, Berthing and Operations Article 33 To navigate, berth, and carry out operations, a vessel shall hold a valid nationality certificate and other statutory certificates and documents, be equipped with navigational books and materials published in accordance with relevant provisions, fly the flag of the relevant country, region or organization, and indicate its name, identification number, port of registry, and load line mark. A vessel shall satisfy the requirements for minimum safe manning and be manned with crew members who hold valid certificates of qualification. To berth or carry out operations, offshore installations shall hold statutory certificates and documents, and be manned with personnel who have mastered the professional skills of collision avoidance, signaling, communication, fire fighting, and lifesaving, among others. Article 34 A master shall inspect the vessel before sailing and confirm at the time of sailing the competency of the crew, the seaworthiness of the vessel, and the cargo worthiness, understand the weather and sea conditions, as well as the navigational notices, navigational warnings and other warning information issued by the maritime safety administration, and implement corresponding emergency measures, and shall not risk sailing. The owner, operator or manager of a vessel shall not instruct or force the crew to carry out operations at risk in violation of regulations. Article 35 A vessel shall navigate, berth, and carry out operations within the navigation areas specified in its vessel inspection certificate. When navigating, berthing, and carrying out operations, a vessel shall comply with the relevant navigation rules, display signals and hang signs up in accordance with relevant provisions, and maintain sufficient surplus water depth. Article 36 A vessel shall, in accordance with relevant provisions, turn on its automatic identification, voyage data recording, remote identification and tracking, communication and other devices related to navigation safety, security, and pollution prevention while navigating, and continuously display and record them. No entity or individual may unpack, disassemble, initialize, or reset voyage data recording devices or read the information recorded by them, unless as otherwise prescribed by laws and administrative regulations. Article 37 A vessel shall be equipped with navigation logs, engine logs, radio logs and other navigational records, to comprehensively, truthfully and promptly record the operation of the vessel involving maritime traffic safety and important events in the course of navigation, berthing, and operations in accordance with relevant provisions, and keep the relevant record books appropriately. Article 38 A master shall be responsible for the management and command of the vessel. A master shall have the right to make independent decisions on the protection of life safety at sea, vessel security, and prevention and control of vessel pollution. A master shall take necessary measures to protect the safety of vessel, personnel on board, navigation documents of the vessel, cargo and other property. Orders issued by a master within the scope of his functions shall be implemented by the crew, passengers and other persons on board. Article 39 To protect the safety of a vessel and personnel on board, the master shall have the right to impose confinement or other necessary restrictive measures upon persons suspected of carrying out illegal and criminal activities on board within the scope of his functions, and prevent them from hiding, destroying, and falsifying evidence. To adopt the measures as prescribed in the preceding paragraph, the master shall prepare a case report to which two or more persons on board shall affix signatures. After a vessel of Chinese nationality arrives at a port in China, the relevant persons against whom the aforesaid measures are taken shall be transferred to the relevant competent department in a timely manner. Article 40 Where a person on board suffers or is suspected of suffering from an infectious disease that seriously threatens the health of others, the master shall immediately launch the corresponding contingency plan, take necessary isolation measures against the relevant persons within the scope of his functions, and report to the relevant competent department in a timely manner. Article 41 Where a master dies during the voyage or is unable to perform duties for some reasons, the person with the highest position among the officers shall temporarily serve as the master; and before sailing from the next port, the owner, operator or manager of the vessel shall appoint a new master. Article 42 Crew members shall,......