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MARITIME TRAFFIC SAFETY LAW OF THE PEOPLE'S REPUBLIC OF CHINA Chapter I General Provisions Article 1This law is formulated in order to strengthen the control of maritime traffic; ensure the safety of vessels, installations, human life and property; and safeguard the rights and interests of the state. Article 2This Law shall apply to all vessels, installations and personnel and to the owners and managers of such vessels and installations that navigate ,berth or operate in the coastal waters of the People's Republic of China. Article 3 The harbour superintendence
agencies of the People's Republic of China shall be the competent
authorities responsible for the unified supervision and administration of
traffic safety in the coastal waters. Chapter II Inspection and Registration of Vessels Article 4 Vessels and their major equipment relating to navigation safety must have valid technical certificates issued by vessel inspection departments. Article 5A vessel must have a
certificates showing its nationality, a vessel registry certificate or a
vessel licence. Chapter III Personnel on Vessels and Installations Article 6Vessels shall be manned with qualified crew members according to a standard quota to ensure the vessels' safety. Article 7The captain, chief engineer, pilot, engineers, radio and telephone operators and similar personnel on board seaplanes or submersibles must hold valid job certificates. All other crew members must under go specialized technical training required for their work. Article 8In accordance with state provisions, all installations shall be provided with personnel who have mastered the techniques of collision avoidance, signalling, communications, fire control, life-saving and other operations. Article 9All personnel on vessels
and installations must observe relevant rules and regulations concerning
maritime traffic safety, follow the operating rules and ensure the safety
of the vessels and installations in navigation, berthing and
operations. Chapter IV Navigation, Berthing and Operations Article 10While navigating, berthing or carrying out operation s, vessels and installations must abide by the relevant laws, administrative statutes and rules and regulations of the People's Republic of China. Article 11Non-military vessels of foreign nationality may not enter the internal waters and harbours of the People's Republic of China without the approval of its competent authorities. However, under unexpected circumstances such as critical illness of personnel, engine breakdown or the vessels being in distress or seeking shelter from weather when they do not have the time to obtain approval, they may, while entering China's internal waters of harbour, make an emergency report to the competent authorities and shall obey its directions. Military vessels of foreign nationality may not enter the territorial waters of the People's Republic of China without the approval of the Government of the People's Republic of China. Article 12Vessels sailing on international routes that enter and leave the harbours of the People's Republic of China must accept inspection by the competent authorities. Vessels of Chinese nationality sailing on domestic routes that enter and leave such harbours must obtain port entry and departure visas. Article 13Vessels of foreign nationality entering and leaving a harbour of the People's Republic of China, navigating or shifting berths in the harbour area, or approaching or leaving mooring points or loading spots outside the harbour must be navigated by a pilot designated by the competent authorities. Article 14When entering or leaving harbours or passing through controlled traffic areas, crowded navigable areas or areas where navigational conditions are restricted, vessels must observe the special regulations promulgated by the Government of the People's Republic of China or by the competent authorities. Article 15Vessels shall be prohibited from entering or passing through restricted navigation zones unless specially permitted by the competent authorities. Article 16Towing operations on the open sea involving large-sized installations and mobile platforms must undergo towing inspection conducted by vessel in spection departments and be reported to the competent authorities for examination and approval. Article 17If the competent authorities finds the actual condition of a vessel to be not in conformity with what is stated in the vessel's certificates, it shall have the right to require the vessel to apply for a new inspection or notify its owner or manager to adopt effective safety measures. Article 18If the competent authorities believes that a vessel presents a menace tot he safety of a harbour, it shall have the right to forbid the vessel from entering the harbour or to order it to leave the harbour. Article 19The competent authorities shall have the right to forbid a vessel or aninstallation from leaving the harbour or order it to suspend its voyage,change its route or cease its operations under any one of the followingcircumstances: (1) if it violates any law, administrative statute or other rule orregulation of the People's Republic of China;(2) if it is in a condition unsuitable for navigation or towing;(3) if it was involved in a traffic accident and has not completed th enecessary formalities;(4) if it has not paid the fees that are due or furnished appropriate security to the competent authorities or the department concerned: or(5) if the competent authorities considers that there are other circumstances that will jeopardize or might jeopardize maritime traffic safety . 【章名】 Chapter V Safety ProtectionArticle 20Construction operations to be carried out on the surface or underwater incoa stal waters and the demarcation of corresponding safe operation zonesmust be reported to the competent authorities for examina tion and approvaland must be publicly announced. Vessels not in volved in the constructionproject may not enter the safe operat ion zones. The construction unit maynot enlarge such zones with out authorization. When shore lines are to beused in harbour areas or when construction work, including overheadoperati ons, is to be carried out on the sea surface or underwater in s uchareas, the plan and a drawing thereof must be submitted to t he competentauthorities for examination and approval.Article 21 The designation of restricted navigation zones in coastal waters must beapproved by the State Council or the competent authori ties. However, thedesignation of restricted navigation zones f or military purposes shall beapproved by the competent departme nt of the state in charge of militaryaffairs.The restricted n avigation zones shall be announced by the competentauthor ities.Article 22Without the approval of the competent authoritie s, no installations may beestablished or constructed, nor ma y any activities that hindernavigational safety be ca rried out in harbour areas, anchorages,navigation lanes, or crowded navigable areas, as well as in navigationroutes a nnounced by the competent authorities.With respect to any in stallations which have been established orconstructed in the above-mentioned areas without authorization, thecompet ent authorities shall have the right to order their owners to re moveor dismantle the installations within a given period of time .Article 23It shall be forbidden to damage navigation aid s or navigationalfacilities. Whoever has damaged navigation aids or navigational facilitiesshall immediately report the dama ge to the competent authorities and beliable for compensation .Article 24Vessels and installations shall promptly make a repor t to the competentauthorities if they discover any of the fol lowing situations:(1) If navigation aids or navigational facilit ies malfunction or becomeabnormal;(2) if an obstacle or drifting object jeopardizing the safety ofnavigation is dis covered; or(3) if there are other abnormal situations jeopardi zing the safety ofnavigation.Article 25No obstacle affecting the efficacy of navigation aids may be erected orinstalled in areas surrounding the aids. Any lights in the vicinity of thena vigation aids or navigational lanes that jeopardize navigation safetyshall be properly screened.Article 26When removing or di smantling installations, salvaging or removing sunkenships or objects, and handling the finishing operations of underwate rprojects, no hidden dangers shall be left to menace navig ational oroperational safety. Before the aforesaid operations have been properlycompleted, their owners or managers must be responsible for erectingmarkers as required and making an accurate report to the competentauthority on the type, shape, size and location of the obstacle and thedepth of wate r over it.Article 27Safety administration must be strengthen ed with respect to harbourwharves, mooring points and loadin g spots outside of harbour areas as wellas ship locks, so that t hey are always kept in good condition.Article 28To meet the re quirements of maritime traffic safety, the competentauthor ity shall fix and adjust traffic control areas and har bouranchorages. The designation of anchorages outside of harbour areas shallbe announced by the competent authority after the report relative theretohas been submitted to and approved by hi gher authorities.Article 29The competent authorities shall, in a ccordance with relevant provisions ofthe state, be responsibl e for issuing navigational warnings andnavigational noti ces.Article 30In order to ensure the safety of navigation, berth ing and operations, thedepartments concerned shall maintain uni mpeded communications facilities,ensure distinct and effective navigation aids and navigational facilitiesand, in a timely man ner, provide offshore meteorological forecasts andnecessary books and reference materials concerning maritime navigation.Art icle 31When vessels and installations are involved in accidents that jeopardizeor may jeopardize traffic safety, the competent authorities shall have theright to take necessary, compulsory m easures to deal with the matter. 【章名】 Chapter VI Transport of Dangerous GoodsArticle 32W hen vessels or installations store, load, unload or transport dangerousgoods, they must maintain safe and reliable equipment a nd conditions andobserve the state provisions governing the control and transport ofdangerous goods.Article 33When vess els load and transport dangerous goods, they must go through th eprocedures for declaration to the competent authorities and the y may notenter or leave the harbour or load or unload until approval has beenobtained. 【章名】 Chapter VII Rescue from Disasters at SeaArticle 34 When vessels, installations or aircraft are in distress, they shall, inaddition to issuing distress signals calling for help, use the quickestmethod possible to report to the competent a uthorities the time and placeof the accident, the extent of dam age, the assistance required and thecause of the accident.Ar ticle 35Vessels, installations or aircraft in distress and their owners or mangersshall take all effective measures to organize their own rescue efforts.Article 36When vessels or installations in the vicinity of the scene of an accidentreceive a distress signal or discover that people's lives are endangered,they shal l do their best to rescue the people in distress insofar as thei rown safety is not seriously endangered, and promptly repo rt to thecompetent authorities the situation at the scene, the ir own names, callnumbers and positions.Article 37Vessels or installations involved in a collision shall exchange theirn ames, nationalities and ports of registry and do their best t o rescuepersonnel in distress. The vessels involved may not le ave the scene ofthe accident without authorization, insofar a s their own safety is notseriously endangered.Article 38Upon receiving a request for rescue, the competent authorities shallimmediately organize a rescue operation. All units concern ed and vesselsor installations in the vicinity of the scene mu st act under the orders ofthe competent authorities.Article 39Wh en a foreign country intends to dispatch vessels or aircraft i nto theterritorial waters or the airspace over the territoria l waters of thePeople's Republic of China to search for and r escue vessels or people indistress, it must obtain the approva l of the competent [Chinese]authorities. 【章名】 Chapter VIII Salvage and Removal of Sunken and Dri fting ObjectsArticle 40With respect to sunken or drifting object s that may affect the safety ofnavigation and the management of navigation lanes, as well as thoseconstituting a threat of explosion, the owners or managers thereof shallsalvage and remove such objects within a deadline set by the competenta uthorities. Otherwise, the competent authorities shall have the right totake measures to compel the salvage and removal of the objects, and theirowners or managers shall bear all the expense s incurred thereby.The provisions of this Article shall not pr ejudice the rights of theowners or managers of the sunk en or drifting objects to demandcompensation from third p arties.Article 41No sunken vessels or sunken objects in the coas tal waters may be salvagedor dismantled without the approval of the competent authorities. 【章名】 Chapter IX Investigation and Handling of Traffic A ccidentsArticle 42Any vessel or installation involved in a traff ic accident shall submit awritten accident report and rela tive materials to the competentauthorities and accept its investigation and handling of the accident.While being investig ated by the competent authorities the parties involvedin the acc ident and relevant personnel must give a truthful account of circumstances at the scene of the accident and other relevant in formation.Article 43In the event of a traffic accident that invo lves a vessel or installation,the competent authorities shall as certain the cause of the accident andfix the responsibility f or it. 【章名】 Chapter X Legal LiabilityArticle 44The competent a uthorities shall, in the light of the circumstances, imposeone o r more of the following penalties on anyone who violates this La w:(1) warnings;(2) withholding or revoking work certificates; or (3) fines.Article 45If a party does not accept the penalty of a fine or revocation of his workcertificate imposed by the compete nt authorities, he may bring suit in apeople's court within 15 days after receiving notification of the penalty.If he neither brings suit nor complies with the penalty upon theexpi ration of that period, the competent authorities shall r equestcompulsory enforcement from the people's court.Article 46A civil dispute arising from a maritime traffic accident may be settledthrough mediation by the competent authorities. If the parties areunwilling to have the case mediated or if the mediation is unsuccessful,the parties may bring suit in the people's court. Parties to a caseinvolving foreign interes ts may also submit the case to an arbitrationagency for medi ation, in accordance with the written agreement concludedbetwe en them. Article 47Those whose violation of this Law constitutes a crime shall be investigated for their criminal responsibility by judicial organs in accordance with the Law. Chapter XI Special Provisions Article 48Within the waters
of fishing harbours, the state fisheries administration and fishing
harbour superintendence agencies shall exercise the functions
and powers of the competent authorities as provided in this
Law, be ingresponsible for the supervision and administration of traffic
safety and for the investigation and handling of
traffic accidents between fishingvessels in coastal waters. Concrete
measures for implementation shall be separately pres cribed
by the State Council.Article 49The internal administration of offshore
military jurisdictional areas and military vessels and
installations, the administration of surface and underwater operations
carried out for military purposes, and the
inspection and registration of public security vessels, the provision
of their personnel and the issuing of their port entry and departure visa
sshall be separately prescribed by the re levant
competent departments ofthe state in accordance with this Law. Chapter XII Supplementary Provisions Article 50Forthe purpose of this Law, the definitions of the following terms are: "Coastal waters" means the harbours, inland waters, territorial waters and all other sea areas under the jurisdiction of the state along the sea coast of the People's Republic of China. "Vessels" means all types of displacement or non-displacement ships, rafts, seaplanes, submersibles and mobile platforms. "Installations" means all types of surface and underwater structures or installations, whether fixed or floating, and fixed platforms. "Operations" means investigations, exploration, exploitation, survey construction, dredging, demolition, rescue, salvage, towing, fishing, aquatic breeding, loading and unloading, scientific experimentation and other surface and underwater operations. Article 51The competent department of the State Council shall, on the basis of this Law, formulate rules for its implementation, which shall go into effect after being submitted to and approved by the State Council. Article 52In cases of conflict between laws and regulations pertaining to maritime traffic safety hitherto promulgated and this Law, this Law shall prevail. Article 53This Law shall go into effect on January 1, 1984. |
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