Clarification of the Maritime Legal Status of River-Sea-Going Vessels on Specific Routes—A Major Perspective of Maritime Administrative Law
The river-sea-going vessels on specific routes(RSVSRs)are large and fat vessels with shallow draft which are different from conventional sea-going vessels(SGVs)and the inland waterway vessels(IWVs).They meet the specific construction and inspection technical specifications promulgated by the Ministry of Transport of the People's Republic of China(MOT),navigate between ports of inland waterways and specific sea ports,and are suitable for the safe maneuverability within the river-sea environments and have a more economical cargo capacity a-gainst costs,more energy-efficient and environmentally friendly in ship design and power generation,and are,com-pared with the SGVs sailing along the river to and fro,more suitable for providing comprehensive river-sea inter-modal transportation services.With respect to the RSVSRs,the prima facie attitude of the MOT is to differentiate the RSVSRs from the SGVs and the IWVs particularly in terms of maritime administrative licensing behaviors such as construction inspections of the vessels and regular inspections thereof.Compared to the SGVs and the IWVs,the MOT has promulgated a set of independent directions and standards for vessel design,construction,inspection,and operation,which in turn demonstrates the independent legal status of the RSVSRs in this realm.In terms of qualifi-cations for crew members working in the RSVSRs,the MOT does not provide specific certificates of competency therefor.Instead,it adopts the traditional binary systems of crew members for the SGVs and the IWVs respectively,and solves the problem of qualifications through downward integration and upward upgrading,which means that crews originally holding either certificates of competency for seafarers or those for crews of the IWVs can be quali-fied for working in RSVSRs only if extra trainings related thereto have been fulfilled and a driving qualification testi-monial thus issued.This reflects the limited independence of legal status of the RSVSRs in terms of crew qualifica-tion granting.However,in the vast majority of other maritime administration areas,including prevention of pollution from vessels,safety management for vessel traffic,and diversified maritime administrative penalties within the wide range of maritime administration activities,the RSVSRs do not have independent maritime legal status.Lack of in-dependent legal status of the RSVSRs definitely brings difficulties in maritime administrations and the application of laws in maritime dispute resolutions.It is,therefore,necessary to clarify the maritime legal status of the RSVSRs under the"dual-track"maritime legal system of China.Considering that the design,construction,and operation of the RSVSRs are more oriented towards the marine environment and risks,and more integrated with the factors of SGVs,and in response to the structural reform of the supply side of water transportation,the navigation areas of RSVSRs tend to be extended to coastal and even offshore waters,and that the approach of following SGVs by RS-VSRs is conducive to attracting more social capitals and human resources to be invested into the construction and operation of RSVSRs,it is a reasonable choice to regulate the relationships concerning RSVSRs in reference to the laws,rules and regulations of SGVs.Furthermore,in maritime disputes,maritime legal norms related to vessel col-lisions,maritime compensation liability limitations,and maritime liens shall be applied to RSVSRs,clarifying the rights and obligations of the relevant parties thereto,and ultimately helping to build a safe,efficient,and green riv-er-sea direct transportation system before 2030.
river-sea-going vessels on specific routesmaritime administrative lawlegal statuslegal application
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