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Law No. 224 Of 23 April 2002

Original Language Title:  LEGE nr. 224 din 23 aprilie 2002

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LEGE no. 224 224 of 23 April 2002 for approval Government Ordinance no. 38/2000 on the implementation of international standards for ship safety, the prevention of pollution and the provision of working conditions and life on board seagoing vessels using Romanian ports or sailing in national waters
ISSUER PARLIAMENT
Published in OFFICIAL MONITOR no. 312 312 of 13 May 2002



The Romanian Parliament adopts this law + Article 1 Approval Government Ordinance no. 38 38 of 30 January 2000 on the implementation of international standards for ship safety, the prevention of pollution and the provision of working conditions and life on board seagoing vessels using Romanian ports or sailing in national waters, published in the Official Gazette of Romania, Part I, no. 41 of 31 January 2000, with the following amendments and additions: 1. The title of the ordinance shall read as follows: " ORDINANCE on the implementation of international standards for ship safety, the prevention of pollution and the provision of working conditions and life on board foreign-flagged maritime vessels using the Romanian ports or installations at ease the sea, operating on or above the Romanian continental shelf " 2. In Article 1, letter a) shall read as follows: " a) the implementation of international standards for ship safety, the prevention of pollution and the provision of working conditions and life on board foreign-flagged vessels using Romanian ports or Romanian installations in the high seas, which operate on or above the Romanian continental shelf in order to reduce the operating cases of substandard maritime vessels; " 3. Article 1 shall be inserted after Article 1 with the following contents: "" Art. 1 1 ^ 1. -The control activity of the port state-PSC is an obligation of the Romanian Government, which derives from the Solas 74 International Convention and is organized within the Ministry of Public Works, Transport and Housing. " 4. In Article 2, points 2, 3, 6 and 8-14 shall read as follows: " 2. competent authority-Ministry of Public Works, Transport and Housing, as specialized body of the central public administration and acting as state authority in the field of maritime transport; 3 3. statutory certificates-certificates provided for by the applicable conventions, issued by the competent authority of the flag State or by the classification society empowered by the competent authority, containing concrete data and correct, meet the provisions of the conventions and to which the particularities of the ship, its crew and equipment ......................................................................... 6. inspection-verification on board a vessel of the validity of the statutory certificates of the necessary documents, the condition of the ship, its equipment and its crew, as well as the living and working conditions of the crew; .......................................................................... 8. inspector PSC-natural person authorized by the Ministry of Public Works, Transport and Housing to carry out inspections within the control of the port state-PSC and who undertake their responsibility before the competent authority; 9. Romanian installations on the high seas-fixed or mobile installations operating on or above the Romanian continental shelf; 10. the ship-any maritime vessel to which one or more of the applicable conventions applies and flying the flag of a foreign country; 11. substandard ship-the ship whose body, machinery, equipment or operational safety are substantially below the standards required by applicable conventions or whose crew is not in accordance with the minimum crew document of safety on board; 12. classification society-a company empowered by the competent authority of the flag State to issue the statutory certificates, provided for by the applicable conventions, to vessels flying its flag; 13. restraint-the measure taken by the competent authority when the condition of the ship or its crew does not substantially correspond to the provisions of the applicable conventions, whether or not this measure affects the normal schedule of the ship; 14. to stop operations-the ban on a ship to operate due to the deficiencies found which, in part or in full, would print a character of dangerousness for the ship, for ports or for Romanian installations on the high seas. " 5. In Article 2, the introductory part of point 4 shall read as follows: "" 4. applicable conventions: " 6. In Article 3 (1), points a) and b) shall read as follows: " a) make stopovers in a Romanian port or at Romanian installations on the high seas; b) anchors in a Romanian port or at Romanian installations on the high seas. " 7. In Article 3, paragraphs 3 and 4 shall read as follows: "" (3) When carrying out the inspection of a vessel flying the flag of a State which is not a member of one of the applicable conventions, the competent authority must ensure that the treatment of such a vessel and its equipment is not more favourable than that applied to a vessel flying the flag of a Member State to that applicable convention. (. Fishing vessels, military vessels, auxiliary vessels, ships constructed of wood, government vessels operated for non-commercial purposes, and recreational vessels not engaged in trade shall not be subject to the provisions of that ordinance. " 8. Article 4 shall read as follows: "" Art. 4. -The necessary facilities to carry out the control activity of the port state-PSC will be financed from the state budget through the budget of the Ministry of Public Works, Transport and Housing. " 9. In Article 6, paragraphs 1 to 3 shall read as follows: "" Art. 6. -(1) The PSC inspectors will carry out inspections that will consist of a visit on board the ship in order to verify the validity of the statutory certificates and other documents that must exist on board the ship in original, in accordance with the provisions of the the applicable conventions, the status of the vessel, its equipment and crew, and the crew's living and working conditions. (2) If the statutory certificates and the documents referred to in par. (1) are valid and the PSC inspector is satisfied with the general condition of the ship, including that of the machinery compartment and the working and life conditions of the crew and passengers, the inspection will be limited to the reported deficiencies or observed, in case of their existence. (3) When the PSC inspector has reasonable grounds to believe, on the basis of observations made on board, that the condition of the ship, its equipment or crew does not substantially meet the requirements of an applicable convention, a detailed inspection. ' 10. Article 8 shall read as follows: "" Art. 8. -(1) The competent authority must ensure that all deficiencies confirmed or discovered during the inspection are remedied in accordance with the provisions of the applicable conventions. ((. In the case of deficiencies that endanger, objectively, safety, health or the environment, the competent authority, by written note, shall take the measure of the detention of the vessel or of the cessation of operations. The written note on the detention of the ship or the cessation of operations will be communicated immediately to the master of the ship and the representative of the owner or, as the case may The written note on the detention of the ship or the cessation of operations will be withdrawn only when the danger is removed or when the competent authority decides that the ship may leave or that the operations may be terminated without any risk to the safety and health of passengers or crew, without the presence of danger to other vessels or a danger of pollution of the marine environment. (3) In exceptional circumstances, where the general condition of a ship is clearly substandard, the competent authority may suspend its inspection until the master, owner or operator of the vessel or their representatives have take the necessary measures to comply with the relevant provisions of the applicable conventions. ((. Where the competent authority has taken the measure of detention of the vessel, it shall immediately inform, by written note, the Administration of the flag State and its consul, in its absence, the following diplomatic representative of the flag State about all the circumstances in which the ship's detention note was issued. Where necessary, the classification society responsible for issuing the vessel's statutory certificates will also be informed. (5) The provisions of this ordinance will be without prejudice to any additional provisions of the applicable conventions regarding the notification and reporting procedures related to the control of the port state-PSC. (6) In the exercise of the control of the port state-PSC, according to the provisions of this ordinance, the competent authority will do everything possible to avoid the unjustified detention or delay of a If a ship is unduly detained or delayed, the owner or its operator shall be entitled to compensation for any loss or damage suffered. In all of these cases the detention or unjustified delay of the ship shall be the responsibility of the applicant. (7) The authority which has taken the measure of the detention of the vessel or the cessation of operations shall be directly liable if this measure is proved to have been taken unjustifiably ((8) Where the master, owner or agent of a vessel notifies the competent authority, before or immediately after the ship has entered the port, any deficiencies of the vessel falling within the scope of the applicable conventions, the remediation of which follows to be made prior to the ship's departure from the port, its detention will be determined only if the deficiencies justifying it were discovered after the master announced that the ship was ready for inspection. The same procedure will be applied when the competent authority receives the notification that the ship is scheduled to carry out the class inspections or those complying with the provisions of the flag state legislation. " 11. Article 9 shall read as follows: "" Art. 9. -(1) The owner or operator of a ship or their representatives in Romania have the right to challenge the detention note of the ship given by the competent authority. The appeal does not determine the suspension of the detention measure (2) Contesting the retention note shall be made in accordance with the provisions Law of Administrative Litigation no. 29/1990 , with subsequent amendments and completions. ((. The competent authority shall inform the master of the vessel of his right to appeal. " 12. In Article 10 (3), letter b) shall read as follows: " b) who refuse to comply with the requirements of the applicable conventions, not heading to the repair yard indicated, will be denied access to all Romanian ports until the owner or operator provides the competent authority evidence of the full compliance with the applicable conventions. In such circumstances, the competent authority shall immediately inform all competent authorities of the other Member States of the Agreement. " 13. In Article 11, paragraphs 1, 4 and 5 shall read as follows: "" Art. 11. -(1) The inspections will be carried out by the PSC inspectors, authorized in this regard by the competent authority. ........................................................................... (4) Each PSC inspector will hold during the exercise of his duties a special card, issued by the Ministry of Public Works, Transport and Housing, attesting that the PSC inspector is authorized to carry out inspections in Port State control-SGP. (5) The PSC inspectors will take special training courses to deepen the necessary knowledge regarding the provisions of the applicable conventions and the conduct of inspections. The PSC inspectors will also participate in regular seminars to update knowledge. " 14. In Article 14 (2), the letter e) shall read as follows: " e) the classification society, empowered to that effect by the competent authority which issued the statutory certificates to the vessel, in accordance with the provisions of the applicable conventions, on behalf of the flag State; ' 15. In Article 15, paragraphs 1 and 2 shall read as follows: "" Art. 15. -(1) If following the inspections provided for in art. 6 6 para. ((1) and (3) deficiencies which require the detention of the ship, in accordance with the provisions of one of the applicable conventions, shall be confirmed or discovered, the consideration of the benefits related to the conduct of inspections for the cancellation of the ship's detention measure will be supported by the owner or operator of the ship or its representative at the port where the inspection was made. (2) The travail of the benefits related to the inspections provided in art. 10 10 para. ((4) shall be borne by the owner or operator of the vessel. " 16. Article 16 shall read as follows: "" Art. 16. -(1) Within 90 days from the date of entry into force of the provisions of this ordinance the Ministry of Public Works, Transport and Housing will develop the regulation for the application of the provisions of this ordinance, which will be approved by order of the Minister of Public Works, Transport and Housing and will be published in the Official Gazette of Romania, Part I. (2) The Ministry of Public Works, Transport and Housing shall ensure directly or by delegation of competence, through subordinate public institutions, the application of the provisions of this ordinance. " + Article 2 Government Ordinance no. 38/2000 , with the amendments and completions brought by this law, will be republished in the Official Gazette of Romania, Part I, giving the texts a new numbering. This law was adopted by the Senate at its meeting on April 2, 2002, in compliance with the provisions of art 74 74 para. (2) of the Romanian Constitution. SENATE PRESIDENT NICOLAE VACAROIU This law was adopted by the Chamber of Deputies at its meeting on April 3, 2002, in compliance with the provisions of 74 74 para. (2) of the Romanian Constitution. CHAMBER OF DEPUTIES PRESIDENT VALER DORNEANU -------------