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Law on safe navigation (No. VIII – 1897 of 2000).

Country/Territory
Lithuania
Document type
Legislation
Date
2000 (2000)
Source
FAO, FAOLEX
Subject
Fisheries, Sea, Environment gen.
Keyword
Marine pollution Fishing vessel Territorial sea Navigation Harbour Transport/storage Certification Hazards Liability/compensation
Geographical area
Europe, Europe and Central Asia, European Union Countries, Northern Europe
Entry into force notes
The Law entered into force from 1 October 2001.
Abstract

The Law on Safe Navigation shall establish the requirements of safe navigation in the Republic of Lithuania and for ships registered in the Republic of Lithuania Register of Ships and also, shall regulate State supervision and administration of safe navigation, investigation of ship related accidents, salvage of sunken property and liability for the failure to adhere to the requirements of safe navigation. While implementing the legal acts of the International Maritime Organization and the requirements of safe navigation, this Law aims to:1) ensure, that the ships, sailing under the flag of the State of Lithuania would conform to all the international and national requirements of safe navigation; 2) decrease the number of ships which do not meet the international requirements of safe navigation. The norms of this Law and the legal acts passed on the basis thereof shall not apply to:1) the ships registered in a foreign state, which are sailing across the territorial sea waters of the Republic of Lithuania, availing themselves of the right of peaceful navigation, and the persons situated on them; 2) the Republic of Lithuania warships and coast guard vessels. In all instances these ships, while navigating in general use waterways for general navigation, shall rely upon the 1972 International Regulations on Prevention of Ship Collisions at Sea, and while sailing through the port areas, the masters of these ships must follow the directions regarding issues of safe navigation, provided by the officials of port ship traffic Services, on duty. The Law consists of 19 Chapters that contain 52 articles. Article 24 states that having determined that the ship has been detained in port due to violations of international requirements, which could have protection of the maritime environment from pollution, the Administration must conduct a thorough inspection of the ship. Article 34 establishes the requirements for fishing vessels. it specifices that fishing vessel means a ship, which in the ship’s documents issued by the classification companies carries the inscription “fishing vessel” and is adapted for commercial fishing. The Minister of Transport and Communications, relying upon the universally recognized norms of international maritime law and the requirements of the European Union, may set special safety requirements or exceptions to such, for the fishing vessels registered in the Republic of Lithuania. Article 31 ensures that every ship, which is transporting dangerous or environment polluting cargoes, must have a certificate issued by the flag state of the ship or by a classification company on behalf of it, confirming that the ship and the equipment thereof do conform to the requirements of carriage for the appropriate types of dangerous cargoes. It shall be prohibited to load dangerous cargoes, or those which cause pollution to the environment, if the sender of the cargo has failed to supply the ship’s master with a dangerous cargo declaration and also, if the ship does not have the aforesaid certificate.

Full text
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