How to Investigate Maritime Accidents Agreement

Circular 01/2020/TT-BGTVT stipulates that in necessary cases, the Vietnam Maritime Administration shall coordinate in investigating maritime accidents as follows:

Illustrative image (source: internet)

- For maritime accidents involving foreign ships, the Vietnam Maritime Administration shall coordinate with the maritime authority of the flag state regarding the investigation of maritime accidents in accordance with the actual conditions and the circumstances and locations of the maritime accidents.

- For maritime accidents involving Vietnamese ships occurring abroad, the Vietnam Maritime Administration shall coordinate with the maritime authority of the coastal state regarding the investigation of maritime accidents in accordance with the actual conditions and the circumstances and locations of the maritime accidents.

In cases where no agreement can be reached with the maritime authority of the flag state or coastal state, the maritime accident shall be independently investigated according to the provisions of this Circular.

Additionally, this Circular strictly governs the timeframe for investigating maritime accidents. Specifically, for maritime accidents that occur within the waters of Vietnamese seaports, the investigation period shall be no more than 60 days from the date the maritime accident occurs; for maritime accidents occurring outside the waters of seaports, the investigation period shall be no more than 60 days from the date the maritime accident investigation assignment is received.

In complex cases, if the maritime accident investigation cannot be completed within the aforementioned timeframe, based on the proposal of the Head of the Maritime Accident Investigation Team, the Director of the Maritime Port Authority must promptly report in writing to the Director-General of the Vietnam Maritime Administration for consideration and decision on extending the investigation period.

More details can be found in: Circular 01/2020/TT-BGTVT, effective from March 15, 2020.

Thu Ba

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