Supplementing responsibility of ship owners employing foreign seafarers onboard Vietnamese-flagged ships

Circular No. 43/2019/TT-BGTVT of the Ministry of Transport of Vietnam stipulates that from August 01, 2020, ship owners employing foreign seafarers shall decide or authorize the master to decide whether Vietnamese or English will be the dominant language used on board a ship. Usage of another language on board a ship shall be subject to the ship owner's decision. The dominant language used on board the ship must be clearly specified in the nautical logbook.

Moreover, ship owners employing foreign seafarers also have other responsibilities as follows:

- Instruct foreign seafarers to work onboard Vietnamese-flagged ships in accordance with relevant regulations of the law of Vietnam and international treaties to which Vietnam is a signatory.

- Fulfill all obligations as agreed upon and specified in the seafarer's employment agreements, as regulated by the law of Vietnam and international treaties to which Vietnam is a signatory.

- Electronically update information about dates of starting and ending service, and position of each seafarer working onboard a Vietnamese-flagged ship under his management on the seafarers database of the Vietnam Maritime Administration, and assume responsibility for providing information.

- Timely report any matters relating to the use of foreign seafarers working onboard Vietnamese-flagged ships to the Vietnam Maritime Administration and regulatory authorities of Vietnam.

Besides, Circular No. 43/2019/TT-BGTVT also stipulates that when serving on board a Vietnamese-flagged ship, in addition to documents, papers and certificates prescribed in Vietnamese laws and relevant international conventions, a foreign seafarer shall be obliged to carry seafarer's employment contract, work permit or written document confirming exemption from work permit (certified true copies or original copies) for administrative inspections carried out by competent regulatory authorities where necessary.

View more details at Circular No. 43/2019/TT-BGTVT of the Ministry of Transport of Vietnam, effective from August 01, 2020.

Thu Ba

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