Regulations on crew members and seafarers in Vietnam

Regulations on crew members and seafarers in Vietnam (Internet image) 

Regarding this issue, LawNet would like answer as follows:

1. Who are crew members and seafarers?

- Article 50 of the Vietnam Maritime Code 2015 stipulates that crew members refer to seafarers subject to the manning requirements of a ship, including ship master, officers and other professionals working onboard the ship.

- Article 59 of the Vietnam Maritime Code 2015 stipulates that a seafarer must meet eligibility requirements and standards for holding ranks onboard a Vietnamese ship.

A seafarer working aboard a Vietnamese ship must meet the following eligibility requirements:

+ Be a Vietnamese citizen or an overseas citizen authorized to work aboard a Vietnamese ship;

+ Meet health standards, working age requirements and achieve professional qualifications in accordance with applied regulations;

+ Be assigned to hold professional ranks aboard the ship;

+ Hold a discharge book;

+ Possess a passport as a requirement to enter or exit a country, if a seafarer is arranged to work onboard an international ship.

A Vietnamese citizen who meets statutory eligibility requirements shall be entitled to work aboard an overseas ship.

2. Responsibilities of the ship owner to crew members in Vietnam

According to Article 51 of Vietnam Maritime Code 2015, the responsibilities of the ship owner to crew members include:

- Arrange an adequate number of seafarers to meet the manning requirements of a ship and ensure that seafarers must be provided with acceptable working conditions aboard the ship in accordance with regulations laid down in paragraph 2 Article 59 hereof.

- Define ranks and rank-based roles of seafarers, except for ranks decided by the Minister of Transport.

- Ensure standard working and living conditions of seafarers aboard a ship in accordance with laws and regulations.

- Buy accident insurance and other compulsory insurance policies for seafarers working aboard a ship in accordance with laws and regulations.

3. Legal status of the ship master in Vietnam

Pursuant to Article 52 of the Vietnam Maritime Code 2015, the ship master is the person vested with the supreme command of the ship as an organization’s head. All people onboard the ship must observe the ship master’s commands.

The ship master works under the direction of the ship owner or charterer, operator; in certain necessary cases, with a view to ensuring maritime safety and security and environmental protection during marine operations, the ship master can make his own decision, but has to report to the ship owner, charterer and operator.

4. What are the obligations of a seafarer in Vietnam?

A seafarer working aboard a Vietnamese ship must take on the following obligations:

- Strictly observe Vietnamese laws and international agreements to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a party along with laws of the country within which the Vietnamese ship is operating;

- Demonstrate hard work and dedications to their assigned duties and be held accountability to the ship master for these duties;

- Execute the ship master’s orders in a timely, strict and accurate manner;

- Prevent any accidents or incidents against the ship, cargoes, humans and baggage onboard the ship. When discovering any dangerous emergency, a seafarer must promptly report to the ship master or any watchstanding officer, and simultaneously take necessary measures to prevent any accident or incident that may arise from such dangerous emergency;

- Manage and utilize certificates, documents, equipment items, instruments and other property aboard the ship which have been assigned.

A Vietnamese seafarer working aboard an overseas ship shall be obliged to comply with employment contracts signed with the ship owner or foreign employers.

(Article 60 of Vietnam Maritime Code 2015)

5. Employment policies and benefits of a seafarer in Vietnam

According to Article 61 of the Vietnam Maritime Code 2015, the employment policies and benefits of a seafarer are:

- Employment policies and benefits of a seafarer working onboard a Vietnamese ship shall be consistent with Vietnamese legislation and relevant international agreements to which the Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a party.

- In the event that the ship owner or the ship master orders a seafarer to abandon the ship, the ship owner shall be responsible for covering all living and travel costs which are necessary to be repatriated; in the event that the ship master orders a seafarer to leave the ship, the ship owner must be advised of this.

- In the event that any legal personal property of a seafarer have been subject to any loss or damage due to any marine accident or incident, the ship owner must compensate for such loss or damage at the market price determined at the time and location of settlement for such accident or incident.

A seafarer whose property is lost or damaged at his own faults, (s)he shall have no rights to submit any claim against such loss or damage.

- Employment policies and benefits of a Vietnamese seafarer working aboard an overseas ship and of a foreign seafarer working aboard a Vietnamese ship must be consistent with employment contracts.

Nhu Mai

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