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Chapter 2 Ship's Entrance and Departure from the Port
Article 3
Within twenty-four hours before a ship's arrival at the port and twelve hours before the ship's departure from the port, the ship owner or his/her agent shall, according to the actual situation, fill in a prior notice sheet that specifies related information such as the route, the estimated arrival time, the draft, the captain's name, the quantity and type of cargo, the number of crew members, seafarers and passengers, the next calling port and the destination port. For international commercial ports, the sheet shall be submitted to the maritime and port authority for audits and then given to the commercial port management enterprise to facilitate arrangement of berths; for domestic commercial ports, the sheet shall be submitted to the maritime and port authority or an institution designated by the Executive Yuan (Hereinafter referred to as the “Designated Institution”) for audits before the berths are arranged. However, in case of an emergency, a ship can apply for emergency entry or departure from the port.
Besides the documents established in the preceding paragraph, the owner or his/her agent of an international ship shall also enclose documents supporting the purchase of the ship owner’s liability insurance, BALLAST WATER REPORTING FORM (as shown in the enclosure )
For the owner or his/her agent of an international ship or merchant ship directly sailing to Mainland China regions, he/she shall declare the list of crew members and seafarers prior to departure or arrival; if passengers are present, a list of passengers should also be included.
For the party operating the cargo shipping business, the party shall complete the declaration of the imported Cargo Bay Plan five hours prior to the arrival at the discharging port.
The aforementioned prior notices in the preceding two paragraphs may also be faxed or sent through telegraph by the captain of the ship.
For ships other than passenger ships with photocopies or electronic copies of ship document examined by the maritime and port authority or designated institution, the ship owner or his/her agent may apply in advance for the prior notice sheet for the ship's departure from the port prior to its arrival at the port. When the documents submitted are incomplete, the ship owner or his/her agent shall supplement the documents and submit them to the maritime and port authority or designated institution for inspection within five days after the date of the ship's departure; failure to do so shall disqualify the ship owner or his/her agent from applying for the prior notice sheet for ship's departure.
The maritime and port authority or designated institution may establish separate operating directions in a prior notice sheet of the following conditions without conforming with Paragraph 1, Paragraph 3 and the preceding paragraph of this Article:
1. In the case of a public service ship, operating ship owned by the state (state-operated) or private enterprise or transport vessel, if multiple entries at the same port are needed within a certain period of time.
2. In the case of a recreational yacht neither berthing in the commercial port nor entering/exiting the border.
Article 4
When the computer facilities of the ship owner or his/her agent are connected with those at the maritime and port authority, commercial port management enterprise, its designated institution or one-stop window for customs, port affairs, and trade, the prior notice sheet on the ship’s entry and departure and related data may be transmitted electronically.
After the above-mentioned electronic data are recorded in the computers of the maritime and port authority, commercial port management enterprise or its designated institution, they are thus considered to have been delivered to the maritime and port authority, commercial port management enterprise or its designated institution. The ship owner or his/her agent may review such transmitted electronic data and acquire the transmission time and contents of supporting documents for aperiod of five years following the date of recordation.
Article 5
For a ship to enter into or depart from a port, the ship owner or his/her agent shall follow applicable laws and regulations in conducting the required procedures with respective authorities. The gap between estimated time and the actual time of the ship's arrival or departure shall not exceed forty-eight hours. Failing to conform to such time gap limit, a new application must be submitted.
Article 6
Before arriving at an international commercial port, a ship shall contact the signal tower of the port and may only enter the port after the commercial port management enterprise assigns a berth and notifies the ship.
Before arriving at a domestic commercial port, a ship shall contact the signal tower of the port and may only enter the port after the maritime and port authority or its designated institution assigns a berth and notifies such ship.
Article 7
After a ship arrives at a port, the ship owner or his/her agent shall fairly fill out a ships entrance report within twenty-four hours. Such report shall include the purpose of its entrance as well as the ship conditions, and then have it submitted to the maritime and port authority or its designated institution for scrutiny. This may not apply if the maritime and port authority or its designated institution has access to real-time inquiries regarding the ship upon entry into the port by means of its computer facilities.
Article 8
A ship shall immediately depart from the international commercial port and shall not continue to stay at the berth or in the port area after having finished all required departure inspections by individual authorities. If for any reasons a ship returns to the port within twelve hours after departure, such entry is only allowed after an application is submitted to and approved by the maritime and port authority, and that a berth is assigned by the commercial port management enterprise with related procedures completed as so required.
Article 9
A ship shall navigate slowly and shall not navigate side by side or overtake another ship when it is in a port area, and it shall not obstruct the navigation of other ships as well. A ship shall bypass or maneuver slowly if encountering another ship which is conducting diving, surveying, dredging, fixing buoy, or other operations under or on the water surface.
Article 9-1
The owner or captain must notify the commercial port management enterprise, maritime and port authority or its designated institution and prioritize the necessary disposal measures on board before entering the port or area within the commercial port. if the ship has had leakage or an accident with the dangerous substances contained in the ship, which may compromise the safety of the port area, such as marine and environmental pollution, personal injury, cargo explosion, fire, etc.
The commercial port management enterprise, maritime and port authority or its designated institution can be accompanied by the related competent authorities if necessary and demand the owner or cargo owner to carry out the necessary measures to contain the leakage, change the container, change the cabin, transfer the cabin, unload cargo, or depart from the port area.
Expenses derived from the contingency treatment of the preceding paragraph shall be borne by the ship owner or the cargo owner.