The significance of the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea for the shipping industry

The International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) was established by the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea as a body to settle disputes between States Parties to the Convention regarding the interpretation or application of the Convention s provisions, including provisions concerning the exercise of the powers of States over shipping and the discharge by states of their responsibilities and obligations in relation to ships.ITLOS is competent to deal with disputes in which a State is alleged to have wrongly interfered with or otherwise restrained the operation of a vessel when it is in a port of the State or within the territorial sea or exclusive economic zone of the State.In its previous judgments, ITLOS has provided clarifications of some important areas of the law of the sea concerning the operation and regulation of shipping by flag States and other states.ITLOS plays a key role in the regime of the Law of the Sea Convention relating to the prompt release of ships and their crews that are arrested or detained in a foreign port.ITLOS also has the possibility to serve as ajudicial organ for the settlement of disputes under other maritime agreements and contracts, if the parties to the agreements or contracts agree to confer jurisdiction on it.There are many advantages to be gained by States and shipping operators from using ITLOS as the body for the settlement of disputes under agreements. These advantages include savings in time and expenses.     

Navigation of foreign vessels within China's jurisdictional waters

From ancient times, navigation at sea has been an essential channel of communication and transport among nations. The emergence and development of the law of the sea itself rested with the navigation at sea. The principle of the freedom of the seas has been universally recognized as one of the fundamental principles in international law and practiced by States since the late 18th century. However, with the expansion of national jurisdiction over sea areas, the freedom of navigation has been challenged and navigational rights of foreign vessels are subject to the laws and regulations of coastal States. China, as a big maritime country, has formulated a set of rules and regulations governing navigation of foreign vessels within China's jurisdictional waters. This article attempts to review and assess China's legislation and practice in this respect in the context of international law of the sea.     

Navigation of foreign vessels within China's jurisdictional waters

From ancient times, navigation at sea has been an essential channel of communication and transport among nations. The emergence and development of the law of the sea itself rested with the navigation at sea. The principle of the freedom of the seas has been universally recognized as one of the fundamental principles in international law and practiced by States since the late 18th century. However, with the expansion of national jurisdiction over sea areas, the freedom of navigation has been challenged and navigational rights of foreign vessels are subject to the laws and regulations of coastal States. China, as a big maritime country, has formulated a set of rules and regulations governing navigation of foreign vessels within China's jurisdictional waters. This article attempts to review and assess China's legislation and practice in this respect in the context of international law of the sea.     

Opportunities for a state‐federal partnership in an expanded territorial sea

Abstract

The United States currently has a 3‐mile territorial sea limit which is under the jurisdiction of coastal states. In the event the United States joins with other countries in adopting a 12‐mile territorial sea, Congress may consider extending state jurisdiction to 12 miles. It may be in the best interest of coastal states to oppose extension and instead support a strengthened federal‐state ocean management regime which disregards boundary lines and is based on the sharing of outer continental shelf leasing revenues along with a guaranteed role for coastal states in federal decision‐making.     

The enforcement of shipping standards under UNCLOS

This article discusses the enforcement of shipping standards, with a particular focus on Part XII of UNCLOS. Section 6 of Part XII contains the only comprehensive set of vessel-related enforcement provisions in the Convention, but the Part’s scope is limited to “the preservation and protection of the marine environment.” Therefore, not all shipping standards fall clearly within Part XII’s ambit, including those centered on safety, security, and crewing considerations. The enforcement provisions of Section 6 are favorable to flag states and their vessels, and Section 7 contains a number of safeguards for their benefit, so it is in the interests of these parties to have coastal state enforcement governed by Part XII. However, the ability of coastal states to establish and enforce shipping standards that apply within the territorial sea extends to more than just environmental matters. The result is that different standards give rise to different enforcement powers, depending on the maritime zone in which a vessel is located, even if those standards arise from the same international agreement. It is suggested that to remedy these problems, UNCLOS would need to be amended in order to provide a comprehensive enforcement regime for the enforcement of shipping standards.     

方便旗船舶对海运的影响

方便旗船是在一定历史条件下,国际经济、政治和各国航运立法等因素的综合性产物,其存在和发展有积极的一面,但从整体上看一些方便船籍国忽视了对方便旗船的有效管辖与管制,给世界航运经济带来一系列负面影响。介绍船舶入注方便旗的各种原因,阐述其所带来的种种弊端,最后介绍为提高其营运安全所采取的措施以及有关专家对正常登记国的建议。     

船舶设计相关IMO安全和环保法规研究

影响船舶设计的海事规则种类繁多,主要可分为国际性法规、区域性法规、挂旗国和港口国要求、船级社规范和工业界指南五类。文章仅就国际海事组织（IMO）在安全和环保方面对船舶设计的国际性法规进行简要介绍,阐述其带来的重大影响,同时指出了今后的发展方向。     

Enforcement of law by the Port State Control (PSC)

Since the International Maritime Organization (IMO) introduced the Port State Control (PSC) programme in 1982, it has been playing a vital role in the enforcement of safety law at sea worldwide. This paper addresses the effectiveness of PSC and the effectiveness of the methods for selecting ships to be inspected adopted by regional PSC. Data on ship total loss (from 1973-2003) and on the PSC records (from 1994-2005) have been collected. The study reveals that the enforcement of PSC is effective in improving the safety level of maritime transport. The methods adopted by regional PSC are compared on their effectiveness, efficiency and stability in identifying substandard ships. Suggestions are made on the improvement of the enforcement of PSC.     

某公务船抗碰撞性能研究

公务船在领海和专属经济区执行维权执法任务时,存在较高的与其他船舶发生主动或被动碰撞的风险。为了准确评估公务船的耐撞性能,本文以某公务船为例,考虑多种计算工况,对目标船的耐撞性能进行动态响应计算,获得了机舱及首部区域的结构损伤、应力、能量吸收等动态结构响应,并计算获得被撞船达到临界状态时的极限撞击速度。研究成果可为公务船的防撞结构设计提供参考。     

倒拖调迁船舶和双向推进船舶几个规范要求适用性分析

船舶相关的国际公约、船旗国主管机关的法定要求和船级社规范中的很多条文与船首定义密切相关,对于大多数船舶而言,船首的含义非常明确,但对于双向推进船舶和倒拖调迁的非自航船舶而言,其船首的含义有特殊性。针对此问题,本文探讨双向推进船舶和倒拖调迁船舶的船首定义,分析了相关条文,重点分析了防撞舱壁、船端加强、号灯布置、最小船首高度和首锚布置等的相关要求,并提出规范对这些船舶的适用性建议。本文研究和观点有利于明确和完善国际公约、船旗国主管机关的法定要求和船级社规范的船首含义,对船舶设计、审图和建造将有重要指导意义。     

关于船旗国监督检查远程复查工作的思考

随着科技信息手段不断进步,通过信息化手段实现对船舶的远程检验已在部分国际知名船级社成为现实,并取得良好社会反响。随着《船舶安全监督规则》及相关配套文件的出台,作为海事监管核心业务之一的船舶安全检查工作,在实际工作中面临一些新问题,尤其是对船旗国监督检查(FSC)复查的要求变化较大。随着国家简政放权、大力提高政府效能相关理念的提出,笔者结合工作实际,提出在船旗国监督检查复查时采取远程复查方式构想和建议,希望对进一步提升海事执法效能,更好服务港航经济发展有所借鉴和帮助。     

船舶进出港规则对沿海进口散货港区航道通过能力的影响*

沿海散货船舶大型化,对配套的航道条件提出更高的要求,合理的船舶进出港规则对发挥航道通过能力起到重要的作用。利用计算机仿真技术,通过构建沿海进口散货港区船舶航行作业系统仿真模型,研究先来先服务规则、大船优先服务规则和船舶成簇进出港规则对航道通过能力的影响。结果表明:3种规则下,航道通过能力与服务水平均呈指数分布关系;先来先服务规则和大船优先服务规则对航道通过能力的影响基本相同;而对于港口规模大、航道通航历时长的港区成簇进出港规则要比前两种规则对应的航道通过能力高。     

欧盟港口接收设施收费制度研究

船舶在正常的营运过程中会产生废弃物和货物残余物,这些大部分又是污染物。为了防止船舶造成海洋污染,MARPOL在对船舶结构、设备以及操作提出要求的同时,对港口提出了提供接收设施的要求。但由于多种原因,港口提供接收设施的履约存在许多问题,其中收费制度是影响港口提供充分适用的接收设施的主要问题之一。为了成员国履行MARPOL以及保护海洋环境,欧盟制定了接收设施指令（Directive2000／59／EC）。在该指令的框架下,欧盟内成员国建立了不同的港口接收设施收费制度。本文初步探讨了欧盟成员国港口接收设施主要的收费制度,为我国主管机关对港口接收设施管理制度的完善提供参考。     

沿海集装箱港区港内锚地面积确定方法

设置港内锚地,是沿海集装箱港区缓解航道拥堵,提高港口服务水平的有效途径之一。为完善港内锚地面积确定方法的理论研究,基于计算机仿真技术,建立设置港内锚地的沿海集装箱港区船舶航行作业系统仿真模型,研究计算期内可能同时占用港内锚地的船舶数量及船型组合;计算不同锚泊方式下所需的港内锚地最大面积。仿真结果与分析结论为沿海集装箱港区港内锚地的规划建设及改造扩建提供参考。     

Forecasting fishing vessel responses in coastal areas

A system for forecasting the operability of ships was developed by extending a wave forecasting system with the ship responses to the forecast sea states. The system produces 4-day wave forecasts in an implementation for the Portuguese Exclusive Economic Zone, where the vessels’ seakeeping performance is forecast, although the method presented could well be applied to any other coastal region. The proposed procedure requires the knowledge of the transfer functions for different ship speeds and headings. The computations are made for two different types of fishing vessels that currently operate in the Portuguese coast. Ship motions and derived responses are evaluated with a strip theory code and compared with the prescribed values of relevant seakeeping criteria that represent the limit conditions that still allow standard operational conditions for those vessels. For each forecast sea state at each grid point at a given time, the response spectrum is calculated and operability indexes are computed and compared with the maximum allowed values for a specific operation criterion. The results are presented as operational index maps for various areas of the Portuguese coast, and the information provided by system will help ship masters to plan the operation of their ships, namely to decide the areas to operate in anticipation. In this way, they can identify areas in which the level of operationally of their ships will be degraded due to weather conditions and avoid them.     

Maritime industrial relations: concepts and consequences

British merchant seamen cannot legally strike while their ship is at sea or in a foreign port: neither could they, until 1970, legally strike while working on ships in UK ports. Difficulties of union organization, conservative union leadership in the period spanning the turn of the century and the 1914–18 war, the authority of lawful command, and an over-supply of seamen are some of the factors that have made industrial relations in the British Merchant Navy unlike those of any other industry.     

Maritime industrial relations: concepts and consequences

British merchant seamen cannot legally strike while their ship is at sea or in a foreign port: neither could they, until 1970, legally strike while working on ships in UK ports. Difficulties of union organization, conservative union leadership in the period spanning the turn of the century and the 1914-18 war, the authority of lawful command, and an over-supply of seamen are some of the factors that have made industrial relations in the British Merchant Navy unlike those of any other industry.     

我国老港区改造模式分析

随着我国沿海地区经济持续快速发展，许多沿海港口同时面临着新港区的开辟与老港区的改造。对老港区存在的问题进行总结归纳，结合案例分析探讨我国老港区的改造模式与思路。     

海事司法中扣押方便旗船的可行性及途径探析

在国际海事司法实践中,扣押船舶是非常重要的一种担保债务人履行债务的方式,但是在两大法系中,船舶扣押制度的性质不同,实现方式也不同。如果涉及到方便旗船扣押,情况会变得更复杂。因为方便旗船涉及到船舶登记所有人、实际所有人及经营人等几个当事人之间复杂的关系,形成了几种不同的方便旗船运营模式,这给海事请求权人提起扣押方便旗船的申请带来了困难。文中通过分析两大法系针对船舶扣押的不同态度,基于剖析几种不同的方便旗船经营模式,分析海事请求人提出扣押方便旗船申请的可行性及可能的途径,从而保障海事请求权人的合法权益。     

对中国商船预防和应对索马里海盗的相关思考

综合分析一些国家政府和国际组织针对索马里海盗问题采取的一系列措施和建议,以及中国航运界目前应对索马里海盗的状况,对于制定中国商船预防和应对索马里水域海盗袭击指南中提出应考虑的事项。