Joint Announcement no. 04 2011 Official languages in area managed by the Common Nautical Authority The Dutch Governmental Harbour Master for the Western Scheldt and the Flemish Administrator General of the Maritime Services and Coastal Affairs Agency hereby announce the following: that in the area managed by the Common Nautical Authority, dangerous situations regularly arise due to communication problems amongst ships or between vessels and the VTS; that those communication problems are often attributable to the crew of the ships having no command or insufficient command of the Dutch or English languages; that it is necessary, for the sake of the safety and efficient flow of shipping traffic as well as the safety of the surrounding area, to take measures aimed at ensuring compliance with the use of the Dutch or English language in marine VHF radio communication; taking into consideration that Dutch or English have been the official languages in marine VHF radio communication since the Scheldt Radar Chain became operational in 1991; that day to day practice also requires reconfirmation of the official languages to be used in marine VHF radio communication in the area managed by the Common Nautical Authority; that in view of Articles 51 and 54 of the Dutch Shipping Regulations for the Western Scheldt 1990 [Dutch title: Nederlandse scheepvaartreglement Westerschelde 1990] and Article 53 of the Dutch Shipping Regulations for the Ghent Terneuzen Canal [Nederlandse scheepvaartreglement voor het kanaal van Gent naar Terneuzen], as well as Article 47 of the Belgian Shipping Regulations for the Lower Sea Scheldt [Scheepvaartreglement voor de Beneden Zeeschelde], Article 52 of the Belgian Shipping Regulations for the Ghent Terneuzen canal [Scheepvaartreglement voor het kanaal van Gent naar Terneuzen] and Article 53, paragraph 1, item 8 of the Flemish Decree on Vessel Traffic Control in Maritime Access Routes and the Organisation of the Maritime Rescue and Co ordination Centre [decreet betreffende de begeleiding van de scheepvaart op de maritieme toegangswegen en de organisatie van het Maritiem Reddings en Coördinatiecentrum]; the following rules are adopted: 1
Article 1. Official Languages In the area managed by the Common Nautical Authority (consisting of the seaward approach routes, the Western Scheldt, the Lower Sea Scheldt and the Ghent Terneuzen Canal), the official languages for marine VHF radio communication are Dutch and English. Article 2. Effective Date These rules will take effect as of 20 July 2011. This Joint Announcement and the accompanying explanatory notes will be published in the Dutch Government Gazette [Nederlandse Staatscourant] and the Belgian Official Journal [Belgisch Staatsblad]. Ghent, 22 June 2011 Governmental Harbour Master for Western Scheldt, R.J. van der Kluit Administrator General of the Maritime Services and Coastal Affairs Agency Capt. J. D Havé Explanatory Notes Introduction In the area managed by the Common Nautical Authority shipping traffic is dense, with a mixture of lots of seagoing and inland vessels. This regularly leads to dangerous situations arising due to the inability of crews to communicate with the crews of other vessels or with the VTS because they have no command or insufficient command of Dutch or English. The inability to communicate or communicate adequately does not just apply to sea shipping it also applies to inland shipping. Clear arrangements need to be agreed between inland vessels and sea vessels, for instance in the areas where inland vessels need to cross major shipping lanes or in areas where there is dense traffic. In order to guarantee safety in the area managed by the Common Nautical Authority, both in relation to shipping and to the surroundings, it is necessary to adopt measures aimed at ensuring compliance with the use of Dutch or English in marine VHF radio communication. 2
Maritime Waterways The waterways in the area managed by the Common Nautical Authority (consisting of the seaward approach routes, the Western Scheldt, the Lower Sea Scheldt and the Ghent Terneuzen canal) are maritime waterways. The Dutch Shipping Regulations for the Western Scheldt and the Ghent Terneuzen canal and the Belgian Shipping Regulations for the territorial sea, the Lower Sea Scheldt and the Ghent Terneuzen canal are applicable. These shipping regulations are based on the Convention on the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea (1972), agreed under the auspices of the International Maritime Organization (IMO). Furthermore, the maritime buoyage system adopted by the International Association of Lighthouse Authorities (IALA) is also applicable to the waterways in the area managed by the Common Nautical Authority. Dutch or English as official language In 1991, the Scheldt Radar Chain became operational in the area managed by the Common Nautical Authority. The Scheldt Radar Chain is a maritime Vessel Traffic Services system (VTS system) as defined by the International Maritime Organization. The guidelines of the International Maritime Organization therefore stipulate that the official language to be used in marine VHF radio communication is English. Besides English, it is possible for the language of the country in which the VTS System is based to be used as an official language; in the area managed by the Common Nautical Authority, that language is Dutch (see resolution A.857 (20) of 27 November 1997 of the International Maritime Organization). In cases in which the use of Dutch or English nevertheless causes communication problems, the Standard Marine Communication Phrases drawn up by the International Maritime Organization (in English) shall be used. The Common Nautical Authority once again confirmed the use of Dutch or English as official languages in marine VHF radio communication in Joint Announcement no. 05 2009 dated 15 June 2009. In the leaflet accompanying the announcement, entitled ʹMarifoonblokindeling VTS Scheldegebiedʹ (Marine VHF Radio Reserved Channel Allocation for VTS in Scheldt Area) the points to be noted include: The official language is Dutch or English. A new version (version 3.0) of the aforementioned leaflet was published along with Joint Announcement no. 07 2010 dated 8 November 2010. The points to be noted in that leaflet also included: The official language is Dutch or English. Enforcement of Official Languages Earlier in this document it was stated that dangerous situations regularly arise in the dense shipping traffic area managed by the Common Nautical Authority due to the inability of crews to communicate well with the crews of other vessels or with the VTS because they have no command or insufficient command of Dutch or English. Recently, the Committee for Nautical Safety in the Scheldt Estuary considered a range of shipping accidents in which communication problems played 3
a role. In its 2009 report the committee concluded that it is of great importance for the sake of proper communication amongst vessels and between vessels and the VTS that the crew members of all inland and other vessels speak the official languages Dutch or English, enabling clear arrangements to be made between/amongst them. In recent years there has been a clear increase in the number of inland vessels having crews who have no command or insufficient command of the official languages Dutch or English in the area managed by the Common Nautical Authority. This often results in linguistic confusion, leading to dangerous situations. It is therefore now advisable to conduct stricter supervision of the correct use of the official languages Dutch or English in marine VHF radio communication. The promulgation of this Joint Announcement underlines once again the obligations relating to official languages that apply in the area managed by the Common Nautical Authority. Failure to comply with the provisions of this Joint Announcement will be a criminal offence within the meaning of the shipping regulations cited above. When this Joint Announcement takes effect on 20 July 2011, prosecutions will not immediately ensue for failure to comply with obligations relating to official languages. As a concession to the inland shipping sector, no criminal prosecutions will be undertaken for a half year period. During that half year period, the crews of any inland vessels sailing in the area managed by the Common Nautical Authority who have no command or insufficient command of Dutch or English in marine VHF radio communication will have their attention drawn to their obligations in relation to the official languages. At the same time, their attention will explicitly be drawn to the fact that as of 1 January 2012, failure to comply with the obligations relating to official languages will lead to criminal prosecutions. However, in cases in which the crews of inland vessels do not have sufficient command of Dutch or English and this leads to dangerous situations, the ship in question will immediately be ordered to stop, and not permitted to proceed until there is somebody on board who speaks one of the official languages. Besides direct approaches being made to the crews of inland vessels who have no command or insufficient command of Dutch or English, the inland shipping sector will also be advised about the stricter supervision of compliance with the obligations related to official languages through a range of communications in regular shipping media outlets. The website www.vts scheldt.net will be used to make the shipping sector aware of this as well. The leaflet ʹMarifoonblokindeling VTS Scheldegebiedʹ (Marine VHF Radio Reserved Channel Allocation for VTS in Scheldt Area) can also be ordered or downloaded through that website. 4
Extensive consultations have already been held with the Dutch Water Police, the Netherlands Police Agency (KLPD), the enforcement agencies of the Dutch Directorate General for Public Works and Water Management (Rijkswaterstaat) and the Dutch Public Prosecution Service (OM) concerning this new approach. These authorities have all indicated that they endorse this approach and will comply with it. Koninklijke Schuttevaer, the Royal Association of Shippers, was consulted during the drafting of this Joint Announcement. 5