Dura lex: new year, new rules
As usually, the new year brings new laws and regulations. Here is a summary of the industry related legislation updates in 2021. More detailed review with comments of the industry focused lawyers will be published in the February edition of Port Service magazine.
Ports
Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed the Federal Law On Introduction of Amendments into Certain Legislative Acts of the Russian Federation which changes the procedure of storing pesticides and agricultural chemicals within water protection areas. The State Duma approved the law on 26 November 2020, by the Federation Council – on 2 December 2020.
Storage of agricultural chemicals is allowed within the protected shoreline belts of the port if a facility was put into operation before 1 January 2013 and if it is fitted with systems preventing contamination of water bodies.
The Ministry of Transport, in its turn, regularized the concept of closed handling of coal in seaports. The related order of the Ministry was registered by the Ministry of Justice on October 15. The document introduced amendments into clause 9 of the Rules for Cargo Handling in Seaports approved by RF Transport Ministry’s Order dated 9 July 2014 (No 182). According to the update, closed handling of coal means a combination of technologies and methods foreseen by the List of Best Available Technologies.
Transport safety dues in Russian seaports set by FSUE Rosmorport from 1 January 2021 have been raised by 3%. Still, it is lower than the limit set by FAS of Russia and does not exceed the rate of inflation forecasted for 2021 (3.7%).
Besides, the cost of unregulated activities conducted in Russian seaports is also changed from 1 January 2021 as well as Rosmorport’s services on pilotage and environmental safety, by 2.1% and 2.9% accordingly.
Rosmorport earlier informed the lessees included in the unified register of small and mid-size enterpreneurs about an opportunity to sign additional agreements to supplement agreement on the lease of federal real estate signed before 1 April 2020 and on deferral of lease payments from April 1 till 1 October 2020. The deferred payments are to be completed before 1 January 2023.
Shipbuilding
The Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation has drafted the revised state programme “Development of Shipbuilding and Equipment for Offshore Fields”. The amendments are related to the fishing industry.
Draft Order of RF Government “On introduction of amendments into the state programme of the Russian Federation “Development of Shipbuilding and Equipment for Offshore Fields” is available at the federal portal for legal documents. The Programme sets forth the key measures of support until 2030. The draft federal budget for 2021-2023 is among the basements for the programme adjustment.
The draft document takes into consideration the need to support Russian shipyards that are to ensure 5-fold growth of civil ships production versus the result of 2013. To support the projects of civil ships leasing, United Shipbuilding Corporation is to be provided with RUB 3.5 billion from the state budget this year. Additional financing of Zvezda shipyard in 2021-2023 will total RUB 7.6 billion, RUB 12.06 billion and RUB 11.94 billion accordingly. The share of local production in shipbuilding industry is to be raised to 70%.
Construction of fishing ships will be supported separately with subsidies between RUB 360 and RUB 660 million per year planned for the development of shipbuilding in Crimea and Sevastopol.
The draft programme of the Ministry of Industry and Trade has not include subsidies for construction of crab catchers at Far East shipyards. No allocations are foreseen by the state budget for such purposes. Meanwhile, the idea to support the con of crab catching ships in the Far East by subsidizing 20% of capital costs from the federal budget was offered by Yury Trutnev, Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation - Presidential Plenipotentiary Envoy to the Far Eastern Federal District and supported by Russian President Vladimir Putin who sighed a related order on 1 October 2019 (No Pr-2070). In August 2020, RG Government approved the Rules for Providing Subsidies effective from January 1, 2021. It should not exceed RUB 340 million. It can be provided to organizations that have obtained investment quotas through the crab auctions. They undertake to acquire mid-size ships built in Russia.
The Ministry of Industry and Trade is entitled to sign agreements on subsidizing and to control execution of agreements. This measure is to support the Far East shipbuilding industry and to facilitate modernization of the fishing fleet.
The so called regulatory guillotine also lifted outdated norms for operation of electrical equipment on fishing ships.
Certain acts and provisions on control of the agricultural and fishing segments are invalid from 1 January 2021. The Decree signed by Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin covers 60 documents issued between 1992 and 2018.
Arctic
The Ministry for the Development of the Russian Far East and Arctic has revised the state programme on social and economic development of the Arctic Zone of the Russian Federation in 2021-2024 as the current edition does not meet the goals set by the Basic Principles of the Russian Federation State Policy in the Arctic to 2035 and the Strategy for Developing the Russian Arctic Zone until 2035.
Some amendments of the federal laws are applicable to the residents of the Priority Development Areas.
Glavgosexpertiza
From 1 February 2021, Glavgosexpertiza of Russia switches to fully electronic flow of documents.
All the actions can be done in the applicant’s profile within the computerized system of Glavgosexpertiza intended for information exchange between the applicants and the Department. No paper documents will be signed from that time.
Register
Russian Maritime Register of Shipping (RS) issued a new updated edition of the Rules for the Oil-and-Gas Equipment (OGE Rules) of Floating Offshore Oil-and-Gas Production Units (FPU), Mobile Offshore Drilling Units (MODU) and Fixed Offshore Platforms (FOP). The new edition is accessible at rs-class.org in the Online Information – RS Publications section and enters into force on January 1, 2021.
The requirements of the OGE Rules cover oil-and-gas equipment, systems and equipment for drilling, production, treatment and offloading of well fluids, functional components of oil-and-as equipment as well as the safety assessment of FPU/MODU/FOP during operation of oil-and-gas equipment.
RS also issued Guidelines on Cyber Safety effective from 1 January 2021. The document is also available on the official website of RS.
The new document contains the recommendations on design, manufacture, maintenance and testing of the shipboard computer based systems, as well as recommendations applicable to the safety management systems (SMS).
By Vitaly Chernov
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