Transport Minister slams lawmakers for delaying inland water transport bill
The State Duma Transportation Committee is unreasonably delaying the passage of the bill aimed at overhaul of the management system of Russia’s inland water transport (IWT), the Transportation Ministry official said on Tuesday.
Deputy Transport Minister Viktor Olersky said, speaking at the Marine Board of the Russian government, that the bill had passed first reading in the State Duma.
"In this bill we proposed to establish on the inland waterways system the port state control, by creating a body that would be responsible for safety on the river - the River Basin Authority. Besides, it is proposed to oblige shipowners to develop and implement a safety management system of navigation, as well as to introduce liability insurance for damage from major risks from shipping activities (salvage operation cost, environmental and property damages). Unfortunately, we’ve faced with the nonconstructive approach of the Committee on Transport of the State Duma to address the urgent issues. This has resulted in unreasonable delay of the preparation for the second reading. The text of the bill (for second reading) has been agreed with the Government of the Russian Federation, the State Legal Office Administration of the President of the Russian Federation, the legal control committee of the State Duma, and we hope that the Committee on Transport will be able to finalize the bill in the near future. The Russian Transportation Ministry is ready to render all possible assistance in the work of the committee on this issue," the PortNews correspondent quoted Olersky as saying.