Water Transport section of Draft EAEU Agreement won’t open Russia’s IWW for Kazakhstan and Belarus, except for transit
Principle phase of negotiations on the content of the Water Transport section of the Agreement on Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) is over with a positive result for Russia, IAA PortNews says. According to Victor Olersky, Deputy Transport Minister of Russia, who spoke at the general meeting of the National Shipping Chamber held in Moscow, “if vessels of other states are willing to operate at our inland water ways, those states, namely Kazakhstan and Belarus, should start with synchronization of their national legislations with that of Russia”. Victor Olersky says the most important thing is to exclude the reference to ‘flag of convenience’ from the national legislations.
On March 4, 2014, Eurasian Economic Commission Council discussed a Draft Agreement on the Eurasian Economic Union in Astana (Kazakhstan) and an agreement was reached on the text of the Draft Agreement in the part of the maritime and inland water transport between the representatives of Russian, Kazakh and Byelorussian Ministries.
As of today, maritime and river transport legislations of Belarus and Kazakhstan provide for ‘open’ registration with the state registers of vessels enabling any foreign entity (owner/ beneficiary of a vessel) which is not a resident of the state obtain a right to fly the flag of Belarus or Kazakhstan.
This fact causes a substantial risk of unfair competition from the third parties’ shipping companies that is fraught with economic damage of shipping industries of the member states in general.
As IAA PortNews learnt from the Ministry of Transport, the final text of the Water Transport section in the Draft Agreement is approved as follows:
1. Vessels flying the flag of the member state are entitled to transport cargo, passengers and their luggage, carry out tugging operations between the flag state and other member state at adjacent inland water ways, perform transit passage along inland water ways of the other member state except for transportation and tugging operations between the ports and transportation to/from the ports of the other member state and the third country under the shipping agreement between the member states for the execution of the present Agreement.
2. Vessels sailing along the inland water ways of the member state should be registered with the register of vessels of the member state and be owned by a resident of the member state which has registered the vessel.