Laws of the Guangdong Province

Rules of Shenzhen Economic Special Zone on

Passenger Transport by Water

    (Discussed and adopted at the seventy-eighth meeting of the second Permanent meeting of Shenzhen Municipal People' s Government and publicized by Bulletin 67th of Shenzhen Municipal People' s Government)

Chapter ¢ñ General Provisions

    Article 1 In order to strengthen the regulation of passenger transport by water of Shenzhen Economic Special Zone (hereinafter referred to as Special Zone), maintain the order of the market, protect the legal rights of all parties, promote the healthy development of the undertaking, these regulations are formulated in the light of relevant provisions of national laws and statutes and of the specific conditions in the Special Zone.

    Article 2 These rules shall be applicable to all passenger transport by water activities in the water area of the Special Zone.

    Passenger transport by water activities in the preceding paragraph include business of passenger transport by water, of passenger transport by water service and of tourism on water.

Article 3 Business of passenger transport by water in these rules refers to profitable activity engaging in passenger transport by water.

Business of passenger transport by water service in these rules refers to profitable activity such as organizing passenger sources, distributing and selling ship tickets of passenger transport by water or be the agent, be the agent to tranship passengers, transacting the consignment of passenger packages or be the agent and providing services to passenger transport ships.

Business of tourism on water in these rules refers to profitable activity to use ships as tools of tourism, charging promised service fares from visitors. However, these rules shall not be applicable to activities for pleasure, if boats, which are no more than 5 meters long and do not need to register as ships, are used as tools in park, reservoir, bathing place, carnie and other pleasure places.

Article 4 The administrative management department of transport and communication of Shenzhen municipal people' s government is the competent department of passenger transport by water in the Special Zone.

The competent department enforces management of trade to passenger transport by water activities; makes business guide and coordinates the relations with other management departments.

Article 5 The management of passenger transport by water activities shall comply with the following principles:

(1) granting social need and make it convenience for public;

(2) protecting fair competition and prohibiting illegal operation;

(3) promoting the quality of service.

Article 6 Those engaging in passenger transport by water activities in the water area of the Special Zone shall comply with related national laws, statutes and these rules, to ensure the safety of passengers' body and their property.

Passenger transport by water enterprises shall operate autonomously pursuant to law. Their legal rights are protected by law.

Chapter ¢ò Examine and Approve Authority and Operation Management

Article 7 Those who want to engage in passenger transport by water, passenger transport by water service and tourism on water shall submit to the competent department for approval.

Enterprises running marine terminal or station of passenger transport can not operate passenger transport by water business directly.

Article 8 Those who engage in maritime route business of passenger transport by water in the water area of the Special Zone shall submit to the competent department for approval. Those out of the water area shall submit to the superior competent department of transport and communication for examine and approval after audited by the competent department, in the light of related national regulations.

Article 9 Those who engage in passenger transport by water and tourism on water shall satisfy the following qualifications:

(1) belonging to enterprises engaging in water transport;

(2) having fixed marine terminals or stations for passenger ships to stop along the line;

(3) having organizations of operation management;

(4) possessing safe voyage management and professional technology qualifications;

(5) possessing self-owned circulating fund in consistent with passenger transport by water business;

(6) other qualifications provided by laws and statutes.

Those who engage in tourism on water business, shall also have qualifications provided by related management department such as equipment and technology qualifications adequate to provide protection to tourists' body safety etc.

Article 10 Those who engage in passenger transport by water business shall have qualifications listed in paragraph 3, article 9, and have fixed operation place and self-owned fund and equipment in consistent with their operation.

Article 11 The competent department shall investigate those who apply for engaging in the business of passenger transport by water and tourism on water, within 30 days from the recipient of the application, pursuant to related national regulations and these rules, and the comprehensive balance situation of social transport capacity and quantity. The competent department shall issue license or provisional license of water transport to those who satisfy the requirements and may get the approval; and shall give reply in written to those who fail.

Article 12 The competent department shall investigate those who satisfy the requirements listed in Article 10 within 30 days from the recipient of the application. The competent department shall issue license of water transport service to those who get the approval, and give reply in written to those who not.

Article 13 Enterprises with license of water transport and water transport service can not carry out operation until they handle registration procedure of the administrative department for industry and commerce pursuant to legal provisions.

Article 14 Passenger transport by water enterprises shall carry out operations of passenger transport by water in provided water area and through provided maritime line.

Article 15 Enterprises of passenger transport by water and tourism on water shall submit to the competent department for investigation and approval when changing maritime line or transport capacity.

Article 16 Without the approval of the competent department, any enterprise or individual can not transfer the operation right of the maritime line by any means.

When transferring the share of stock, enterprises of passenger transport by water shall not directly or indirectly transfer the maritime line, approved to operate, as their property. The transferee shall re-declare if it continues operating the original maritime line.

Article 17 Enterprises of passenger transport by water, passenger transport by water service and tourism on water shall submit to the competent department for approval and handle registration procedure for industry and commerce when they stop operating, transfer operation right and suspend or reduce operation period.

Enterprises shall handle registration procedure of alteration for industry and commerce and submit to the competent department to put on file when they change their names.

Enterprises shall submit to the supervisory department of harbor authority for approval and registration, when they change the names of ships, and shall submit to the competent department to put on file.

Article 18 The establishment and adjustment of the price of ship tickets of passenger transport by water shall be issued by enterprises of passenger transport by water in written application, and shall be submitted to the department of price for examination and approval, after the competent department raise its auditing opinion.

Enterprises of passenger transport, maritime terminal and station, passenger transport service and all net spots to sell tickets shall not sell tickets with prices higher than the approved by the department of price.

Article 19 Enterprises of passenger transport by water may entrust maritime terminal and station of passenger transport, enterprises of passenger transport service and other enterprises, and social groups to sell tickets, and may establish sale net spots independently.

Enterprises of passenger transport may consult with entrustee on the charging of ticket selling, except that the nation provides related standard.

The net spots of selling tickets of passenger transport by water shall be approved by the competent department, and can only carry out the business after getting the license of passenger transport by water service and handling the registration procedure for industry and commerce.

Article 20 The contract of passenger transport and package transport related with passenger transport by water shall be reached under the principle of voluntary. The contract of harbor operation and service shall be reached under the principle of equality and mutual benefit and consensus.

The form, content and management of all kinds of contracts shall be handled in the light of related national regulations.

Article 21 The maritime terminal and station of passenger transport shall provide qualified harbor equipment and necessary service to ships for passenger transport, in light of related national regulations and the contract with enterprises of passenger transport by water.

Article 22 Enterprises of passenger transport by water and tourism on water shall hand in management fares of water transport pursuant to related national regulations. The charge of the maritime terminal and station of passenger transport shall be carried out under related national regulations on price management.

Enterprises of passenger transport by water shall sign harbor service agreement with the maritime terminal and station of passenger transport under the principle of fairness, rationalization and flat rate.

Article 23 Ships, engaged in passenger transport by water along fixed voyage line, shall execute the operation system of fixed line, fixed shift and fixed time. Ships in operation of all voyage lines shall set off punctually in accordance with the shift and time provided in voyage schedule.

The voyage schedule of passenger transport shall be established by passenger transport enterprises with the maritime terminal and station, and shall be submitted to the competent department for approval, and then can be publicized to public and enter into force. Without the approval of the competent department, the enterprises can not add or reduce the voyage shifts at discretion.

When the enterprises of passenger transport by water need to add or reduce shifts provisionally, they shall submit to the competent department for approval in advance. The competent department shall make decision on whether to approve or not within 3 days from the recipient of the application. In case that, because of the force major and emergency situation, the enterprises must adjust the shifts in time and cannot submit for approval in advance, they shall make explanation in written to the competent department afterwards.

Article 24 Non-passenger transport ships can not engage in passenger transport by water.

Article 25 Before passenger transport ships are put into operation, enterprises of passenger transport by water and tourism on water shall issue voyage start-up application to the competent department, and attach it with the following materials:

(1) approval file of voyage line operation;

(2) certification of ships inspection;

(3) certification of ships registration;

(4) certification of sailor' s qualification.

The competent department shall investigate and grant certification of ship operation to those who have the above materials. Ships without such certification can not engage in passenger transport.

If it is necessary to change ships in operation, the substitute ships shall apply for the certification before they can be put into passenger transport.

Article 26 Enterprises of passenger transport by water shall establish internal supervisory organization to protect voyage safety; establish a management system of safety; check the safety of ships at regular intervals and execute the repairing and maintenance.

The management organization of safety of passenger transport by water enterprises shall be established independently from the management organization of voyage and technology.

Article 27 Upon the discovery of significant hidden safety problem and traffic accident on water, passenger transport by water enterprises and the maritime terminal and station shall report to the competent department and the supervisory department of harbor business in time, and shall adopt effective measures to reduce damages and prevent the situation to become even worsen.

Article 28 Ships engaged in operation of tourism on water pursuant to these rules shall operate in the water area appointed by the competent department and approved by the supervisory department of harbor business.

Tourism on water project can not be run in the water area for harbor activity.

Article 29 Ships of passenger transport shall not overload passengers.

Article 30 Passenger ships shall anchor at the established harbor along the voyage line and for passengers to embark and debark.

Article 31 The passenger pass in the maritime terminal and station shall be clear. Equipment for embarkation and debarkation shall satisfy safety requirement. The maritime terminal and station and the enterprises of passenger transport shall formulate effective measures for emergency situation to ensure that the passengers can be evacuated and settled down promptly in such situation.

Article 32 Enterprises of passenger transport by water and passenger transport by water service shall make service promise to social public at regular intervals. The competent department carries out supervisory management over the service of passenger transport enterprises pursuant to law and puts forward suggestions and guidance to promote the quality of service.

Chapter ¢ó  Legal Liability

Article 33 Whoever violates these rules, engaging in the business of passenger transport by water, passenger transport by water service or tourism on water without authority and license of water transport or water transport service, shall be ordered to stop its illegal operation, be confiscated its illegal gains and be fined no less than 10,000 yuan but no more than 30,000 yuan.

Enterprises of water transport service, who provide profitable passenger transport service to illegally operating ships without any license of water transport or ship operation, shall be ordered by the competent department to stop their illegal activities and may be fined no less than 10,000 yuan but no more than 30,000 yuan.

Article 34 Whoever violates article 13 and article 17 of these rules, and violates related regulations of registration management for industry and commerce, shall be dealt by the administrative management department for industry and commerce in light of related national regulations on registration management for enterprises.

Article 35 Whoever violates article 14 and article 28 shall be ordered to correct by the competent department, and shall be ordered to suspend business if refusing to correct.

Article 36 Whoever violates article 15, article 16 and article 17 shall be ordered to correct by the competent department. The enterprise' s illegal gains shall be confiscated and it shall be fined no less than 10,000 yuan but no more than 30,000 yuan.

Article 37 Whoever violates article 18 and article 22 shall be punished under related regulations about national price management and transport management fare.

Article 38 Whoever violates article 23 shall be ordered to correct by the competent department and shall be fined no less than 2,000 yuan but no more than 5,000 yuan.

Article 39 Whoever violates article 25 shall be ordered to correct in provided time or suspend business by the competent department and shall be fined no less than 5,000 yuan but no more than 10,000 yuan.

Article 40 Whoever violates the regulations of harbor business supervisory or fishery and fishing harbor supervisory shall be dealt by those department pursuant to related regulations.

Article 41 Any party, not agree with the administrative punishment decision, may apply for reconsideration to administrative organ for reconsideration of the municipal people' s government, within 15 days from its recipient of it. Any party, not agree with the decision of reconsideration, may sue to the people' s court, within 15 days from its recipient of it. In the case that the party refuses to implement the punishment decision and submits no reconsideration or litigation, the department who made the decision shall apply to the people' s court for implementing by force, pursuant to law.

Article 42 The public officials of the competent department, abusing their authority or playing favoritism and committing irregularities shall be given administrative punishment by their department or the superior department; if the offence constitutes a crime, shall be investigated for criminal responsibility by judicial organization.

Chapter ¢ô Annex

        Article 43 These rules shall enter into force as of its publication.