• 2016 June 24

    The past and the Duma

    State Duma of the Russian Federation has rejected the bill supported by the business community and supposed to call off the requirement on obligatory state environmental expert approval (SEEA) of oil spill response activities plans and to return to previously used closed list of activities subject to SEEA. Meanwhile, the draft law on line shipping has been approved and the access to the Far East and the Arctic has been simplified for tourists travelling by sea.

    Bunkering vs elections

    In the very end of its session State Duma of the Russian Federation considered several bills of great importance for the marine and river transport.

    Among the decisions with negative implications for the industry there was a rejection of the bill supposed to call off the requirement on obligatory state environmental expert approval (SEEA) of oil spill response activities plans and to return to previously used closed list of activities subject to SEEA.

    According to bunkering market players, current legislation cannot improve the environmental safety while creating favorable conditions for corruption and enhancing unreasonable expenses of the businesses. As Vladimir Sergeyev, Chairman of Russian Association of Marine and River Bunker Suppliers, told IAA port news, the rejected bill draft law NO 824042-6 has been anonymously supported by the representatives of the business community (including Russian Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs, bunker suppliers, ship owners, oil industry representatives etc.) amid large scale negative impact of the Federal Law dated December 30, 2012 (No 287–FL) being observed since the middle of 2013. The negative impact includes the large scale corrupt practices while the unreasonable and excessive requirement set forth by the mentioned law overburden most of the bunkering companies amid the crisis situation.

    In our opinion, rejection of a bill supported by the industry related ministries, business community and RF Government’s Marine Board can be explained by the approaching elections into the lower chamber of the parliament. In this period, the deputies appear unwilling to pass the bills which can be publicly interpreted as loosening the environment safety control. 

    Despite the rejection of the bill Russian Association of Marine and River Bunker Suppliers is going to bring this issue to the meeting of the State Council of the Russian Federation dedicated to improvement of environment protection measures and cleaning-up of accumulated environmental damage in the constituent entities of the Russian Federation. The meeting is to be held in late 2016.

    Regulation of lines

    Meanwhile, State Duma of the Russian Federation has approved in the third reading the draft law regulation the activities of shipping lines. The bill sets forth the conceptual framework of line shipping, secures state preferences for line operators and defines publically announced services as a key criterion a of line shipping. The bill authors say that state preferences are currently provided to operators which do not comply with this criterion as they service a limited circle of clients under long-term contracts.

    Among the preferences there is a right of first call to a seaport and a right of first inspection by state control bodies. Besides, sea lines will enjoy decreasing coefficient applied to port dues.

    A line is subject to a state registration and can be deprived of it in case of a failure to fulfill the assumed obligations.

    So, the approved bill will let ensure a transparent market of sea line carriers enjoying the preferences and exclude unfair players and operators servicing a limited circle of shippers.

    Regional waterways

    Another significant bill is the bill on differentiation of inland water ways approved by the State Duma in the third reading. Under the draft law the navigable parts of rivers, canals, lakes and water reservoirs located within a single constituent entity of the Russian Federation including those in the Far North of Russia and not included into the list of inland water ways of the Russian Federation can be classified as regional waterways upon the initiative of a constituent entity. Regional IWW will be under the federal ownership, the issue on their inclusion into the list will be made by the Government of the Russian Federation. 

    Foreign tourists in the Far East

    Moreover, State Duma approved in the third reading the draft law “On introduction of amendments into certain legislative acts of the Russian Federation in the part of improving legal regulation of relations associated with the limitation of liabilities for maritime claims and with the use of foreign vessels in the internal waters and territorial sea of the Russian Federation.” Under this draft law, the regulations on restricted access to border areas are not applicable to foreign-flagged vessels carrying tourists for scheduled visits of one or several ports/points within internal waters and territorial sea of the Russian Federation adjacent to the Far East Federal District or the Arctic zone. This measure is intended to facilitate the development of marine tourism in priority development regions.

    So, the recent results of Duma activities are controversial, though mostly positive for the industry.

    Vitaly Chernov