The new Regional Port Byelaws will come into effect per January 1st
As of the 1st of January, the new Regional Port Byelaws will come into effect in the entire North Sea Canal area. The ordinance has been established by the municipalities of Amsterdam, Beverwijk, Velsen, and Zaanstad.
The amendment to the byelaws has been drafted in collaboration with the Port of Rotterdam, aligning regulations in both areas, facilitating ease for shipowners, captains, and agents.
The new byelaws features mostly technical amendments with a relatively limited impact on maritime and inland shipping and operations. The established byelaws can be viewed here or on Overheid.nl.
Key Changes
The main amendments are as follows:
- Amendments related to (inter)national laws and regulations. This includes changes to terminology in relation to compliance with the Environmental Act and the amended Law for the Prevention of Pollution by Ships.
- An amendment related to regulating the transport of people on the harbour waters, to be found in Article 3.17. This amendment will go into effect for the municipality of Amsterdam and Zaanstad. With this addition, there will no longer be a need to introduce an operating permit system; instead, general rules and technical requirements for passenger transport will apply.
- A more flexible approach to Chapter 8 on cleaner fuels, using the concept of 'designated fuels.' This change allows for a quicker response to the use of new and/or more sustainable fuels.
- Several technical, non-substantive changes for clarification. This includes the correction of language errors, the addition of punctuation, clearer language use, and a more logical construction of articles or texts.
A complete overview of the changes can be found in the amendment table.