Assisting Tourism: Legislative Yuan Preliminary Review Exempts Non-ROC Yachts Under 1000 Gross Tons from Compulsory Pilotage

(CNA, Taipei, July 8) To align with the nation's yacht tourism policy, the Legislative Yuan's Transportation Committee today preliminarily approved an amendment to Article 6 of the Pilotage Act. This amendment relaxes the requirement for non-Republic of China (ROC) yachts to use compulsory pilotage, stipulating that non-ROC yachts under 1000 gross tons will be exempt from this requirement.

The current Pilotage Act stipulates that the Ministry of Transportation and Communications, for the safety of navigation channels and voyages, categorizes pilotage services into compulsory and voluntary pilotage. The implementation of compulsory pilotage is determined by ministerial order. ROC vessels under 1000 gross tons and non-ROC vessels under 500 gross tons are exempt from compulsory pilotage.

Given the increasing development of water transportation in Taiwan, the government's promotion of water recreation policies, and Taiwan's status as an island nation where maritime transport is crucial, legislator Hsu Chih-chieh of the Democratic Progressive Party proposed an amendment to Article 6 of the Pilotage Act. This amendment aims to adjust the scope of exemptions from compulsory pilotage, thereby relaxing the requirement for non-ROC yachts to use compulsory pilotage.

The Legislative Yuan's Transportation Committee today preliminarily approved the amendment to Article 6 of the Pilotage Act. In line with the nation's yacht tourism policy, the preliminary draft specifies that non-ROC vessels exempt from compulsory pilotage will be treated similarly to ROC vessels in terms of gross tonnage. The exemption will now apply to non-ROC yachts under 1000 gross tons, or other non-ROC vessels under 500 gross tons.

Ye Hsieh-lung, Director-General of the Maritime and Port Bureau, who attended the meeting, stated that the bureau is also currently promoting amendments to the Pilotage Act to strengthen the supervision and management of pilotage services. To support the yacht tourism development policy and ensure port navigation safety, the bureau has consulted with various pilot associations and port authorities, reaching a consensus.

Ye Hsieh-lung pointed out that exempting non-ROC yachts under 1000 gross tons from compulsory pilotage, by analogy with the current exemption for ROC vessels under 1000 gross tons, is consistent with the direction of the bureau's review and amendment of the law. The Maritime and Port Bureau respects the review results of the Transportation Committee. (Edited by Yang Lan-hsuan) 1150708

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