Amendments responding to international regulatory developments proposed to Vessel Traffic Service Act

On 16 November 2023, the Government submitted to Parliament a proposal to amend the Vessel Traffic Service Act, the Ship Safety Control Act and the Act on the Enforcement of a Fine.

The Vessel Traffic Service (VTS) means the supervision and management of vessel traffic from land. The amendments would change the VTS legislation to ensure that it corresponds to international regulatory developments.

According to the proposed amendments to the Vessel Traffic Service Act, the division of VTS into different tasks would be discontinued. In addition, further specifications would be added to the VTS qualification requirements and the requirements concerning the content and provision of VTS personnel training. With the amendments, these requirements would conform to the standards of the International Association of Marine Aids to Navigation and Lighthouse Authorities (IALA).

The national legislative amendments required by the European Maritime Single Window environment (EMSWe) Regulation would be implemented at the same time in order to replace the Finnish Transport and Communication Agency Traficom's Portnet system with a new maritime information management system.

In addition, the scope of application of the Act on the Enforcement of a Fine would be extended to apply to the penalty fee referred to in the Vessel Traffic Service Act.

Next steps

A referral debate on the government proposal submitted to Parliament will be conducted in a Parliament plenary session. Information on the date of the session will be available on the Parliament website. After the debate, the proposal will be referred to a committee. The committee will draft a report, which will then be discussed in a plenary session.

The acts would enter into force as soon as possible. However, the amendments required by the EMSWe Regulation would enter into force at the same time with the Regulation on 15 August 2025.

Inquiries

Suvi Kankare, Senior Specialist, Legal Affairs, [email protected], tel. +358 295 342 105

Väinö Pitkänen, Senior Officer, [email protected], tel. +358 295 342 127 (training and qualifications)

Katja Viertävä, Senior Ministerial Adviser, [email protected], tel. +358 295 342 612 (EMSW)