Indian Vessels Act, 2021

About Indian Vessels Act, 2021:

• Indian Vessels bill, 2021 seeks to replace the Inland Vessels Act, 1917. The bill aims to regulate the safety, security and registration of inland vessels.

Key Features of the Indian Vessels Act, 2021:

•  Unified Law:
  • The Bill provides for a unified law for the entire country, instead of separate rules framed by the States.
  • This means that the certificate of registration granted under the proposed law will be deemed to be valid in all States and Union Territories.
  • Moreover, there will also be no need to seek separate permissions from the States.
• Central Database of Vessels:
  • The Bill provides for a central database for recording the details of the vessel, vessel registration, crew on an electronic portal. The Bill defines such vessels to include ships, boats, sailing vessels, container vessels, and ferries.
• Mandatory registration of Vessels:
  • The bill requires all mechanically propelled vessels to be mandatorily registered.
  • On the other hand, all non-mechanically propelled vessels will also have to be enrolled at the district, taluk or panchayat or village level.
•  Prevention of pollution:
  • Vessels will discharge or dispose sewage, as per the standards specified by the central government. State governments will grant vessels a certificate of prevention of pollution, in a form as prescribed by the central government.

About Inland Waterways:

• India has about 14,500 km of navigable waterways which comprises rivers, canals, backwaters, creeks among others.
• About 55 million tonnes of cargo are being moved annually by Inland Water Transport (IWT), in a fuel-efficient and environment-friendly mode.

About Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI):

• Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) was constituted in 1986 for the development and regulation of inland waterways for shipping and navigation.
• Purpose: The Authority primarily undertakes projects for the development and maintenance of IWT infrastructure on national waterways. IWAI did this through the grants received from the Ministry of Shipping.