At a meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers on Friday, 26 January, Director General of the Agency for Transport and Communications under the Cabinet of Ministers Mammetkhan Chakiyev reported that Turkmenistan is implementing measures to join the Convention on the Facilitation of International Maritime Traffic of the International Maritime Organization (IMO).
This move reflects Turkmenistan’s commitment to aligning its national maritime standards with international best practices to increase the efficiency of the maritime industry, ensure the safety of ship traffic, and strengthen trade relations with foreign countries.
Chakiyev also highlighted ongoing efforts to modernize maritime infrastructure, including upgrading the Turkmenbashi International Seaport and expanding the Turkmen maritime fleet.
The Agency for Maritime and River Transport of Turkmenistan “Turkmendenizderyayollary” commented on the advantages that Turkmenistan will bring to the Convention on Facilitation of International Maritime Traffic (FAL Convention).
The FAL Convention imposes on the parties the obligation to cooperate in ensuring full uniformity of formalities and requirements for documents and procedures in all areas and to minimize any changes in formalities, requirements for documents and procedures. The provisions of the Convention require the creation, implementation and use of a single window (SW) system in order to provide information in electronic form related to the entry and departure of ships from the ports of the member countries, the Agency says.
At the same time, for the purpose of one-time submission of information and documents, as well as their possible reuse, state bodies overseeing ships and cargo should use electronic information systems. The requirement to use a “single window” from 2024 is a mandatory requirement in all ports.
In this regard, the Agency for Maritime and River Transport believes that the ratification of the FAL Convention by Turkmenistan and the implementation of the following measures will contribute to the development of a national SW system at seaport checkpoints:
- Creation of a SW system for providing information related to the arrival/departure of ships in ports in electronic form, rather than paper;
- The use of international terms related to the arrival/departure of ships in ports to standardize electronic communications, develop the necessary information formats and definitions (for example, the name of the vessel, IMO number, captain’s name, port of destination, container number, etc.);
- Processing of information in a SW system, determining a set of information that meets the requirements of supervisory authorities in information related to the arrival/departure of ships in ports;
- Improvement of methods of state supervision of vehicles, cargo, goods and people at state maritime border control points.
In addition to these benefits, the ratification of the Convention will contribute to the further implementation of the “Concept for the Development of the Digital Economy in Turkmenistan for 2019-2025”, as well as ensuring compliance with international requirements and digitalization of checkpoints in seaports.
Currently, 129 countries have joined the FAL Convention. Turkmenistan has been a member of the International Maritime Organization since 1993. ///nCa, 29 January 2024