For the purpose of the present Agreement:
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1. The "Competent Maritime Authority" in the Republic of Estonia is the Ministry of Transport
and Communications and in the Kingdom of the Netherlands the Directorate-General Shipping
and Maritime Affairs of the Ministry of Transport, Public Works and Water Management.
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2. The term "vessel of a Contracting Party" means any seagoing vessel used in commercial
service, with the exception of fishing vessels and factory ships, which is registered
in the territory and flies the flag of a Contracting Party in compliance with its
national laws and regulations.
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3. The term "crew member" means the ship's master and any person actually employed on
board a vessel with regard to the working or service of the vessel, who is included
in the crew list and who is a holder of a seaman's identity document.
The Contracting Parties shall in their mutual relations contribute in every respect
to the freedom of merchant shipping and shall refrain from any action which might
harm the development of international shipping.
The Contracting Parties agree
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a) to promote the development of maritime transport in a spirit of consideration of their
mutual interests and to remove any difficulties in this field;
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b) to facilitate the transfer of technology and know how as well as the establishment
of joint ventures in the field of shipping;
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c) to guarantee free access on the landside to multimodal transportation.
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1 Each Contracting Party shall grant to the vessels of the other Contracting Party the
same treatment as to its own vessels used in international sea transport, with regard
to official formalities, free access to ports, utilisation of such ports for loading
and discharging of cargo and embarkment of passengers, payment of tonnage dues and
other taxes or charges, utilisation of services and facilities applied for navigation,
shipping and normal commercial transactions. This applies also to vessels operated
by shipping companies of the other Contracting Party flying the flag of a third country,
unless the Competent Maritime Authorities of that Contracting Party object.
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2 The provisions of paragraph 1 shall apply to custom formalities, the levying of charges
and port dues, freedom of access to and the use of the ports, as well as to all facilities
afforded to shipping and commercial operations in respect of vessels, crew members,
passengers and cargoes. In particular this refers to the allocation of berths at piers,
loading and unloading facilities and port services, including bunker facilities.
The Contracting Parties shall adopt, within the limits of their domestic legal order,
all appropriate measures to facilitate and expedite maritime traffic, to prevent unnecessary
delays to vessels and to expedite and simplify as much as possible the carrying out
of customs and other formalities applicable in ports.
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2 The provisions of paragraph 1 of this Article shall also apply to income and profits
obtained by chartering out vessels fully equipped, manned and supplied, irrespective
of the nationality of the charterer.
Each Contracting Party shall grant to the shipping company which has its place of
effective management in the territory of the other Contracting Party the right of
free transfer in convertible currency to the country designated by the shipping company
of their investments and the returns from it as well as the excess of receipts over
expenditure earned by that shipping company in the territory of the first Contracting
Party.
Such transfers shall be granted regularly and currently and shall be based on official
exchange rates or current payments, or where there are no official exchange rates,
at the prevailing foreign exchange market rates for current payments. No charges other
than normal bank charges shall be applicable to such transfers.
The Contracting Parties shall recognize the seaman's identity documents, issued by
the competent authorities of the other Contracting Party.
These identity documents are:
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a) for crew members on Estonian vessels:
the Seaman's discharge book (for members having Estonian citizenship); the Certificate
of record of service on Estonian ships, together with a valid passport recognized
by the Kingdom of the Netherlands (for members not having Estonian citizenship);
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b) for crew members on Netherlands vessels: the Netherlands "Monsterboekje" (Seaman's
book).
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1 During the time a vessel of either Contracting Party is berthed in a port of the other
Contracting Party, each crew member of that vessel shall be permitted shore leave
on the territory of the municipality to which the port belongs, as well as on the
territories of adjacent municipalities, without visas being required, provided he
can show the relevant identity documents mentioned in Article 9.
However, such leave shall only be permitted if the ship's master has submitted to
the competent authorities, in accordance with the regulations in force in that port,
a crew list on which the crew member occurs.
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1 Crew members holding the relevant identity documents, mentioned in Article 9, have
the right, regardless of the mode of transport, to enter the territory of the other
Contracting Party or pass through that territory in order to rejoin their vessel,
to be transferred to another vessel, to return to their country, or to travel for
any other purpose with the consent of the competent authorities of that other Contracting
Party.
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3 If the holder of a seaman's identity document referred to in Article 9 of this Agreement
does not possess the nationality of one of the Contracting Parties, the entry and
transit visas referred to in this article shall be issued for the territory of the
other Contracting Party provided the return of the holder to the territory of the
Contracting Party which has issued the identity document is guaranteed.
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1 Without prejudice to the generality of the Articles 8 to 11, the laws and regulations
of either Contracting Party concerning the entry, the stay and the termination of
the stay of foreigners, are applicable.
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1 Should vessels of either Contracting Party be involved in maritime casualties or encounter
any other danger in the territorial sea, internal waters or ports of the other Contracting
Party, the latter shall give all possible assistance and attention to the vessels,
crew members, cargo and passengers in danger and notify the appropriate authorities
of the Contracting Parties concerned without delay.
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2 Where cargo on board of a vessel of either Contracting Party involved in a maritime
casualty needs to be discharged and stored temporarily in the territory of the other
Contracting Party before its return to the country of shipment or carriage to third
countries, the other Contracting Party shall provide all facilities required, and
such cargo shall be exempt from all customs duties, dues and taxes.
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1 The vessels and crew members of either Contracting Party shall observe the relevant
laws and regulations of the other Contracting Party during their stay in the latter's
territorial sea, internal waters and ports.
The authorities of either Contracting Party shall not exercise jurisdiction over or
intervene in the internal affairs of the vessels of the other Contracting Party in
its territorial sea, internal waters and ports, except in the cases and to the extent
expressly provided for in generally accepted international rules and regulations and
in treaties in force between the Contracting Parties.
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2 When a crew member of a vessel of either Contracting Party has committed a crime on
board that vessel in the territorial sea of the other Contracting Party, the competent
authorities of that Contracting Party shall not prosecute him without the consent
of the master of the vessel or of a diplomatic or consular officer of the former Contracting
Party, unless
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a) the consequences of the crime extend to their territory; or
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b) the crime is of a kind to disturb the peace of their country or the good order of
the territorial sea; or
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c) according to the law of their country, the crime is a serious offence; or
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d) the crime has been committed against a foreigner on board the vessel; or
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e) such measures are necessary for the suppression of illicit traffic in narcotic drugs
or psychotropic substances.
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1 With a view to assuring full implementation of the present Agreement and facilitating
maritime transport between the two States, the Contracting Parties shall establish
a Joint Committee, which will be composed of representatives of the competent authorities
of the two Contracting Parties.
This Agreement shall be provisionally applied from the date of its signature and shall
come into force on the first day of the second month following the date on which the
Contracting Parties have informed each other in writing that the formalities constitutionally
required in their respective countries have been complied with.
If either Contracting Party wishes to denounce the present Agreement, it shall notify
the other Contracting Party in writing and the denunciation of the Agreement shall
take effect twelve months after the date of receipt of such notification by the other
Contracting Party.
