S.L. 499.34 Art. 9Automatic identification system and voyage data recorder system.

(a) Any passenger ship, irrespective of its size, and all other ships, other than passenger ships, of 300 gross tonnage and more, calling at a port in Malta, shall be fitted with an automated identification system (AIS) in accordance with the technical and performance standards laid down in Chapter V of the International

Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS)

1974, as amended: Provided that the provisions of this regulation shall not apply to:

(i) passenger ships below 15 metres in length overall or 300 gross tonnage engaged only in domestic voyages;

(ii) all other ships of 300 gross tonnage and more but less than 500 gross tonnage sailing exclusively within Maltese waters and outside the routes normally used by ships fitted with an AIS; and

(iii) all other ships below 300 gross tonnage.

(b) Ships fitted with an AIS shall maintain it in operation at all times except where international agreements, rules or standards provide for the protection of navigational information.

(c) Without prejudice to paragraph (a), any fishing vessel calling at a port in Malta having an overall length of more than 15 metres and which either flies the flag of a Member State and is registered in the Community, or operates in the internal or territorial waters of Malta, or lands its catch in any port of Malta, shall be fitted with an AIS (Class A) which meets the performance standards drawn up by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), including, but not limited to, IMO Resolution A.917(22): Provided that fishing vessels shall comply with the provisions of this regulation according to the following timetable:

(i) fishing vessels having an overall length of and exceeding 24 metres but less than 45 metres, by not later than 31st May, 2012;

(ii) fishing vessels having an overall length of and exceeding 18 metres but less than 24 metres, by not later than 31st May, 2013;

(iii) fishing vessels having an overall length exceeding 15 metres but less than 18 metres, by not later than 31st May, 2014; and

(iv) new built fishing vessels having an overall length exceeding 15 metres, from 30th November, 2010: Provided further that fishing vessels equipped with AIS shall maintain it in operation at all times. AIS may only be switched off in exceptional circumstances where the master considers this to be necessary in the interest of safety or security of his vessel.

(d) (i) Passengers ships, irrespective of their sizes, and all other ships, other than passenger ships, of 3,000 gross tonnage and more, engaged on international voyages calling at a port in Malta, shall be fitted with a voyage data recorder

(VDR) in accordance with the technical and performance standards laid down in Chapter V of SOLAS: Provided that in case of cargo ships of 3,000 gross tonnage and more constructed before 1st July, 2002 the VDR may be the simplified voyage data recorder (S-VDR) which shall comply with the technical and performance standards developed in accordance with Chapter V of SOLAS.

(ii) Passenger ships, irrespective of their sizes, and all other ships, other than passenger ships, of 3,000 gross tonnage and more, constructed on or after 1st July, 2002, sailing exclusively within the Maltese waters, shall be fitted with a VDR which complies with the technical and performance standards developed in accordance with Chapter V of SOLAS.

(iii) Cargo ships of 3,000 gross tonnage and more constructed before 1st July, 2002, sailing exclusively within the Maltese waters, shall be fitted with a VDR or with an S-VDR which complies with the technical and performance standards developed in accordance with Chapter V of SOLAS.

(iv) The provisions of this regulation shall not apply to:

(a) the fitting of a VDR on passenger ships engaged on voyages in sea areas other than those covered by Class A, as referred to in Article 4 of Directive 2009/45/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 6th May 2009 on safety rules and standards for passenger ships; (b the fitting of a VDR on ships, other than ro-ro passenger ships, constructed before 1st July, 2002 where it can be demonstrated that interfacing a VDR with the existing equipment on the ship is unreasonable and impracticable; and

(c) the fitting of an S-VDR on cargo ships constructed before 1st July, 2002, whether engaged on international voyages or exclusively in the Maltese waters, if such ships are to be taken permanently out of service within two years of the implementation date specified in Chapter V of SOLAS.

(e) Data which has been collected from VDR and S-VDR systems shall be made available to the competent authority to be properly analysed as part of an investigation following a casualty within the territorial waters of Malta. The findings of such an investigation shall be published as soon as possible after its conclusion.

(f) Any ship calling at a port in Malta to which regulation V/19-1 of the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) 1974, as amended, and the performance standards and functional requirements adopted by the International Maritime Organisation

(IMO) apply, shall carry LRIT equipment complying with that regulation.