Ministério do Equipamento, do Planeamento e Administração do Território (Ministry for Equipment, Planning and Territorial Administration)
Decree-Law
(This is not an official translation of the law)
Radiocommunication on-board ships has also been affected by permanent technological evolution and constitutes an indispensable facility for the sending of messages between ships and between ships and coastal and land stations. Its is also indispensable for the safety of persons and property at sea.
The normative dispositions set out in Decree nr. 10 191 of 17th October 1924 and Decree no. 41 333/57, of 25th October are extremely outdated and therefore need to be updated as a matter of urgency and adapted to new technological possibilities and modern administrative and operational demands, with such factors comprising the fundamental objectives of this legislation.
In addition to a review of the use of the hectometric waves used for radiotelegraphy and telephony, the use of the remaining frequency bands of the mobile maritime and satellite mobile maritime services for ships communications in Portuguese territorial waters is, in turn, also being regulated. This innovation represents a factor of primordial importance for the safety of navigation and the discipline of maritime radiocommunication.
An approval procedure for national and port plans is also hereby established in the domain of port radiocommunication. This will certainly make a major contribution towards improving communications at ports, in addition to increasing the efficiency and safety of navigation.
Accordingly:
Pursuant to sub paragraph a) of no. 1 of article 201 of the Constitution the Government hereby declares the following:
CHAPTER I
General Dispositions
Article 1
Object
The object of this legislation is to institute the regime for the use of the radio spectrum by maritime mobile and satellite mobile maritime services radiocommunication stations.
Article 2
Definitions
- The following definitions are hereby provided for the purposes of this legislation:
1. Mobile service: radiocommunication service between mobile and land stations or between mobile stations;
2. Maritime mobile service: mobile service between coastal and on-board ship stations, or between on-board ship stations, or between associated on-board communications stations. Stations on survival vessels and radio-beacon stations for locating accidents may also be parties to this service;
3. Satellite maritime mobile service: satellite mobile service in which the mobile land stations are located on-board ships. Stations on survival vessels and radio-beacon stations for locating accidents may also be parties to this service;
4. Station: one or several transmitters or receivers or a set of transmitters or receivers, including their accessory equipment, necessary to provide a radiocommunication service in a specific location;
5. Mobile station: a mobile service station to be used on the move or during stopovers at unspecified locations;
6. Land station: a mobile service station not intended to be used on the move;
7. Coastal station: a mobile maritime land station;
8. Land coastal station: fixed satellite land service or, in certain cases, the satellite mobile maritime service, located at a specific point on the ground and used for satellite mobile maritime service connections;
9. On-board ship station: a mobile station of the mobile maritime service located on board a ship which is not permanently at anchor, moored or belayed, being different from a station on-board a survival vessel;
10. On-board ship land station: a mobile land station of the satellite mobile maritime service installed on-board a ship;
11. On-board ship communication station: a low power mobile station of the maritime mobile service, to be used for internal communications on-board a ship, or for communications between a ship and its lifeboats or life-rafts, during the course of the performance of lifesaving exercises or operations or for communications between a convoy of ships being towed or driven forward as well as for communications referring to instructions on the manoeuvring of cables and mooring operations;
12. Survival vessel station: a mobile station of the maritime mobile service intended exclusively for the needs of shipwrecked sailors and placed in a lifeboat, life-raft or any other item of lifesaving equipment;
13. On-board ship radiocommunication station: a station located on-board a ship which may be an on-board ship station, an on-board ship land station, an on-board ship communications station or a station on a lifesaving device or a collection of any such stations;
14. Public correspondence: any telecommunication which services and stations, owing to the fact that they available for public use, may accept for transmission;
15. Ship: any apparatus or item of aquatic equipment of any kind, used or suitable for use as a means of transport on water, including hydroplanes, floating platforms and immersion vehicles.
16. Sailing ship: a ship is considered to be sailing when it is not moored, belayed, at anchor, aground or afloat;
17. Continental waters: non maritime waters belonging to the public domain, comprising lakes, lagoons, reservoirs and navigable water courses or water courses permitting floating operations on national territory.
- Any other definition not referred to in the sub paragraphs of the preceding number shall comply with the norms set out in the Constitution and Convention of the International Telecommunication Union and its administrative regulations.
- The definitions of inland and territorial waters used in this legislation shall be those definitions set out in the Convention on Territorial Waters, approved pursuant to the terms of Decree Law no. 44 490 of 3rd August 1962.
Article 3
Scope of Application
1. The dispositions set out in this legislation apply to all maritime mobile service radiocommunication and satellite maritime mobile service stations operating on national territory or in waters coming under national maritime jurisdiction, in addition to the radiocommunication stations of ships sailing under the national flag outside national waters.
2. Without prejudice to the contents of the preceding number, the radiocommunication stations of Portuguese ships operating in waters under the jurisdiction of other countries shall obey the laws of the said countries. The dispositions set out in this legislation do not apply to radiocommunication of the maritime mobile and the satellite maritime mobile services for the exclusive use of the Armed Forces or national security forces.
3.The radiocommunication of the maritime mobile and satellite maritime mobile services of ships of foreign States shall be regulated in accordance with the norms of international law.
CHAPTER II
Authorisation and Conditions Governing the Use of Radiocommunication Stations
Article 4
Installation and use of Stations
1. Coastal and land coastal stations may only be installed, used, altered and disassembled after advance authorisation has been given and a licence issued by the Portuguese Communications Institute, hereinafter referred to as ICP, pursuant to the terms of the applicable legislation.
2. A ship s radiocommunication stations may only be installed, used, altered and disassembled after advance authorisation has been given and a licence issued by the Directorate General of Ports, Navigation and Maritime Transport hereinafter referred to as DGPNTM pursuant to the terms of the applicable legislation.
3. The authorisations and licences referred to in the preceding numbers may not be transferred to third parties and shall be kept permanently by the stations to which they refer, for production whenever requested by the competent official inspection authorities.
Article 5
Conditions Governing Use
1.The use of coastal stations, land coastal stations and on-board ship radiocommunication shall comply with the norms of the Constitution and Convention of the International Telecommunication Union and its administrative regulations, the dispositions set out in the conventions pertaining to the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), other legal dispositions applicable to the maritime communications sector and the specific operating instructions issued, as appropriate, by ICP or DGPNTM.
2.In addition to the conditions set out in the preceding number, the respective users shall specifically undertake to:
a. Forthwith suspend all radiocommunication whenever this is ordered by any co-ordinating station, during the course of the realisation of search and lifesaving or anti-pollution operations and provided that they are not directly involved in the referred to operations;
b. Use the minimum necessary power in their transmissions and comply with the suitable use of frequencies and allocated transmission classes;
c. Comply with the procedures and schedules established and authorised for the respective services and, particularly, the frequency plans approved pursuant to the terms of this legislation;
d. Clearly transmit their calling sign, excluding any other name, in their transmissions as well as the calling sign of the corresponding station and, in the case of a general or group transmission, to solely transmit the calling sign of the calling station;
e. Take the necessary steps to guarantee and comply with the confidentiality of radiocommunication pursuant to the terms of the legislation currently in force,
3.In addition to the conditions referred to in the preceding number, the respective users shall be particularly prohibited from:
a. Transmitting messages which could interfere with other radio stations or the operation of other telecommunications facilities;
b. Transmitting messages to other than a legally identifiable receiver;
c. Using frequencies other than those which have been allocated to the respective station.
4. In cases referred to in sub paragraph a) of the preceding number, the interfering station shall, after being notified by ICP or DGPNTM be obliged to effectively eliminate such interference.
5. After the suspension referred to in sub paragraph a) of no.2, radiocommunication may only be re-established after authorisation has been received from the station ordering the suspension.
6. Those stations which, owing to their operating characteristics, do not justify the awarding of a calling sign, pursuant to the conditions set out in the Radiocommunication Regulations and other applicable legislation shall be excluded from the conditions of sub paragraph d) of no.2.
Article 6
Use of Signalling Codes and Scrambling Devices
National and foreign ships which are in waters subject to national maritime jurisdiction may only use the signalling codes referred to in the Radiocommunication Regulations and the International Signalling Code.
In addition to the conditions set out in the preceding number, the use of scrambling devices for communications between on-board ship radiocommunication stations and between ships and coastal stations may be authorised by ICP after the advance approval of DGPNTM has been obtained.
Article 7
Conditions for the Establishing of Radiocommunication
1.On-board ship stations, when on national territory, may only establish radiocommunication with other on-board ship stations, national coastal stations and coastal land stations using the bands attributed and frequencies allocated to the maritime mobile and satellite maritime mobile services.
2.In inland and continental waters, radiocommunication between stations on-board ship and between stations on-board ship and coastal stations shall be realised on frequency bands of more than 30 MHz.
3.Cases duly authorised by ICP and DGPNTM or, in the event of the non existence or insufficient cover of the maritime mobile service for public correspondence are excluded from the conditions set out in the preceding number.
4.The realising of radiocommunication using decametric wavelengths, on the 4 MHZ to 30 MHZ band, between on-board ship stations and between on-board ship and coastal stations in territorial waters, is not permitted.
5.Emergency, urgent and safety/security radiocommunication in addition to the co-ordination of search and lifesaving operations are excluded from the conditions of the preceding numbers.
6.Radiocommunication realised in territorial waters and inland waters between on-board ship stations and associated on-board ship communications shall comply with the conditions set out in the Radiocommunication Regulations.
Article 8
Obligatory Monitoring Activities
National ships in national or international waters and foreign ships in waters coming under national jurisdiction shall realise the respective monitoring activities, using the respective on-board ship radiocommunication stations, as set out in the Radiocommunication Regulations, the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) and other applicable legislation.
Article 9
Frequency Plans
1.The national frequencies plans for the maritime mobile and satellite maritime mobile services shall be approved by a joint ministerial order to be issued by the Ministers of National Defence and Infrastructures, Planning and Territorial Administration on the basis of a proposal to be submitted by ICP.
2.It is the responsibility of ICP, pursuant to a proposal to be submitted by the port authorities and after due consultation with other interested organisations, to promote the preparation of or alteration to the port plans for the maritime mobile service in addition to arranging for the publication of the corresponding announcement in the Diário da República.
Article 10
Prohibited Radiocommunication
1. The maritime mobile or satellite maritime mobile services are specifically prohibited from:
a. Using unnecessary communications or signals;
b. Using unauthorised signalling codes and scrambling devices;
c. Transmitting radio broadcasting services;
d. Transmitting regional songs, music or whistling, with the exclusion of public correspondence communications;
e. Transmitting signals, calls or alarm messages; emergency, urgent or false safety/security or misleading messages.
2. Whenever, either by accident or defective operation of the on-board ship radiocommunication the signals, calls or alarm messages referred to in sub paragraph e) of the preceding number are transmitted, the originator thereof shall take the necessary and appropriate measures to terminate the transmission and shall, forthwith, notify the co-ordination centre for the search and maritime lifesaving operations of the respective area of the said fact.
CHAPTER III
Charges, Inspection and Punishable Offences
Article 11
Charges
The use of coastal stations, land coastal stations and on-board ship radiocommunication is subject to the payment of charges pursuant to the terms of the applicable legislation.
Article 12
Punishable Offences
1. Without prejudice to any other applicable penalties, the following are considered to be offences punishable by the following fines:
a.From PTE 50,000 to PTE 500,000 and from PTE 100,000 to PTE 1,000,000 in the case of a violation of the conditions of sub paragraphs c), d) and e) of no.1 and no.2 of article 10, depending upon whether the punishable offence has been respectively committed by a singular or collective person;
b.From PTE 25,000 to PTE 250,000 and from PTE 50,000 to PTE 500,000 in the case of a violation of the conditions of sub paragraph b) of no.2 and nos. 4 and 5 of article 5, article 8 and sub paragraph b) of no.1 of article 10 depending upon whether the punishable offence has been respectively committed by a singular or collective person;
c.From PTE 10,000 to PTE 50,000 and from PTE 20,000 to PTE 100,000 in the case of a violation of the conditions of no.1 and sub paragraphs a), c), d) and e) of no.2 and no.3 of article 5; no. 1 of article 6, nos. 1, 2, 4 and 6 of article 7 and sub paragraph a) of no.1 of article 10 depending upon whether the punishable offence has been respectively committed by a singular or collective person;
2. Intent and negligence are punishable
3. The general regime covering punishable offences referred to in Decree Law no. 433/82 of 27th October and, pursuant to the adaptations resulting from the conditions of this legislation, Decree Law no. 19/84 of 14th January, in the case of the maritime authority system organs, apply subsidiarily to the punishable offences referred to in this legislation.
Article 13
Accessory Penalties
In the event of any violation of the conditions of sub paragraph c) of no.1 of article 10, the radiocommunication equipment may be confiscated as an accessory penalty.
Article 14
Inspection
1.Pursuant to the scope of the competencies which have been specifically entrusted to them, it is the responsibility of ICP and DGPNTM and maritime authority system organs to ensure due compliance with the norms set out in this legislation, without prejudice to the general competencies lawfully attributed to other entities.
2.When, during the course of realising their inspection duties, the entities referred to in the preceding number detect any situations indicating that the punishable offences referred to in this legislation have been committed, the said entities may apprehend the respective equipment as a precautionary measure and prepare the respective indictment which shall be sent within a period of twenty four hours to the entity responsible for preparing the procedure.
3.ICP shall be responsible for controlling the transmissions and shall provide information on situations which indicate that a punishable offence has been committed to those entities having jurisdiction over the stations in breach of the rules.
Article 15
Application of Fines and Processing of Punishable Offences
1.The application of the fines and accessory penalties referred to in this legislation shall be the responsibility of:
a.The chairman of ICP, when the unlawful event has been committed outside the area of maritime jurisdiction;
b.The director general of DGPNTM when detecting the infringements during inspections of the on-board ship stations, pursuant to the scope of his competencies;
c.The captain of the port authority in whose area the unlawful fact was committed or the captain of the port of registration of the vessel or the first port in which she enters, depending on which entity has prepared or received the indictment.
2.The preparation and processing of punishable offences is the responsibility of the services managed by the entities referred to in the preceding number.
Article 16
Use of Fines
The product of the fines applied pursuant to the terms of this legislation shall be as follows:
a. 60% to the State;
b. 20% to the entity levying the fine;
c. 20% to the fining entity.
CHAPTER V
Final Dispositions
Article 17
Subsidiary Legislation
Cases not provided for in this legislation shall, with the appropriate modifications, be governed by the conditions set out in the Constitution and Convention of the International Telecommunication Union and its administrative regulations, the Regulations of the Radio-Electrical services of Vessels, appended to Decree Law no. 45 267 of 24th September 1963 and Decree Law no. 147/87 of 24th March with the alterations introduced by Decree Law no. 149/91 of 12th April and Decree Law no. 320/88 of 14th September together with the alterations introduced by Decree Law no. 146/91 of 12th April.
Article 18
Revocatory Norm
Decree nos. 10 191 of 17th October 1924 and 41 333 of 25th October 1957 are hereby revoked.
Article 19
Coming into Effect
This legislation shall come into effect 90 days after publication.
Seen and approved by the Council of Ministers of 28th May 1997. António Manuel de Oliveira Guterres Mário Fernando de Campos Pinto Artur Aurélio Teixeira Rodrigues Consolado António Manuel de Carvalho Ferreira Vitorino Maria Manuela de Brito Arcanjo Marques da Costa João Cardona Gomes Cravinho. Enacted on 3rd July 1997. Publication authorised. President of the Republic, JORGE SAMPAIO. Countersigned on 10th July 1997. Prime Minister, António Manuel de Oliveira Guterres.
