The World Assembly,
Realizing the dangers of sea travel in the absence of proper navigational tools and techniques,
Hoping to improve international safety standards on sea travel,
Hereby,
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Defines
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“nautical routes” as routes allocated for commercial vessels to travel through a given area of sea,
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“nautical charts” as maps that show the shape of the shoreline, the underwater topography, tidal changes in water depth, nautical routes, major currents and specific localized dangers to sea travel,
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“nautical instrumentation” on a commercial vessel to include
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some way to determine one’s coordinates and direction of travel,
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some way to determine the local status of tide, and
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some way to communicate with other vessels and nearest authorities
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”commercial vessels” as non-military vessels that transport cargo and/or passengers for hire;
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Mandates that member states
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create and frequently update nautical charts of their territorial waters and exclusive economic zone,
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share their nautical charts with commercial vessels that have the right to enter these areas;
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Requires that all commercial vessels registered in a member nation carry and utilize up-to-date nautical charts and nautical instrumentation;
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Mandates that all crews of commercial vessels registered in a member nation
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acquire the necessary nautical charts before leaving port,
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have their planned route pre-approved by the member states whose waters they will be traversing,
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when feasible, stay on nautical routes,
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obey the local authorities when it comes to additional temporary regulations applied to all commercial vessels in that area,
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communicate with the nearest authorities and other vessels, if they must for one reason or another depart from their pre-approved traveling plans, and
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carry nautical charts for the areas they intend to pass through.