Ordinance on navigation on Swiss waters
| Basic data | |
|---|---|
| Title: | Ordinance on navigation on Swiss waters |
| Short title: | Inland Navigation Ordinance |
| Abbreviation: | BSV |
| Type: | Federal regulation |
| Scope: | Swiss waters |
| Legal matter: | Traffic law |
|
Systematic legal collection (SR) : |
747.201.1 |
| Original version from: | November 8, 1978 |
| Entry into force on: | April 1, 1979 |
| Last change by: | AS 2012 6541 |
| Effective date of the last change: |
February 18, 2020 |
| Please note the note on the applicable legal version. | |
The Ordinance on Shipping on Swiss Waters , abbreviated to Inland Shipping Ordinance , abbreviated to BSV, regulates shipping on Swiss waters. The ordinance is comparable to the traffic regulations ordinance for the road and determines the traffic rules for ships as well as the licensing regulations for such and for skippers. The ordinance applies in principle to all Swiss waters (Art. 1) including the border waters ( Lake Geneva , Lake Lugano , Lake Maggiore ), but in fact not for Lake Constance , because the Lake Constance Shipping Regulations (BSO) were issued there by an international agreement . In terms of content, BSV and BSO are largely equivalent.
history
The Inland Navigation Ordinance was issued by the Federal Council on November 8, 1978 , based on Article 56 of the Federal Act on Inland Navigation of October 3, 1975, which in turn was enacted on the basis of Article 24 ter of the Federal Constitution of May 29, 1874. This article corresponds to Article 87 of the Federal Constitution of 1999, which grants the Confederation the sole competence to enact laws on shipping. Articles on the implementation of the Federal Act of October 6, 1995 on technical barriers to trade were later added to the FSIO .
content
The traffic rules for ships on Swiss waters essentially correspond to the internationally applicable collision prevention rules , even if these are not explicitly mentioned. Below are some of the most important rules.
Ship's command / ID cards
Every ship needs a responsible skipper ( captain , skipper ) who is in command on board and whose instructions the crew and all persons on board must follow. The skipper must acquire a driver's license if the ship has a propulsion power of more than 6 kW or the sail area exceeds 12 m 2 . As is generally the case in seafaring, the skipper only has to be on board the ship; he does not need to steer it himself. For this reason there are no learner licenses for skippers. In order to obtain a skipper's license, a theoretical and a practical test must be taken.
Ships need a ship ID (comparable to a vehicle ID ) if they are longer than 2.5 m. These must also be labeled. Ships from licensed shipping companies are marked with the name of the ship instead of a number . Ship names are also common in recreational shipping, but are not mentioned in the regulation. The ship's pass provides information about the maximum number of passengers, the payload and the name of the insurance company with which the liability insurance is taken out (if necessary). There is an equipment requirement for all ships, including pleasure craft. The completeness of the equipment and the prescribed maintenance intervals (for machine, fire extinguisher, gas installations, etc.) are checked during regular ship inspections (every 3 years for most ships).
Light guidance
The regulations for lighting control largely correspond to the corresponding international regulations, but there are some deviations with regard to the length of the ship. For example, sailing ships under sails are allowed to operate with a white all-round light (for example the anchor light) regardless of their length. Scheduled ships carry a green ball during the day and a green all-round light over the masthead light at night. You have right of way over other ships.
Shipping signs
Shipping signs are the "traffic signs" of shipping. The signs used in Switzerland are largely identical to those in Germany, so they can be found in the picture panel of the shipping signs on Lake Constance .
Rules for driving and resting
In terms of content, the traffic rules correspond to the internationally applicable collision prevention rules , which have been supplemented with a few more precise details. Scheduled ships have right of way over goods ships, these over professional fishermen, these over sailing ships, these over rowing boats, these over motorboats and these finally over kite sails and surfers. The rules of evasion within the same category are the internationally common ones: motor boats swerve to starboard when a ship approaches from the front and have to evade when another ship comes from starboard. For sailboats, “port bow before starboard bow” and “leeward before windward” applies .
Motor ships are only allowed to cross the shore zone by the shortest possible route and not go faster than 10 km / h. Driving on water plants or reed belts is prohibited.
Anchoring is generally permitted anywhere, except in the area of or near aquatic plants and in the area of course book lines or at port entrances.
Some special regulations apply to rivers and canals. There is basically "right-hand traffic", i. H. the ships give way to starboard. If it is not possible to cross safely, the ship going uphill (in the direction of the source) must wait for the ship going downhill to pass.
Distress signals
The following are considered emergency signals :
- Circular waving of the so-called "emergency flag", a 60 × 60 cm red flag
- Circular pivoting of a light or other suitable object
- Firing red-burning rockets or other red flares
- Output of a series of long tones
- the Morse code SOS with acoustic or optical means
- Chimes
- slow and repeated raising and lowering of the arms extended to both sides
Special provisions
Nautical events such as races, festivities or the like require a permit.
The transport of water-polluting goods is prohibited. The transport of fuel by water is therefore not permitted. The transport of tank trucks on the ferry routes Horgen-Meilen and Beckenried-Gersau is excluded.
Building regulations
The ordinance also contains some of the regulations that apply to the construction and placing on the market of ships, including the necessary freeboard and safety regulations relating to the engine or bilge systems.
Attachments
The regulation includes a total of 33 annexes, with a total of more pages than the regulation text itself. The most important ones are appendix 2, in which the lighting system for all ships is explained, appendix 3 with the sound signals of the ships and appendix 4 with the visual signals (traffic signs). The remaining appendices describe the form of skipper's and ship's IDs and their content, the issuing of further documents and, for example, the measurement regulations for the sail area of a sailing boat. The officially measured sail area, which is calculated from the headsail and mainsail triangle, is entered in the ship's ID and is decisive for the water traffic tax to be paid and for assessing whether a ship requires a skipper's license. The actual set sail area can vary considerably (even upwards), for example through the use of a genoa or a spinnaker .
Appendix 15 contains the minimum equipment requirements . Additional annexes describe the content of skipper examinations and the type and quality controls for the approval of new ships or ship parts.
Criminal provisions
The regulation does not contain any information on criminal provisions or threats of penalties in the event of a violation of the provisions contained therein. Some cantons have issued rules on fines for the bodies of water in their area, which penalize some simple violations directly. Violations outside of the bus catalog lead to a notification .