Whereas the House of Representatives deems expedient to have a law on Thai vessels;
Be it, therefore, enacted by the King, by and with the advice and consent of House of Representatives, as follow:
Section 1. This Act is called the “Thai Vessels Act, B.E. 2481”.
Section 2. This Act shall come into force after the expiration of one hundred and eighty days from the date of its publication in the Government Gazette.1
Section 3. As from the date this Act comes into force, the Act on Registration and Licensing of Thai Fishing Vessels B.E. 2477 and the Act on Registration and Licensing of Thai Fishing Vessels (No. 2) B.E. 2479, as well as other laws, rules and regulations, in so far as they are already provided by this Act or are contrary thereto or inconsistent therewith, shall be repealed.
Section 4. Vessels of the Royal Thai Navy shall be deemed as Thai vessels but shall not be subject to the application of This Act.
Section 5. In this Act, unless provided otherwise:
“Thai waters” means all waters within the sovereignty of the Kingdom of Thailand;
“Port” means a location or place for anchoring vessels to embark or disembark passengers or objects;
“Vessel” means any kind of water vehicles;
“Motor vessel” means a mechanically-propelled vessel notwithstanding the combination of other kind of driving power;
“Sea vessel” means a vessel the structure of which is for sailing in the sea;
“River vessel” means a vessel other than a sea vessel;
“Trading in Thai waters” means transportation of passengers or objects or pulling objects from any Port or place to other port(s) or place(s) within the Thai waters, for commercial purpose;
“Fishery” means fishing of any kind of aquatic animals including fishing by using a vessel or using a vessel as a vehicle for fishing;
“Vessel controller” means a master of a vessel, boatswain, helmsman, steersman or any person in charge of commanding and responsible for a vessel, but shall not include a pilot officer;
“Crew” means any person in service on board of a vessel;
“Minister” means the Minister having charge and control of the execution of this Act;
“Master of harbour” means the Director-General of the Harbour Department 2 or a person acting on his or her behalf, and includes a person appointed by the Minister to be a master of harbour or a person acting on his or her behalf;
“Vessel Registrar” means a person appointed by the Minister to be a vessel registrar or a person acting on his or her behalf.