THE Emir His Highness Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al Thani on Wednesday issued Law No 8 of 2017 regulating maritime business in the State of Qatar.

According to the new law, Qatari and non-Qatari vessels can practice maritime business in Qatari waters only after obtaining licence from the competent department at the Ministry of Transport and Communications.
The terms and conditions for the issuance of licence shall be issued later by a decision of MoTC. Also, applicants seeking license will submit their applications to the competent department.
The competent department shall notify the concerned party of its decision within 15 days of submission of the application. However, a valid reason has to be given in case an application is rejected.
Those, whose applications are rejected, can appeal to the minister within 30 days of the rejection notice. The minister shall decide on the grievance within 30 days of its submission. However, if the period ends without any response to the appeal, it shall be considered rejected.
The competent department will issue a licence for practicing maritime business in Qatar only after receiving the prescribed fee. The licence shall also be granted a renewable period of one year. The period may be renewed for other similar periods, at the request of the licensee or their legal representative.
The application for renewal of the licence must be submitted at least 45 days before the expiry of its validity.
Meanwhile, a fine of not more than QR50,000 shall be imposed on both the owner and captain of a vessel in case of violation of the provisions of Article (2) of this Law.
In addition, the court may order the seizure of a non-Qatari vessel for a period not exceeding three months.
The provisions of this law shall not apply to maritime business in areas operated or supervised by Qatar Petroleum.
The concerned parties shall comply with the provisions of this law within six months of its implementation.
The minister has the right to issue a decision to extend this period to other similar periods. The law is effective from the day of its publication in the official gazette.