The President of the National Institute of Aquatic Spaces, in exercise of the powers conferred by Article 78 numeral 1 of the Decree with Rank, Value and Force of the Organic Law of Aquatic Spaces, in accordance with Articles 73 numeral 1 and 2 and 74 numeral 3, 13 and 16 ejusdem, Articles 84 and 227 of the Decree with Rank, Value and Force of the Law of Marinas and Related Activities, and according to the provisions of Article 17 of the Organic Law of Administrative Procedures.

On August 22, 2017, the National Institute of Aquatic Spaces, through Administrative Provision No. 056, issued the regulations regarding basic mandatory safety equipment for national-flagged vessels not regulated by the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea, SOLAS 1974 and its 1978 Protocol, as amended,

Administrative Ruling No. 056, in its Article 3, paragraph 8, establishes that the vessels and drilling units regulated thereunder must be equipped with a properly configured aquatic identification transponder system (SIA or AIS), which automatically provides coastal stations and other vessels and aircraft that have the appropriate equipment for this purpose with information including, among others, the vessel’s identification, type, location, course, speed and navigation conditions, as well as other data related to the vessel’s safety,

By means of Circular No. 003 dated January 27, 2020, the National Institute of Aquatic Spaces extended the deadline until December 31, 2020, for compliance with the provisions set forth in Article 3, numeral 8 of Administrative Provision No. 056,

The President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro Moros, following the declaration of Covid-19 as a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) on March 12, 2020; by means of Presidential Decree No. 4,160 dated March 13, 2020, published in the Official Gazette of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela No. 6,519 Extraordinary, decreed a State of Alarm throughout the National Territory, given the social circumstances that seriously endanger public health and the safety of the citizens residing in the Bolivarian Republic, in order for the National Executive to adopt urgent, effective, and necessary measures for the protection and preservation of the health of the Venezuelan population, to mitigate and eradicate the risks of the epidemic related to the coronavirus (COVID-19) and its possible strains, guaranteeing timely, effective, and efficient care for any cases that may arise; a state of exception that remains in effect to this date, in accordance with the provisions of Decree No. 4,361 dated November 3, 2020, published in the Official Gazette of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela No. 6,590 Extraordinary, of the same date.

That the global state of alarm has been compounded by the intensification of attacks on the Venezuelan economy by the government of the United States of America, further aggravated by attempted military strikes against national sovereignty supported by domestic political groups, directed even against the administrative and health infrastructure of the Venezuelan State.

This Office,