The Association of Shipowners and Port - River Operators from Romania operates as a public utility association based on GD no. 356/2001. The association has Romanian nationality, is apolitical, non-governmental and carries out its activity in accordance with Romanian laws and the present statute.

The headquarters of the association is in Romania, Galati municipality, str. Albatrosului, no. 2, Bl. N1, Ap. 02, Galati county.

The purpose of the association is to equally represent the interests of all associated members vis-à-vis the authorities of the state administration, internal and international bodies or other associations and institutions with which it enters into relations through their activity, as well as carrying out activities of general interest, community or non-patrimonial staff of its members. The association will carry out its activity to achieve the following objectives:

• Promotion of projects of normative acts and international agreements regarding the activities of interest for the members of the association, as well as the modification of the existing ones.
• Establishing a common strategy and policy in relation to the internal and international decisions, decisions and regulations that directly or indirectly concern the fields of activity of the associated members.
• Initiating actions to protect the members of the association in difficult situations, through collaboration with the competent institutions of the state.
• Collaboration at governmental level and/or local administrations in order to develop projects and programs to support activities in the field of naval transport, port operations and related fields.
• Informing the members of the association about current and prospective events that influence or may influence the activity of the associated members and their interests.
• Analysis of the causes that have generated crisis situations in the field of naval transport and port operations and the proposal of solutions to overcome these situations and the effects in the medium and long term.
• Correlation of the personnel policy, investments, modernizations and the economic policy of the associated members in accordance with the current situation and the internal and international perspective.  
• Carrying out direct economic activities, with an accessory character, in close connection with the main purpose of the association.
• Initiating actions to exercise the rights conferred by law on public utility associations: the concession of non-commercial public services, the allocation of financial resources from the state budget and local budgets for the application of the programs adopted by the association.
• Action in Administrative Litigation in order to modify or prohibit the application of the provisions of normative acts, bilateral agreements, regulations, instructions or methodologies that harm the interests of the association or only some of its members;
• It follows and intervenes for the non-discriminatory and equal application of the rights conferred by the law, of the contractual conditions, as well as of all the information and services that must be provided - according to the legal provisions - by the authorities and their representatives.
• Supporting and organizing professional specialization activities, improvement, qualification and requalification, orientation and reorientation of the workforce, for its members and for all categories of applicants, being able to initiate or participate in specialization actions - improvement and exchange of experience in the country and abroad , also being able to initiate, organize and support in all aspects, forms of training at medium and higher levels in fields of interest, under the conditions of the law.
• The direct support of the interests of its members by providing services, facilities, business information, studies, the organization and administration of fairs and exhibitions, the web page or other promotional actions.
• Editing of newspapers, magazines, books, own newsletters, information publications and commercial advertising and cooperation with mass media to support the interests of its members, as well as to promote the actions of the association.

The patrimonial resources of the association are made up of the following categories:

a) members' contributions;
b) interest and dividends resulting from the placement of available amounts;
c) dividends of commercial companies established by AAOPFR;
d) donations, sponsorships or links;
e) resources obtained from the state budget and/or from local budgets;
f) other income provided by law.

Any legal person who: can be an associate member.

• carries out one or more of the activities of transporting goods or people on inland waterways, port operations or other related activities (piloting, towing/pushing, ship agency, brokerage, inspections and surveys, salvage, ship repairs, insurance in the field of naval transport and other similar activities);
• presents the guarantee of seriousness in carrying out its activities and in relations with partners;
• possess an authorization issued by the Ministry of Transport, Construction and Tourism or other approvals issued by the competent state bodies, in the fields of activity stated in letter a) above;
• recognizes the status of the association and undertakes to pay the registration fee and the contribution decided by the General Assembly.

Acquiring the membership of the association is done on the basis of an application, approved by the Board of Directors at the proposal of the executive management, and the membership of the association is attested by the AAOPFR Membership Certificate, which is issued after the approval of the application by the Board of Directors."

AAOPFR members have the following rights:

(1) to participate in the general meetings;
(2) to elect and be elected in management positions;
(3) to take part in the activities organized by the association;
(4) to use the database and the knowledge of the association's specialists;
(5) to participate in internal and international meetings specific to the association's activities as its representatives;
(6) to benefit from the results of the efforts undertaken by the association for the most efficient activity in the field;
(7) to request any statutory aid;
(8) to receive the AAOPFR Membership Certificate
(9) to benefit from priority and facilities for all services provided by or through the association of third parties.

Associate members have the following obligations:

(1) to comply with the provisions of this statute and the decisions of the General Assembly;
(2) to participate through own or attracted means, in the actions, projects, efforts undertaken by the association for the fulfillment of the proposed objectives;
(3) to contribute through own or attracted financial means to the application of approved projects/programs and the achievement of objectives or activities of interest to the association;
(4) not to undertake actions of a nature to prejudice the interests of the association and its members;
(5) to pay the financial obligations committed to the association: membership fee, other financial contributions decided by the General Assembly, etc. from the date of admission to the association, until the date of loss of membership. The amount of the annual contribution is established by the General Assembly on three levels, depending on the turnover of each associate member;
(6) to participate in the ordinary and extraordinary general meetings and the meetings of the Board of Directors to which he is invited;
(7) to present himself at the annual meeting with the Membership Certificate for the visa.

The bodies of the association are:

1. General Assembly;
2. The Board of Directors;
3. The censor.

The general assembly is the governing body made up of all associated members, which meets in ordinary and extraordinary meetings.
The general meeting is statutorily constituted when the participation - in person or by representation - of at least half plus 1 of the associated members is ensured. The decisions of the general assembly are adopted with the vote of 2/3 of the number of votes cast by the members present/represented in the assembly.

Assembly decisions are taken by open vote. The right to vote cannot be transferred. Is any convention regarding the exercise of the right to vote in a certain way void?

The decisions adopted by the general meeting, within the limits of the law, are binding for all associated members, even for those who did not take part in the general meeting or voted against;

Attributions of the General Assembly

(1) Establishing the strategy and general objectives of the association;
(2) Approval of the income and expenditure budget and the accounting balance sheet;
(3) Election and revocation of the members of the board of directors, of the censor;
(4) Establishment of subsidiaries;
(5) Change of seat;
(6) Amendment of the constitutive act and statute;
(7) The establishment/adherence to federations, other associations or companies/economic structures, the dissolution and liquidation of the association and the determination of the destination of the remaining assets after the liquidation, in the event that at the respective date it is no longer a public interest association;
(8) Any other issues of interest to the association.

The board of directors is the body that ensures the execution of the decisions of the general assembly and is made up of 3 members, of which 1 president, 1 vice-president with the problems of shipping companies and 1 vice-president with the problems of port operators and with activities related to naval transport.

The members of the board of directors are elected - by secret ballot - from among the legal representatives of the association's members, for a period of two years with the right to be re-elected. Any of the members of the board of directors can be revoked by the general assembly with the vote of 2/3 of the number of associated members present at the assembly. The organization and functioning of the board of directors will be established by its operating regulations.

The internal financial control of the association is ensured by a censor. He cannot be a censor, and if he was elected, he forfeits his mandate:

a) a member of the board of directors;
b) a relative up to the fourth degree inclusive or the wife (husband) of one of the members of the board of directors;
c) a person who receives in any form, for functions other than that of censor, a salary or remuneration from the association;

The censor is elected by the general meeting. The duration of his mandate is 2 years and he can be re-elected. The censor of the association has the following powers:

(1) Check the management of the association's assets;
(2) Draws up reports on the administration of the patrimony;
(3) Fulfills the mandate entrusted by the general assembly;
(4) He can participate in the meetings of the board of directors, without the right to vote.

The modification of the articles of association and the statute of the association is the exclusive attribute of the Extraordinary General Meeting, which can decide with a minimum of 2/3 of the number of votes expressed by the associated members present/represented in the meeting, vote expressed directly, by proxy or in writing.

The dissolution/liquidation of the association will be done according to the procedures provided by law for public utility associations. If, on the date of dissolution, the association is no longer of public utility, the liquidation will be done in accordance with the decision of the general assembly, which will decide on the dissolution and liquidation of the association.

The Association of Shipowners and Port - River Operators from Romania, under the conditions of the law, may constitute a federation, or may affiliate to existing federations or to other similar domestic and international bodies. The provisions of this statute are supplemented by the legal provisions regarding associations.