Merchant Shipping (Salvage and Pollution) Act 1994
| Year | 1994 |
Merchant Shipping (Salvage and Pollution) Act 1994
1994 CHAPTER 28
An Act to make further provision in relation to marine salvage and marine pollution and the discharge of functions of the Secretary of State in connection therewith; and for purposes connected with those purposes.
[21st July 1994]
Be it enacted by the Queen's most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:—
Salvage
1 Salvage Convention, 1989 to have force of law.
(1) The provisions of the International Convention on Salvage, 1989 as set out in Part I of Schedule 1 to this Act (in this section and in Part II of that Schedule referred to as ‘the Convention’) shall have the force of law in the United Kingdom.
(2) The provisions of Part II of that Schedule shall have effect in connection with the Convention, and subsection (1) above shall have effect subject to the provisions of that Part.
(3) If it appears to Her Majesty in Council that the government of the United Kingdom has agreed to any revision of the Convention She may by Order in Council make such modifications of Parts I and II of Schedule 1 to this Act as She considers appropriate in consequence of the revision.
(4) Nothing in subsection (1) or (2) above or in any modification made by virtue of subsection (3) above shall affect any rights or liabilities arising out of any salvage operations started or other acts done before the day on which this section or, as the case may be, the modification comes into force.
(5) This section may be brought into force before the entry into force of the Convention and as respects any such period any reference in the Convention to a State Party to the Convention shall be read as a reference to the United Kingdom.
(6) The provisions of Schedule 2 to this Act (which make amendments consequential on subsections (1) and (2) above) shall have effect; but nothing in any such amendment shall affect any rights or liabilities arising out of any salvage operations started or other acts done before the day on which the amendment comes into force.
(7) A draft of an Order in Council proposed to be made by virtue of subsection (3) above shall not be submitted to Her Majesty in Council unless the draft has been approved by a resolution of each House of Parliament.
Marine Pollution
2 Power to implement 1990 OPRC Convention.
(1) Section 20 of the Merchant Shipping Act 1979, after paragraph (c), of the following paragraph—
‘(cc) the International Convention on Oil Pollution Preparedness, Response and Co-operation, 1990 (including the Final Act of the Conference and the attached resolutions) signed in London on 30th November 1990;’.
(2) In consequence of the amendment made by subsection (1) above, in subsection (6) of that section for the words ‘(a) to (c)’ there shall be substituted the words ‘(a) to (cc)’.
3 Amendments as to powers of implementation.
(1) Section 20 of the Merchant Shipping Act 1979 (power by Order in Council to implement international conventions relating to pollution from ships, etc) shall be amended as follows.
(2) In subsection (3)(a), in the list of enactments there specified, after the entry for the Merchant Shipping Act 1970 ,there shall be inserted the following entry—
‘section 33 of the Merchant Shipping Act 1988 (which relates to investigations of marine accidents);’.
(3) In subsection (4), after paragraph (a), there shall be inserted the following paragraph—
‘(aa) make provision in terms of any document which the Secretary of State or any person considers relevant from time to time;’.
(4) After subsection (4), there shall be inserted the following subsections—
(4A) Where an Order in Council under subsection (1) of this section authorises the making of regulations for the purpose of giving effect to an agreement mentioned in paragraphs (a) to (cc) or falling within paragraph (d) of that subsection the Order also authorises the making of regulations for the purpose of giving effect to an agreement which provides for the modification of such an agreement.
This subsection applies in relation to Orders in Council and international agreements whenever made.
(4B) Regulations made by virtue of paragraph (e) of subsection (4) of this section—
(a) may make provision corresponding to the provision authorised for an Order by paragraphs (a) to (d) of subsection (4) of this section; and
(b) shall be subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament.’
4 Prevention of pollution from ships: further power toimplement international agreements.
4. After section 20 of the Merchant Shipping Act 1979there shall be inserted the following section—
20A ‘Further provision for prevention ofpollution from ships.
(1) Her Majesty may by Order in Council make such provision as She considers appropriate for the purpose of giving effect to any provision of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea 1982 (Cmnd 8941) for the protection and preservation of the marine environment from pollution by matter from ships.
(2) Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1) of this section, an Order under that subsection may in particular include provision—
(a) corresponding to any provision that is authorised for the purposes of section 20 of this Act by subsections (3) and (4) of that section; and
(b) specifying areas of sea above any of the areas for the time being designated under section 1(7) of the Continental Shelf Act 1964 as waters within which the jurisdiction and rights of the United Kingdom are exercisable in accordance with Part XII of that Convention for the protection and preservation of the marine environment;
and provision authorising the making of regulations authorises the amendment or revocation of regulations made by virtue of paragraph (e) of the said subsection (4).
(3) A draft of an Order in Council proposed to be made by virtue of subsection (1) of this section shall not be submitted to Her Majesty in Council unless the draft has been approved by a resolution of each House of Parliament.’
5 Liability and compensation for oil pollution damage:1992 Protocols.
(1) For the purpose of enabling effect to be given to the 1992 Protocols, the Merchant Shipping (Oil Pollution) Act 1971 and the Merchant Shipping Act 1974 shall have effect subject to the amendments contained in Parts I and II respectively of Schedule 4 to the Merchant Shipping Act 1988 of the 1971 Act of ‘the Convention’ and in the definitions in section 1(1) of the 1974 Act of ‘the Liability Convention’ and ‘the Fund Convention’, of ‘1992’ for ‘1984’.
(2) Accordingly—
(a) the word ‘1984’ shall be omitted from the section 4A(1) of the 1974 Act and the paragraph 4(a) and (d) constituting Schedule 1 to the 1974 Act as respectively inserted and substituted by Part II of Schedule 4 to the 1988 Act; and
(b) paragraph 18 of Schedule 4 to the Merchant Shipping (Registration, etc.) Act 1993 (which provides that section 34 of and Schedule 4 to the 1988 Act shall not have effect) is hereby repealed and the entry for Schedule 4 to the 1988 Act shall be deemed not to have been included in Part II of Schedule 5 to the 1993 Act (pre-consolidation repeals).
(3) Her Majesty may by Order in Council make such provision as appears to Her Majesty to be appropriate in connection with the implementation of any transitional provisions contained in the 1992 Protocols or the Conventions which they amend; and any such Order may in particular provide, in relation to occurrences of any description specified in the Order—
(a) for provisions of the 1971 Act or the 1974 Act to have effect—
(i) to such extent as is so specified, as if Schedule 4 to the 1988 Act were not in force, and
(ii) to such extent as is so specified, as if that Schedule were in force;
(b) for any such provisions to have effect (whether as amended by that Schedule or not) subject to such modifications as are so specified.
(4) In this section ‘the 1992 Protocols’ means—
(a) the Protocol of 1992 to amend the International Convention on Civil Liability for Oil Pollution Damage 1969 signed in London on 27th November 1992; and
(b) the Protocol of 1992 to amend the International Convention on the Establishment of an International Fund for Compensation for Oil Pollution Damage 1971 signed in London on 27th November 1992.
6 Extension of strict liability for oil pollution byships.
(1) The Merchant Shipping (Oil Pollution) Act 1971 shall be amended as provided in Schedule 3 (amendments imposing on other ships liability for oil pollution corresponding to that imposed on tankers).
(2) In Part I of that Schedule ‘the 1971 Act’ means the Merchant Shipping (Oil Pollution) Act 1971 without the amendments made by Part I of Schedule 4 to the Merchant Shipping Act 1988 .
(3) In Part II of that Schedule ‘the 1971 Act’ means the Merchant Shipping (Oil Pollution) Act 1971 as amended by Part I of Schedule 4 to the Merchant Shipping Act 1988 (‘the 1988 Act’) and section 5 of this Act.
(4) Where the amendments of the 1971 Act made by Part II of Schedule 3 to this Act come into force after the 1971 Act has been amended by Part I of the said Schedule 3, Parts I and II of that Schedule shall have effect with the modifications specified in Part III of that Schedule.
7 Extension of rights of Fund by subrogation.
(1) In section 8 of the...
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