Oil Pollution of the Sea (Civil Liability and Compensation) Act, 1988

Power to stop or detain ship.

13.—(1) Without prejudice to any power to detain a ship contained in any enactment, an inspector may stop or detain a ship in any harbour in the State or wherever such ship may be in the State, or a harbour-master may detain a ship in his harbour, if it appears to the inspector or, as the case may be, the harbour-master, that the owner of the ship has incurred a liability under section 7 for pollution damage caused by any ship which he owns.

(2) Where the Court has determined that a person, who has incurred a liability for pollution damage under section 7 , is entitled to limit his liability, and such person has paid into court a sum of not less than the amount determined by the Court to be the limit of his liability, then—

(a) the Court shall, on application by or on behalf of the owner, order the release of any ship detained under this section in respect of any liability for pollution damage, or, as the case may be, the release of any security given to prevent, or obtain release from, such arrest, and

(b) a judgment or decree in relation to any claim for damages for pollution damage shall not be enforced, except in so far as such judgment or decree relates to costs:

Provided that the sum so paid into court, or such part thereof as corresponds to any claim for damages for pollution damage, is available for distribution to the claimant, or would have been so available if the claimant had complied with the provisions of section 12 .

(3) If a ship which has been detained pursuant to this section leaves, or attempts to leave, any harbour, terminal installation, offshore terminal or any other place in the State otherwise than in accordance with the provisions of this Act, the owner and the master of the ship shall each be guilty of an offence and the ship may, without prejudice to subsection (1), be detained, or be further detained, by an inspector anywhere in the State, or by a harbour-master in his harbour.