Harbours Act, 1996

Prohibition on bringing certain ships, vehicles and articles within harbour.

52.—(1) Subject to this section, the harbour master of a harbour may refuse entry into the harbour of a ship, vehicle or other conveyance if by reason of its nature or the condition of any of the goods being carried on it such entry or its presence in the harbour thereafter would, in the opinion of the harbour master, pose a danger to persons or property.

(2) Subject to this section, the harbour master of a harbour may only permit the entry into the harbour of radioactive material (within the meaning of the International Maritime Dangerous Goods Code of the International Maritime Organisation) with the consent of the Radiological Protection Institute of Ireland.

(3) Subject to this section, the following are prohibited from entering a harbour—

(a) a nuclear powered ship, vehicle or conveyance,

(b) a ship, vehicle or other conveyance that is carrying any nuclear weapons,

(c) a ship, vehicle or other conveyance that is carrying nuclear material (within the meaning of section 2 of the Radiological Protection Act, 1991 ), or ores or other substances destined for the production of nuclear materials.

(4) The Minister may, with the consent of the Minister for Transport, Energy and Communications on the advice of the Radiological Protection Institute of Ireland, exempt a ship, vehicle or other conveyance of a specified class or classes carrying nuclear material from the application of subsection (3) (c) and for so long as such an exemption is in force subsection (3) shall be construed and have effect in accordance with the exemption.

(5) Subsections (1), (2) and (3) shall only apply to a ship of the naval service of a state (other than the State) with the prior consent of the Government.

(6) Subsections (1), (2) and (3) shall not apply to a ship in distress or where there is imminent danger to persons.

(7) Where a ship, vehicle or other conveyance having been refused entry to a harbour under subsection (1) or in contravention of subsection (3) enters a harbour, the owner and master of the ship or the owner of the vehicle or conveyance or the person to whom the conveyance is hired at the time of the entry shall each be guilty of an offence.

(8) The harbour master of a harbour may at any time, by notice affixed in a prominent place at the harbour, prohibit the bringing within the harbour, or any specified part of the harbour, of any article of a kind or class which is specified in the notice as being, in the opinion of the harbour master, likely to endanger persons or property.

(9) When and so long as a notice is affixed under subsection (8) at a harbour, the notice shall have effect according to the terms thereof and—

(a) a person who contravenes the notice shall be guilty of an offence,

(b) the harbour master of the harbour may remove any article brought by such person, in contravention of the notice, and place or store it elsewhere (whether within or outside the harbour) or have the article destroyed, and

(c) the expenses of such removal and placing, storage or destruction, as the case may be, shall be paid by such person to the company whose harbour the notice aforesaid relates to and, in default of payment, shall be recoverable by that company from such person as a simple contract debt in any court of competent jurisdiction.

(10) This section shall not prejudice the provisions of the Sea Pollution Act, 1991 , in so far as they relate to harbours.