Oil Pollution of the Sea (Civil Liability and Compensation) (Amendment) Act, 1998

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Amendment of section 3 of Principal Act.

3.—Section 3 of the Principal Act is hereby amended by—

(a) in subsection (1)—

(i) the substitution of the following definition for the definition of “the Fund Convention”:

“‘the Fund Convention’ means the International Convention on the Establishment of an International Fund for Compensation for Oil Pollution Damage, 1971, done at Brussels on the 18th day of December, 1971, and includes any Convention or Protocol ratified, accepted, approved or acceded to by the State, before the passing of the Oil Pollution of the Sea (Civil Liability and Compensation) (Amendment) Act, 1998, amending or extending that Convention;”,

(ii) the substitution in the definition of “harbour authority” of the following paragraph for paragraph (b):

“(b) in the case of a harbour under the management or control of a company established pursuant to section 7 of the Harbours Act, 1996 , the company concerned;”,

(iii) the substitution of the following definition for the definition of “incident”:

“‘incident’ means any occurrence or series of occurrences having the same origin that causes pollution damage or creates a grave and imminent threat of causing such damage;”,

(iv) the deletion in the definition of “inspector” of paragraph (c),

(v) the substitution of the following definition for the definition of “the Liability Convention”:

“‘the Liability Convention’ means the International Convention on Civil Liability for Oil Pollution Damage, 1969, and includes any Convention or Protocol ratified, accepted, approved or acceded to by the State, before the passing of the Oil Pollution of the Sea (Civil Liability and Compensation) (Amendment) Act, 1998, amending or extending that Convention;”,

(vi) the substitution of the following definition for the definition of “oil”:

“‘oil’ means any persistent hydrocarbon mineral oil including, in particular, crude oil, fuel oil, heavy diesel oil or lubricating oil whether carried on board a ship as cargo or in the bunkers of such a ship;”,

(vii) the substitution of the following definition for the definition of “pollution damage”:

“‘pollution damage’ means loss or damage occurring outside a ship arising from the escape or discharge of oil from such ship wherever such escape or discharge occurs, and shall be deemed to include—

(a) the costs of reasonable measures taken to prevent or lessen such loss or damage (including measures taken outside the State, or a Convention Country, as the case may be, to prevent or lessen such loss or damage within the State or within that Convention Country), and

(b) any further loss or damage caused by such measures;”,

(viii) the deletion of the definition of “sea fisheries protection officer”, and

(ix) the insertion of the following definition:

“‘ship’ means—

(a) a seagoing vessel or seaborne craft of any type, constructed or adapted for the carriage of oil in bulk as cargo,

(b) a seagoing vessel or seaborne craft capable of carrying oil and other cargoes that is for the time being carrying oil in bulk as cargo, or

(c) a seagoing vessel or seaborne craft capable of carrying oil and other cargoes that, following the unlading from it of a cargo of oil, contains residues of oil in those spaces adapted or constructed for the carriage of oil in bulk as cargo;”,

(b) the substitution of the following subsection for subsection (2):

“(2) A reference in this Act to the State includes a reference to—

(a) the inland waters of the State,

(b) the territorial seas of the State, and the seabed and subsoil beneath those seas,

(c) any area for the time being that stands designated by order under section 2 of the Continental Shelf Act, 1968 , and the waters above it, and

(d) any area that lies within a line, every point of which is at a distance of 200 nautical miles from the baselines for the purposes of the Maritime Jurisdiction Acts, 1959 to 1988, and the waters above it:

Provided that this subparagraph shall not be construed as constituting a claim by the State to any area that—

(i) is under the jurisdiction of a state other than the State, and

(ii) the State recognises as being under such jurisdiction.”,

(c) the insertion of the following subsection:

“(2A) A reference in this Act to a Convention Country includes a reference to—

(a) the territorial seas and inland waters of the Convention Country concerned, and

(b) the area beyond and adjacent to the territorial seas under the jurisdiction of a Convention Country, to the extent so recognised under international law, and extending not more than 200 nautical miles from the baselines from which the territorial seas of that Convention Country are measured.”,

and

(d) the substitution of the following subsection for subsection (5):

“(5) A reference in this Act to any enactment shall be construed as a reference to that enactment as amended, adapted or extended, whether before or after the commencement of this section, by or under any subsequent enactment.”.