Sea Pollution (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2006

PART 2

Bunker Oil Pollution (Civil Liability and Compensation)

Interpretation(Part 2).

3.— (1) In this Part, except where the context otherwise requires—

“bunker oil” means any hydrocarbon mineral oil (including lubricating oil) used or intended to be used for the operation or propulsion of a ship, and any residues of such oil;

“ charterer ” includes bareboat charterer;

“ Convention ” means the International Convention on Civil Liability for Bunker Oil Pollution Damage 2001, done at London on 23 May 2001;

“ Convention court ” means, in relation to a State Party (other than the State)—

(a) any court or tribunal that under the law of that State Party has jurisdiction to determine liability in respect of pollution damage incurred, and to award compensation therefore, or

(b) any court or tribunal that under the law of that State Party has jurisdiction to—

(i) adjudicate on any appeal from a judgment, or

(ii) review a judgment,

of a court or tribunal referred to in paragraph (a);

“ Council Regulation ” means Council Regulation (EC) No. 44/2001 of 22 December 2000 ¹ on jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters;

“ harbour authority ” means—

(a) in the case of a harbour to which the Harbours Acts 1946 to 1976 apply, a harbour authority within the meaning of those Acts,

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

(c) in the case of a fishery harbour centre to which the Fishery Harbour Centres Act 1968 applies, the Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources,

(d) in the case of a harbour under the control of a local authority, the local authority concerned,

(e) in the case of a harbour under the management of Iarnród Éireann — Irish Rail, that body;

“inspector” means one or more of the following:

(a) a person duly appointed under section 14 ;

(b) a member of the Permanent Defence Forces holding commissioned rank, while in uniform;

(c) a member of the Garda Síochána, while in uniform;

(d) as respects the harbour of which he or she is the harbour master, a person duly appointed to be the harbour master by the harbour authority concerned;

“Irish ship” means an Irish ship within the meaning of section 9 of the Mercantile Marine Act 1955 ;

“ judgment ” means a decision of a Convention court made in accordance with the provisions of the Convention awarding compensation to a person in respect of pollution damage incurred by him or her;

“ judgment debtor ” means the person against whom a Convention court has given a final judgment;

“ local authority ” has the same meaning as in the Local Government Act 2001 ;

“ master ” in relation to a ship, includes the manager or the operator or both;

“ Member State ” means a Member State of the European Communities, other than the State and Denmark;

“Minister” means the Minister for Transport;

“prescribed ” means prescribed by order or regulations made by the Minister under this Part;

“State Party” means a state (other than the State) that is declared by order under section 4 to be a State Party to the Convention.

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

(i) the inland waters of the State,

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

(iii) subject to paragraph (b), any area lying within a line, every point of which is 200 nautical miles from the baselines for the purposes of the Maritime Jurisdiction Acts 1959 to 1988, and the waters above it.

(b) Nothing in paragraph (a)(iii) shall 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.

(3) A word or expression that is used in this Part and that is also used in the Convention has, in this Part, the meaning that it has in the Convention.

¹ OJ No. L12 of 16.1.2001, p.1