Merchant Shipping (Salvage and Wreck) Act, 1993

Duty of owner to remove wreck in certain circumstances.

51.—(1) In this section and section 52

“appropriate authority” means a harbour authority, a local authority or the Commissioners;

“the Commissioners” means the Commissioners of Irish Lights;

“related interests” means the interests of the State or the public or any section of the public and, without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing, includes—

(a) the health of the public and the well-being of any area concerned;

(b) the marine resources, flora and fauna, and the habitats of such flora and fauna, in any area concerned;

(c) the maritime coastal, port, esturial or aquatic activities, including fishing and tourist activities, which constitute the means of livelihood for persons concerned, and

(d) the tourist attractions of any area concerned.

(2) Where any wreck is likely to become—

(a) an obstruction or danger to navigation or to lifeboats engaged in the lifeboat service, or

(b) a threat of harm to the marine environment or to related interests,

the owner of the wreck at the time of its sinking, wrecking, stranding, grounding or abandonment shall as soon as possible raise and remove it or otherwise render it harmless.

(3) (a) If an appropriate authority is of the opinion that the wreck is or is likely to become an obstruction or danger to navigation or to lifeboats engaged in the lifeboat service or a threat of harm to the marine environment or to related interests, the authority shall serve a notice on the owner requiring the owner to raise and remove or otherwise render harmless the wreck.

(b) If not less than 7 days after service of the notice, the owner has not complied with that notice or has failed to give to the authority satisfactory assurances that the notice shall be complied with as soon as possible, the appropriate authority may proceed to raise and remove the vessel or otherwise render it harmless.

(4) (a) A notice under this section to be served on the owner of a wreck shall be addressed to the owner and may be served in any of the following ways:

(i) where it is addressed to the owner by name, by delivering it to the owner,

(ii) by leaving it at the address at which the owner ordinarily resides or carries on business, or in a case in which an address for service has been furnished, at that address,

(iii) by sending it by post in a prepaid registered letteraddressed to the owner at the address at which the owner ordinarily resides or carries on business, or in a case in which an address for service has been furnished, at such address,

(iv) where the address or the name and the address of the owner cannot be ascertained after reasonable enquiry, by publication in one or more newspapers printed in the State and circulating in the area or contiguous to the area where either or both the wreck is situated or the appropriate authority serving the notice is situated which, in the case of the Commissioners, shall be the State.

(b) For the purposes of this subsection—

(i) a company within the meaning of the Companies Act, 1963 , shall be deemed to be ordinarily resident at its registered office,

(ii) a body incorporated outside the State which has a registered office under the law of the state where it is incorporated shall be deemed to be ordinarily resident at its registered office, and

(iii) every other body corporate and every unincorporated body shall be deemed to be ordinarily resident at its principal office or place of business.