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

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Interpretation.

3.—(1) In this Act—

“aggregate amount of compensation” has the meaning specified in section 21 ; “Convention Country” means, as the context may require, a state (other than the State) which has been declared by order under section 4 to have accepted the Liability Convention or the Fund Convention or any Convention or Protocol amending or extending those Conventions and which has not been subsequently declared to have denounced either of those Conventions;

“the Court” means the High Court or a judge thereof;

“crude oil” has the meaning specified in section 19 ;

“discharge”, in relation to oil, means any discharge or escape of oil however caused;

“the Fund” has the meaning specified in section 19 ;

“fuel oil” has the meaning specified in section 19 ;

“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 which has been ratified by the State and which amends or extends that Convention;

“guarantor” means any person providing insurance or other financial security to cover the liability of the owner of a ship under section 16 ;

“harbour authority” means—

(a) in the case of a harbour to which the Harbours Act, 1946 , applies, a harbour authority within the meaning of that Act; or

(b) in the case of a harbour under the control of the Commissioners of Public Works in Ireland, the Commissioners; or

(c) in the case of a fishery harbour centre to which the Fishery Harbour Centres Act, 1968 , applies, the Minister for the Marine; or

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

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

“harbour-master” means a person appointed by a harbour authority to be a harbour-master and includes a person appointed by a harbour authority to enforce the provisions of this Act;

“incident” means any occurrence, or series of occurrences having the same origin, which causes pollution damage;

“inspector” means—

(a) a person appointed to be an inspector by warrant of the Minister under section 31 , or

(b) a person appointed to be a surveyor of ships by warrant of the Minister under section 724 of the Merchant Shipping Act, 1894 , or

(c) a sea fisheries protection officer;

“the Liability Convention” means the International Convention on Civil Liability for Oil Pollution Damage, 1969, done at Brussels on the 29th day of November, 1969, and includes any Convention or Protocol which has been ratified by the State and which amends or extends that Convention;

“master”, in relation to a ship, means the person having, for the time being, the command or charge of the ship;

“the Minister” means the Minister for the Marine;

“oil” (other than in Part III ) means any persistent oil including crude oil, fuel oil, heavy diesel oil, lubricating oil and whale oil whether carried on board a ship as cargo or in the bunkers of such a ship;

“owner”, in relation to a ship, means the person registered as its owner or, if no person is registered as owner of the ship, the person who owns the ship, and, in the case of a ship which is owned by a state and is operated by a person who in that state is registered as the ship's operator, “owner” means the person registered as such operator;

“prescribed” means prescribed by Regulations made by the Minister under this Act;

“pollution damage” means a loss or damage outside a ship carrying oil in bulk as cargo arising from the escape or discharge of oil from a ship, wherever such escape or discharge may occur, and includes the cost of measures taken to prevent or minimise pollution damage and any further loss or damage caused by such measures: and pollution damage within the State or within any Convention Country includes measures taken outside the State or, as the case may be, such Convention Country to prevent or minimise pollution damage within the State or within that Convention Country;

“sea fisheries protection officer” means a person declared by section 220 of the Fisheries (Consolidation) Act, 1959 , to be a sea fisheries protection officer;

“terminal installation” means any site in the State for the storage of oil in bulk which is capable of receiving oil from water borne transportation and includes any facility situated offshore and linked to such site;

“unit of account” means the unit of account of Special Drawing Rights of the International Monetary Fund.

(2) A reference in this Act to the State or to any other country includes the territorial seas and inland waters of the State or, as the case may be, the territorial seas and inland waters of that other country.

(3) A reference in this Act to a section is a reference to a section of this Act unless it is indicated that a reference to some other enactment is intended.

(4) A reference in this Act to a subsection or to a paragraph is a reference to the subsection or paragraph of the provision in which the reference occurs unless it is indicated that a reference to some other provision is intended.

(5) A reference in this Act to any enactment shall be construed as a reference to that enactment as amended or adapted by any subsequent enactment.