Statutory Instrument 1998 No. 260

The Merchant Shipping (Oil Pollution and General Provisions) (Guernsey) Order 1998

(The document as of February, 2008)

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STATUTORY INSTRUMENTS

1998 No. 260

MERCHANT SHIPPING

The Merchant Shipping (Oil Pollution and General Provisions) (Guernsey) Order 1998

	Made	11th February 1998
	Coming into force	11th March 1998

At the Court at Buckingham Palace, the 11th day of February 1998
Present,
The Queen's Most Excellent Majesty in Council
Her Majesty, in exercise of the powers conferred upon Her by section 315 (2) of the Merchant Shipping Act 1995[1], is pleased, by and with the advice of Her Privy Council, to order, and it is hereby ordered, as follows:

Citation and commencement
    1.This Order may be cited as the Merchant Shipping (Oil Pollution and General Provisions) (Guernsey) Order 1998 and shall come into force on 11th March 1998.

Implementation of the Liability and Fund Conventions
    2.Sections 152 to 170, 172 to 181, 277, 279, 281, 284, 308, 313 and 316 of, and Part I of Schedule 5 to, the Merchant Shipping Act 1995[2] shall, subject to the exceptions, adaptations and modifications specified in Schedule 1 to this Order, extend to Guernsey, and any instruments made, or to be made, under section 152 (2), 157 (2), 157 (4), 163 (1), 172 (2) or 176 (5) of that Act shall also extend to Guernsey if registered in the Royal Court of Guernsey and from the date of such registration.

Supplementary provision
    3.After section 277 of the Merchant Shipping Act of article 2 above, there shall be inserted -

277A

Accessories and abettors

Interpretation
    4.In this Order, "Guernsey" means the Bailiwick of Guernsey.

Revocation and transitional provisions
    5. - (1) Subject to paragraph (2) below, the Merchant Shipping (Oil Pollution) Act 1971 (Guernsey) Order 1981[3] and the Merchant Shipping Act 1974 (Guernsey) Order 1981[4] are hereby revoked.

    (2) The Merchant Shipping (Liability and Compensation for Oil Pollution Damage) (Transitional Provisions) Order 1996[5], shall, subject to the exceptions, adaptations and modifications specified in Schedule 2 to this Order, extend to Guernsey.

N. H. Nicholls
Clerk of the Privy Council

SCHEDULE 1Article 2

EXCEPTIONS, ADAPTATIONS AND MODIFICATIONS SUBJECT TO WHICH PROVISIONS OF THE MERCHANT SHIPPING ACT 1995 EXTEND TO GUERNSEY

1.In section 152(1), in the definition of "Liability Convention country", after "in force" add ", and includes the United Kingdom and any relevant British possession to which the Liability Convention has been extended".

2.In section 153 -

3.In section 154 -

4.In section 158 -

5.In section 159 -

    6.In paragraph (b) of section 160, for "section 185 or 186" substitute "section 17 or 18 of the Merchant Shipping Act 1979 as extended to Guernsey by the Merchant Shipping Act 1979 (Guernsey) Order 1980".

    7.In section 161, in the sidenote, for "United Kingdom" substitute "Guernsey".

    8.In section 162, for "the United Kingdom" substitute "Guernsey".

    9.In section 163 -

10.In section 164 -

11.For section 165 (5) substitute -

12.In section 166 -

    13.In section 167 (3), for "the United Kingdom" substitute "Guernsey" and omit ", or in Scotland the execution of diligence,".

    14.In section 168, for "section 185" substitute "section 17 of the Merchant Shipping Act 1979 as extended to Guernsey by the Merchant Shipping Act 1979 (Guernsey) Order 1980" and for "Convention in Part I of Schedule 7" substitute "Convention on Limitation of Liability for Maritime Claims 1976".

    15.In section 170 -

" "the court" means -

(b) omit subsection (3);

(c) for subsection (4) substitute -

16.In section 172(1)(d), after "is in force" add ", and includes the United Kingdom and any relevant British possession to which the Fund Convention has been extended".

17.In section 173 -

" "group" in relation to companies, means a holding company and its subsidiaries as defined by section 15 of the Amalgamation of Companies Ordinance, 1997, subject, in the case of a company incorporated outside Guernsey, to any necessary modifications of those definitions;".

18.In section 174 -

19.In section 175 -

20.In section 176(4)(b), after "the Treasury" insert "of the United Kingdom".

21.In section 177 -

22.In section 178 -

23.In section 179(2), for "the United Kingdom" substitute "Guernsey".

24.In section 279 -

25.In section 281 -

" in Guernsey, any court which would have had jurisdiction in relation to the offence had it been committed on board a ship registered in Guernsey within the limits of its ordinary jurisdiction to try the offence".

26.In section 284 -

(b) in subsection (5), for "the statutory maximum" substitute "level 5 on the uniform scale";

(c) in subsection (6), for "an officer of customs and excise" substitute "the Chief Officer of Customs and Excise or any other person authorised by the Board to act as an officer of Customs and Excise" (in two places);

(d) omit subsection (7);

(e) after subsection (8), add -

27.In section 308, omit subsections (2) to (4).

28.In section 313 -

" "the Board" means the States Board of Administration;";

" "the Harbourmaster" means the States Harbourmaster and any States Deputy Harbourmaster, and includes any person acting under the authority of the States Harbourmaster, upon production, if so required, of his authority so to act;";

" "registered" means, in relation to a ship registered in Guernsey, registered under the provisions of the Merchant Shipping Act 1894;";

" "sea-fishery officer" has the same meaning as in section 9(1) of the Fishing (Bailiwick of Guernsey) Law, 1989;";

29.In section 316, omit subsection (2).

30.In Schedule 5, Part I, in the text of Article 4(4)(c) of the International Convention on the Establishment of an International Fund for Compensation for Oil Pollution Damage 1992, for "(c)" substitute "(b)".

SCHEDULE 2Article 5

EXCEPTIONS, ADAPTATIONS AND MODIFICATIONS SUBJECT TO WHICH THE MERCHANT SHIPPING (LIABILITY AND COMPENSATION FOR OIL POLLUTION DAMAGE) (TRANSITIONAL PROVISIONS) ORDER 1996 EXTENDS TO GUERNSEY

1.In article 1, omit the words ", and shall come into force on 30th May 1996".

2.In article 2 -

" "the 1981 Liability Order" means the Merchant Shipping (Oil Pollution) Act 1971 (Guernsey) Order 1981;

"the 1981 Compensation Order" means the Merchant Shipping Act 1974 (Guernsey) Order 1981; and

"the 1998 Order" means the Merchant Shipping (Oil Pollution and General Provisions) (Guernsey) Order 1998".

    3.In article 3(1), for "Chapters III and IV of Part VI of the Act" substitute "the 1998 Order"; for "Schedule 4 and Part II of Schedule 5 to that Act" and for "Schedule 4 and Part II of Schedule 5 to the Act" substitute "the 1981 Liability Order and the 1981 Compensation Order"; and for "the United Kingdom" substitute "Guernsey".

    4.In article 4, after "United Kingdom" insert "in respect of Guernsey".

    5.For paragraph 1 of Part A of Schedule 2, substitute -

    6.In paragraph 3 of Part A of Schedule 2, for "as a reference to sections 152 to 170 in Schedule 4 to the Act" substitute "a reference to the 1981 Liability Order".

    7.In paragraph 4 of Part A of Schedule 2, for "sections 172 to 181 in Schedule 4 to the Act" substitute "the 1981 Compensation Order".

    8.In paragraph 5 of Part A of Schedule 2 -

    9.In paragraph 1 of Part B of Schedule 2, for "this Order to the date on which the Order ceases to have effect" substitute "the 1998 Order to the date on which the Merchant Shipping (Liability and Compensation for Oil Pollution Damage) (Transitional Provisions) Order 1996 ceases to have effect in the United Kingdom".

    10.In paragraph 3 of Part B of Schedule 2, for "sections 172 to 181 of the Act as set out in Schedule 4 to the Act" substitute "the 1981 Compensation Order".

    11.In paragraph 5 of Part B of Schedule 2, for "sections 152 to 170 of the Act as set out in Schedule 4 to the Act" substitute "the 1981 Liability Order".

    12.For Schedule 3 substitute -

" SCHEDULE 3

ARTICLE XII BIS

TRANSITIONAL PROVISIONS

ARTICLE 36 BIS

The following transitional provisions shall apply from the date of entry into force of the 1998 Order to the date on which the Merchant Shipping (Liability and Compensation for Oil Pollution Damage) (Transitional Provisions) Order 1996 ceases to have effect in the United Kingdom:

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Order)

The International Convention on Civil Liability for Oil Pollution Damage 1969 (the CLC), which was extended to the Bailiwick of Guernsey by the Merchant Shipping (Oil Pollution) Act 1971 (Guernsey) Order 1981 (the 1981 Liability Order), provides uniform rules and procedures for determining questions of liability and for awarding compensation when damage is caused by pollution resulting from the escape or discharge of oil from ships.

The International Convention on the Establishment of an International Fund for Compensation for Oil Pollution Damage 1971 (the Fund Convention) which was extended to the Bailiwick of Guernsey by the Merchant Shipping Act 1974 (Guernsey) Order 1981 (the 1981 Compensation Order), set up an international fund to provide a supplementary system for compensation and indemnification for such damage. The 1992 Protocol to the CLC and the 1992 Protocol to the Fund Convention respectively create a new 1992 Civil Liability Convention and a new 1992 Fund Convention, which together provide for higher levels of compensation and more extensive liability.

The new 1992 Civil Liability Convention and the new 1992 Fund Convention do not, however, immediately replace the CLC and the Fund Convention: the latter will co-exist with the former for a transitional period. If an incident occurs during this period, compensation could in principle be available under both the original Conventions and the 1992 Conventions. The 1992 Protocols set out specific rules on the payment of compensation in these circumstances.

This Order extends to the Bailiwick of Guernsey, with the necessary exceptions, modifications and adaptations, provisions of the Merchant Shipping Act 1995 which give effect in the United Kingdom to the new 1992 Conventions (including certain general provisions concerning legal proceedings). It also gives effect to the transitional arrangements set out in the 1992 Protocols, by extending to the Bailiwick of Guernsey, with the necessary exceptions, modifications and adaptations, the provisions of the Merchant Shipping (Liability and Compensation for Oil Pollution Damage) (Transitional Provisions) Order 1996. Subject to the terms of that 1996 Order as so extended, it revokes the 1981 Liability Order and the 1981 Compensation Order.

Notes:

[1] 1995 c. 21; the power in section 315(2) is extended by section 315(4), and by section 30(2)(a) of the Merchant Shipping and Maritime Security Act 1997 (c. 28); and "relevant British possession" is defined in section 313(1) to include the Bailiwick of Guernsey.back

[2] Section 158(2) was amended, and section 158(2A) was added, by the Merchant Shipping and Maritime Security Act 1997, Schedule 6, paragraph 4; section 170 was amended by that Act, Schedule 6, paragraph 5; and section 313 was amended by that Act, Schedule 6, paragraph 19.back

[3] S.I. 1981/224.back

[4] S.I. 1981/225.back

[5] S.I. 1996/1143.back

[6] S.I. 1980/569.back

[7] 1894 c. 60.back

ISBN 0 11 065507 9

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