Singapore legislation
Section 272
Section 272
Limitation of owners’ liability in certain cases of loss of life, injury or damage
*—
The owners of a ship shall not, where all or any of the following occurrences take place without their actual fault or privity:
where any loss of life or personal injury is caused to any person being carried in the ship;
where any damage or loss is caused to any goods, merchandise or other things whatsoever on board the ship;
where any loss of life or personal injury is caused to any person not carried in the ship through the act or omission of any person (whether on board the ship or not) in the navigation or management of the ship or in the loading, carriage or discharge of its cargo or in the embarkation, carriage or disembarkation of its passengers, or through any other act or omission of any person on board the ship;
where any loss or damage is caused to any property (other than any property mentioned in paragraph (b)) or any rights are infringed through the act or omission of any person (whether on board the ship or not) in the navigation or management of the ship or in the loading, carriage or discharge of its cargo or in the embarkation, carriage or disembarkation of its passengers, or through any other act or omission of any person on board the ship,be liable to damages beyond the following amounts:
in respect of loss of life or personal injury, either alone or together with such loss, damage or infringement as is mentioned in paragraphs (b) and (d), an aggregate amount not exceeding in the currency of Singapore the equivalent of 3,100 gold francs for each ton of their ship’s tonnage; and
in respect of such loss, damage or infringement as is mentioned in paragraphs (b) and (d), whether there is additional loss of life or personal injury or not, an aggregate amount not exceeding in the currency of Singapore the equivalent of 1,000 gold francs for each ton of their ship’s tonnage:Provided that for the purpose of ascertaining the limit of the owners’ liability in accordance with paragraph (i), the tonnage of a ship of less than 300 tons shall be deemed to be 300 tons.(2) For the purposes of this section —
the tonnage of a registered British ship shall be her registered tonnage with the addition of any engine-room space deducted for the purpose of ascertaining that tonnage, and the tonnage of a British sailing ship shall be her registered tonnage:Provided that there shall not be included in such tonnage any space occupied by seamen or apprentices and appropriated to their use which is certified under the regulations contained in the Sixth Schedule to the Merchant Shipping Act 1894 [U.K. 1894 c. 60];
where a ship built at any port or place in Her Majesty’s dominions or in India, but not registered under the Merchant Shipping Acts or the law of any other country or a foreign ship, has been or can be measured according to British law, her tonnage as ascertained by that measurement shall for the purpose of this section be deemed to be her tonnage;
where a ship built at any port or place in Her Majesty’s dominions or in India, but not registered under the Merchant Shipping Acts or the law of any other country, or a foreign ship, has not been and cannot be measured according to British law, the Surveyor-General shall, on receiving from or by the direction of the court hearing the case in which the tonnage of the ship is in question such evidence concerning the dimensions of the ship as it is practicable to furnish, give a certificate under his hand stating what would in his opinion have been the tonnage of the ship if she had been duly measured according to British law, and the tonnage so stated in that certificate shall for the purposes of this section be deemed to be the tonnage of the ship;
a gold franc shall be taken to be a unit consisting of 651/2 milligrams of gold of millesimal fineness 900.(3) The Minister may from time to time by order to be published in the Gazette specify the amounts which for the purposes of this section are to be taken as equivalent to 3,100 and 1,000 gold francs respectively.(4) The limits set by this section to the liabilities mentioned therein shall apply to the aggregate of such liabilities which are incurred on any distinct occasion, and shall so apply in respect of each distinct occasion without regard to any liability incurred on another occasion.(5) The application of this section to any liability shall not be excluded by reason only that the occurrence giving rise to the liability was not due to the negligence of any person.(6) Nothing in this section shall apply to any liability in respect of loss of life or personal injury caused to, or loss of or damage to any property or infringement of any right of, a person who is on board or employed in connection with a ship under a contract of service with all or any of the persons whose liabilities are limited by this section, if that contract is governed by the law of any country outside Singapore and that law either does not set any limit to that liability or sets a limit exceeding that set to it by this section.[295
(1)
The owners of a ship shall not, where all or any of the following occurrences take place without their actual fault or privity:
where any loss of life or personal injury is caused to any person being carried in the ship;
where any damage or loss is caused to any goods, merchandise or other things whatsoever on board the ship;
where any loss of life or personal injury is caused to any person not carried in the ship through the act or omission of any person (whether on board the ship or not) in the navigation or management of the ship or in the loading, carriage or discharge of its cargo or in the embarkation, carriage or disembarkation of its passengers, or through any other act or omission of any person on board the ship;
where any loss or damage is caused to any property (other than any property mentioned in paragraph (b)) or any rights are infringed through the act or omission of any person (whether on board the ship or not) in the navigation or management of the ship or in the loading, carriage or discharge of its cargo or in the embarkation, carriage or disembarkation of its passengers, or through any other act or omission of any person on board the ship,be liable to damages beyond the following amounts:
in respect of loss of life or personal injury, either alone or together with such loss, damage or infringement as is mentioned in paragraphs (b) and (d), an aggregate amount not exceeding in the currency of Singapore the equivalent of 3,100 gold francs for each ton of their ship’s tonnage; and
in respect of such loss, damage or infringement as is mentioned in paragraphs (b) and (d), whether there is additional loss of life or personal injury or not, an aggregate amount not exceeding in the currency of Singapore the equivalent of 1,000 gold francs for each ton of their ship’s tonnage:Provided that for the purpose of ascertaining the limit of the owners’ liability in accordance with paragraph (i), the tonnage of a ship of less than 300 tons shall be deemed to be 300 tons.
(2)
For the purposes of this section —
the tonnage of a registered British ship shall be her registered tonnage with the addition of any engine-room space deducted for the purpose of ascertaining that tonnage, and the tonnage of a British sailing ship shall be her registered tonnage:Provided that there shall not be included in such tonnage any space occupied by seamen or apprentices and appropriated to their use which is certified under the regulations contained in the Sixth Schedule to the Merchant Shipping Act 1894 [U.K. 1894 c. 60];
where a ship built at any port or place in Her Majesty’s dominions or in India, but not registered under the Merchant Shipping Acts or the law of any other country or a foreign ship, has been or can be measured according to British law, her tonnage as ascertained by that measurement shall for the purpose of this section be deemed to be her tonnage;
where a ship built at any port or place in Her Majesty’s dominions or in India, but not registered under the Merchant Shipping Acts or the law of any other country, or a foreign ship, has not been and cannot be measured according to British law, the Surveyor-General shall, on receiving from or by the direction of the court hearing the case in which the tonnage of the ship is in question such evidence concerning the dimensions of the ship as it is practicable to furnish, give a certificate under his hand stating what would in his opinion have been the tonnage of the ship if she had been duly measured according to British law, and the tonnage so stated in that certificate shall for the purposes of this section be deemed to be the tonnage of the ship;
a gold franc shall be taken to be a unit consisting of 651/2 milligrams of gold of millesimal fineness 900.
(3)
The Minister may from time to time by order to be published in the Gazette specify the amounts which for the purposes of this section are to be taken as equivalent to 3,100 and 1,000 gold francs respectively.
(4)
The limits set by this section to the liabilities mentioned therein shall apply to the aggregate of such liabilities which are incurred on any distinct occasion, and shall so apply in respect of each distinct occasion without regard to any liability incurred on another occasion.
(5)
The application of this section to any liability shall not be excluded by reason only that the occurrence giving rise to the liability was not due to the negligence of any person.
(6)
Nothing in this section shall apply to any liability in respect of loss of life or personal injury caused to, or loss of or damage to any property or infringement of any right of, a person who is on board or employed in connection with a ship under a contract of service with all or any of the persons whose liabilities are limited by this section, if that contract is governed by the law of any country outside Singapore and that law either does not set any limit to that liability or sets a limit exceeding that set to it by this section.[295