Singapore legislation
Section 13
Section 13
Compulsory insurance against liability for pollution
(1)
Subject to the provisions of this Act relating to Government ships, subsection (2) shall apply to any ship carrying in bulk a cargo of more than 2,000 tons of oil.
(2)
The ship shall not enter or leave any port in Singapore or enter or leave the territorial waters of Singapore nor, if it is a Singapore ship, enter or leave any port in any other country, unless there is in force a certificate complying with subsection (3) and showing that there is in force in respect of the ship a contract of insurance or other security satisfying the requirements of Article VII of the Convention (cover for owner’s liability).
(3)
The certificate shall be —
if the ship is a Singapore ship, a certificate issued by the Director;
if the ship is registered in a Convention country other than Singapore, a certificate issued by or under the authority of the government of that Convention country; and
if the ship is registered in a country which is not a Convention country, a certificate issued by the Director or a certificate recognised for the purposes of this paragraph by regulations made under this section.
(4)
The Minister may by regulations provide that certificates in respect of ships registered in any, or any specified, country which is not a Convention country shall, in such circumstances as may be specified in the regulations, be recognised for the purposes of subsection (3)(c) if the certificates are issued by or under the authority of the government of the country designated in the regulations in that behalf; and the country that may be so designated may be either or both of the following:
the country in which the ship is registered; and
any country specified in the regulations for the purposes of this subsection.
(5)
Any certificate required by this section to be in force in respect of a ship shall be carried in the ship and shall, on demand, be produced by the master to any officer of the Marine Department or of the Authority and, if the ship is registered in Singapore, to any consular officer within the meaning of the Merchant Shipping Act [Cap. 179].
(6)
If a ship enters or leaves, or attempts to enter or leave, a port or the territorial waters in contravention of subsection (2), the master or the owner of the ship shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $200,000.
(7)
If a ship fails to carry, or the master of a ship fails to produce, a certificate as required by subsection (5), the master of the ship shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $5,000.
(8)
If a ship attempts to leave a port in, or the territorial waters of, Singapore in contravention of this section, the ship may be detained by the Director or the officers of the Authority or any police officer or any commissioned officer on full pay in the naval or military service of the Government.
(9)
Section 340 of the Merchant Shipping Act [Cap. 179] shall apply with the necessary modifications to the detention of a ship under this Act.
(10)
For the purposes of this section and section 14, references in Article VII of the Convention to Article V of the Convention shall be construed as references to Article V as amended by Article II of the protocol dated 19th November 1976 to the Convention.