Singapore legislation
Section 12
of Merchant Shipping (Civil Liability and Compensation for Bunker Oil Pollution) Act 2008
Section 12
Compulsory insurance against liability for bunker oil pollution
(1)
Subsection (2) applies to any ship having a gross tonnage greater than 1,000.
(2)
The ship must not enter or leave any port in Singapore or enter or leave any offshore facility in the territorial sea of Singapore and must not, if it is a Singapore ship, enter or leave any port in any other country or any offshore facility in the territorial sea of any other country, unless there is in force —
a contract of insurance or other security in respect of the ship satisfying the requirements of Article 7 of the Bunker Convention; and
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 those requirements.
(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 Bunker Convention country other than Singapore — a certificate issued by or under the authority of the government of that other Bunker Convention country; and
if the ship is registered in a country which is not a Bunker Convention country — a certificate issued by the Director or by or under the authority of the government of any Bunker Convention country other than Singapore.
(4)
The Authority may, with the approval of the Minister, by regulations provide that certificates in respect of ships registered in any country or any specified country which is not a Bunker Convention country are, in such circumstances as may be specified in the regulations, 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;
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 must be carried in the ship and must, on demand, be produced by the master to any officer of the Authority and, if the ship is a Singapore ship, to any consular officer within the meaning of the Merchant Shipping Act 1995.
(6)
If a ship enters or leaves, or attempts to enter or leave a port or the territorial sea in contravention of subsection (2), the master or the registered owner of the ship shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $1 million.
(7)
If a ship fails to carry, or the master of a ship fails to produce, a certificate as required under subsection (5), the master of the ship shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $20,000.
(8)
If a ship attempts to leave a port in, or the territorial sea 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 Singapore Armed Forces.
(9)
Section 209 of the Merchant Shipping Act 1995 applies, with the necessary modifications, to the detention of a ship under this Act.