Singapore legislation
Clause 16
Clause 16
Directions when licence expires, etc.
(1)
This section applies where —
a licence expires;
a licence is transferred under section 12;
a licence lapses under section 13; or
a licensee has been informed under section 15(4) of the Minister’s decision to revoke the licence.
(2)
The purposes of this section are —
to secure the orderly cessation by a licensee of its exploration or exploitation activities; and
to effectively protect the marine environment against any harmful effects of those activities or the cessation of those activities.
(3)
The Minister may, for any of the purposes of this section, give directions to —
the licensee;
any director or senior manager of the licensee; or
if there is no director or senior manager of the licensee who is able to comply with the directions of the Minister, any person who was a director of the licensee in the period of 6 months immediately preceding the date of the relevant event in subsection (1).
(4)
Without limiting subsection (3), the Minister may give all or any of the following directions under that subsection:
a direction that the licensee continues to comply with all or any of its obligations under this Act and the conditions of its licence;
a direction that any records kept by the licensee be delivered to the Minister or any other person;
a direction that specified measures be taken to effectively prevent, contain or minimise any harmful effects to the marine environment.
(5)
If the Minister is satisfied that a person has failed without reasonable excuse to comply with a direction given under subsection (3), the Minister may impose a financial penalty not exceeding $40,000 on the person for the non‑compliance.
(6)
Subject to subsection (7), a person who complies with a direction given under subsection (3) is not liable for any loss or damage suffered by any other person as a result of the compliance.
(7)
Subsection (6) does not apply to any loss or damage suffered as a result of any act or omission that purports to be in compliance with, but is not required by, a direction given under subsection (3).
(8)
In this section, “licensee” includes a Singapore company which has ceased to hold a licence.