Prevention of Pollution of the Sea Bill

In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires —

“appointed authority” means the Director of Marine, the Port of Singapore Authority and any person appointed by the Minister for the purposes of sections 13, 14, 15 and 16 of this Act;

“Convention of 1954” means the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution of the Sea by Oil, 1954, done at London on the 12th day of May 1954, and the amendments made thereto and includes any Convention replacing the Convention of 1954;

“Director” means the Director of Marine appointed under section 9 of the Merchant Shipping Ordinance (Cap. 207) and includes the Deputy Director of Marine appointed under the said section;

“master” includes every person, except a pilot, having command or charge of any ship;

“mixture containing oil” means a mixture with an oil content of one hundred parts or more in one million parts of the mixture;

“occupier”, in relation to any place on land if it has no occupier, means the owner thereof and, in relation to a railway wagon or road vehicle, means the person in charge of the wagon or road vehicle and not the occupier of the land on which the wagon or vehicle stands;

“oil” means oil of any description and includes spirit produced from oil of any description, and also includes coal tar;

“oil reception facilities” has the same meaning as is assigned to it in section 8 of this Act;

“oil residues” means any waste material consisting of, or arising from, oil or a mixture containing oil;

“owner”, in relation to a vessel, means the person registered as the owner of the vessel or, in the absence of registration, the person owning the vessel: Provided that in the case of a vessel owned by a State and operated by a company which in that State is registered as the vessel’s operator, “owner” shall include such State;

“place on land” includes anything resting on the bed or shore of the sea, or of any Singapore waters, and also includes anything afloat (other than a vessel) if it is anchored or attached to the bed or shore of the sea or of any Singapore waters;

“port” has the same meaning as is assigned to it in the Port of Singapore Authority Ordinance, 1963 (Ord. 36 of 1963);

“Port Master” means the Port Master appointed under section 33 of the Port of Singapore Authority Ordinance, 1963, and includes any Deputy Port Master appointed under the said section;

“Port of Singapore Authority” means the Port of Singapore Authority established under the Port of Singapore Authority Ordinance, 1963;

“proper authority”, for the purposes of subsection (6) of section 5 of this Act, means the Director of Marine or the Port of Singapore Authority;

“ship” includes every description of vessel used in navigation not propelled by oars;

“Singapore ship” means a ship registered under Part XIV of the Merchant Shipping Ordinance (Cap. 207);

“Singapore waters” means the following waters, that is to say —

“substance of a dangerous or obnoxious nature” includes any substance which the Minister may, by notification published in the Gazette, declare to be deemed to be a substance of a dangerous or obnoxious nature, as the case may be, for the purposes of this Act;

“surveyor of ships” means a surveyor of ships appointed under section 11 of the Merchant Shipping Ordinance;

“trade effluent” means the solid or liquid waste of any trade, business or manufacture;

“vessel” includes any ship or boat or any other description of vessel used in navigation.

For the purpose of any provision of this Act relating to the discharge of oil, a mixture containing oil, refuse, garbage, waste matter or substance of a dangerous or obnoxious nature from a vessel, any floating craft other than a vessel which is attached to a vessel shall be treated as part of the vessel.

Any reference in any provision of this Act to a mixture containing oil shall be construed as a reference to any mixture of oil with water or with any substance.

Any reference in this Act to the discharge of oil, a mixture containing oil, refuse, garbage, waste matter, substance of a dangerous or obnoxious nature or trade effluent to its being discharged from a vessel, place or thing, except where the reference is to its being discharged for a specific purpose, includes a reference to the escape of the oil, mixture containing oil, refuse, garbage, waste matter, substance of a dangerous or obnoxious nature or trade effluent, as the case may be, to its escaping from that vessel, place or thing.

Any power in this Act to test any equipment on board a vessel shall be construed as including a power to require persons on board the vessel to carry out such work as may be requisite for the purpose of the equipment; and any provision of this Act as to submitting equipment for testing shall be construed accordingly.

This Act may be cited as the Prevention of Pollution of the Sea Act, 1970, and shall come into operation on such date as the Minister may, by notification in the Gazette, appoint.

The Minister may appoint different dates for the coming into operation of the different provisions of this Act.

If any oil or mixture containing oil is discharged from a Singapore ship into any part of the sea outside the territorial limits of Singapore, the owner, the agent or the master of such ship shall, subject to the provisions of this Act, be guilty of an offence under this Act and shall be liable on conviction to a fine of not less than five hundred dollars and not exceeding twenty thousand dollars or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years or to both such fine and imprisonment.

The Minister may make regulations to exempt any Singapore ship from the operation of subsection (1) of this section, either absolutely or subject to any prescribed conditions, and either generally or as respects particular classes of ships, or in relation to particular descriptions of oil or mixture containing oil or to the discharge of oil or mixture containing oil in prescribed circumstances, or in relation to particular areas of the sea.

Where a person is charged with an offence under section 3 of this Act, or is charged with an offence under section 4 of this Act as the owner, the master or the agent of a vessel, it shall be a defence to prove that the oil or mixture containing oil in question was discharged for the purpose of securing the safety of any vessel, or preventing damage to any vessel or cargo, or of saving life:Provided that a defence under this subsection shall not have effect if the court is satisfied that the discharge of the oil or mixture containing oil was not necessary for the purpose alleged in the defence or was not a reasonable step to take in the circumstances.

Where a person is charged with an offence under section 3 of this Act, or is charged with an offence under section 4 of this Act as the owner, the agent or the master of a vessel, it shall also be a defence to prove —

Where a person is charged with an offence under section 4 of this Act as the occupier of a place on land, or as the person in charge of any apparatus, from which the oil or mixture containing oil is alleged to have escaped, it shall be a defence to prove that the escape of the oil or mixture was not due to any want of reasonable care, and that as soon as practicable after the escape was discovered all reasonable steps were taken for stopping or reducing it.

Without prejudice to the provisions of subsection (3) of this section, it shall be a defence for the occupier of a place on land, who is charged with an offence under section 4 of this Act, to prove that the discharge was caused by the act of a person who was in that place without the permission (express or implied) of the occupier.

Where a person is charged with an offence under section 4 of this Act in respect of the discharge of a mixture containing oil from a place on land, it shall (without prejudice to any other defence under this section) be a defence to prove —

Where any oil or mixture containing oil is discharged in consequence of the removal of sunk, stranded or abandoned vessels by the proper authority in exercise of any power conferred by any written law, and apart from this subsection the proper authority exercising the power, or a person employed by or acting on behalf of the proper authority, would be guilty of an offence under section 4 of this Act, in respect of that discharge, the proper authority or person shall not be convicted of that offence unless it is shown that the proper authority or that person failed to take such steps (if any) as were reasonable in the circumstances for preventing, stopping or reducing the discharge.

The Port of Singapore Authority shall have power to provide facilities for enabling vessels using the port to discharge or deposit oil residues, refuse, waste matter and garbage (hereinafter in this Act referred to as “oil reception facilities”). The power of the Port of Singapore Authority to provide oil reception facilities shall include power —

Any oil reception facilities provided by the Port of Singapore Authority may be rendered outside and within the limits of the port.

The Port of Singapore Authority may, with the approval of the Minister, prescribe regulations in respect of every matter relating to the provision of oil reception facilities. Without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing provisions, such regulations may provide —

For the purpose of preventing or reducing the discharge of oil or mixture containing oil into the sea, the Minister may make regulations requiring all ships in Singapore waters to be fitted with such equipment, and to comply with such other requirements, as may be prescribed.

Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1) of this section, where any regulations made thereunder require ships to be fitted with equipment of a prescribed description, the regulations may provide that equipment of that description —

The Minister may appoint persons to carry out tests for the purposes of any regulations made under this section and, in respect of the carrying out of such tests, may charge such fees as may be prescribed by the regulations.

Every surveyor of ships shall be taken to be a person appointed by the Minister to carry out tests for the purposes of any regulations made under this section, in so far as they relate to tests required in accordance with paragraph (b) of subsection (2) of this section.

If, in the case of any ship, the provisions of any regulations made under this section which apply to that ship are contravened, the owner, the master or the agent of the ship shall be guilty of an offence under this Act and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding five thousand dollars.

The Minister may make regulations requiring oil record books to be carried in all ships in Singapore waters and requiring the master of any such ship to record in the oil record book carried by it —

The Minister may make regulations requiring the keeping of records relating to the transfer of oil to and from vessels while they are in Singapore waters.

The requirements of any regulations made under subsection (2) of this section shall be in addition to the requirements of any regulations made under subsection (1) of this section.

Any records requiring to be kept by regulations made under subsection (2) of this section shall, unless the vessel is a barge, be kept by the master of the vessel and shall, if the vessel is a barge, be kept, in so far as they relate to the transfer of oil to the barge, by the person supplying the oil and, in so far as they relate to the transfer of oil from the barge, by the person to whom the oil is delivered.

Regulations made under this section requiring the carrying of oil record books or the keeping of records may —

If any ship fails to carry such an oil record book as is required to carry under this section, the owner, the agent or the master shall be guilty of an offence under this Act and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding five thousand dollars.

Any person who fails to comply with any requirements imposed by or under this section shall be guilty of an offence under this Act and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding five thousand dollars.

Any person who makes an entry in any oil record book carried or record kept under this section which is to his knowledge false or misleading in any material particular shall be guilty of an offence under this Act and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding ten thousand dollars or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year or to both such fine and imprisonment.

In any proceedings under this Act —

No oil shall be transferred between the hours of 6 p.m. and 6 a.m. to or from a vessel in Singapore waters unless the requisite notice has been given in accordance with this section.

For the purposes of this section, a general notice may be given to the Director and the Port Master that transfers of oil between the hours of 6 p.m. and 6 a.m. will be frequently carried out at a place in the port within a period specified in the notice; and if such a notice is given it shall be the requisite notice for the purposes of this section as regards transfers of oil at that place within the period specified in the notice:Provided that the period specified in such a notice shall not extend beyond the end of the period of twelve months beginning with the date on which the notice is given.

Subject to the provisions of subsection (2) of this section, the requisite notice for the purposes of this section shall be a notice given to the Director and the Port Master not less than three hours nor more than ninety-six hours before the transfer of oil begins.

If any oil is transferred to or from a vessel in contravention of this section, the master of the vessel, and, if the oil is transferred from or to a place on land, the occupier of that place shall be guilty of an offence under this Act and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding five thousand dollars.

If any oil or mixture containing oil is discharged into Singapore waters from any place on land, the occupier of that place shall, subject to the provisions of subsection (2) of this section, be liable to pay for the costs incurred by the appointed authority in removing or eliminating the oil or mixture containing oil.

The occupier of a place shall be exempted from the liability to pay for the costs incurred by the appointed authority in removing or eliminating the oil or mixture containing oil if he proves that the discharge of the oil or mixture containing oil was caused by the act of a person who was in that place without the permission (express or implied) of the occupier.

If any vessel is detained under section 17 of this Act and the vessel proceeds to sea before it is released by the competent authority, the master of the vessel, and also the owner thereof and any person who sends the vessel to sea, if that owner or person is party or privy to the act of sending the vessel to sea, shall be guilty of an offence under this Act and shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding ten thousand dollars or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years or to both such fine and imprisonment.

Any person authorised under this Act to detain a vessel may, if he thinks it necessary, place a police guard on board.

The Government may, by its officers, employees, agents or contractors, enter upon any land adjoining to the sea or foreshore for the purpose of removing or eliminating any oil, mixture containing oil, garbage, waste matter, substance of a dangerous or obnoxious nature, or trade effluent from Singapore waters.

In the exercise of the powers conferred by subsection (1) of this section, the Government shall pay compensation to the owner of the land for any permanent injury caused to the land.

If any dispute arises as to the amount of compensation payable to the owner of such land, the dispute may be summarily determined by a District Court or by a Magistrate’s Court.

Save as provided in subsection (2) of this section, no action shall be brought against the Government for any compensation in respect of any damage caused arising out of the exercise of the powers conferred by subsection (1) of this section.

The provisions of this Act do not apply to vessels belonging to the naval, military or air forces of Singapore or of any other country.

Subject to the provisions of subsection (1) of this section, the provisions of this Act shall apply to all ships belonging to or in the employment of the Government, and in such application the word “Director” shall be read for “owner”.

The Minister may exempt any ship trading or proceeding to or from a port or place outside Singapore waters from the provisions of sections 9 and 10 of this Act.

Any exemption granted by the Minister under the provisions of this section may be granted subject to such conditions as the Minister thinks fit; the exemption shall not have effect unless those conditions are complied with.

The Director, the Port Master or a police officer may arrest without warrant any person who has committed or whom he reasonably believes to have committed an offence against this Act or any regulations made thereunder and take him before a Magistrate’s Court or a District Court, as the case may be, to be dealt with according to law.

Any article concerning, by or for which an offence has been committed may be seized and taken to a police station, unless given up sooner by order of a Magistrate’s Court or a District Court, until the charge is decided in due course of law.

The Director may appoint so many other officers as he may think fit for the purpose of carrying out all or any of the powers conferred on the Director by or under this Act.

Every officer so appointed by the Director may go on board any ship at any time and inspect the same or any part thereof, or any of the machinery, equipment or articles on board thereof to which the provisions of this Act or any of the regulations made thereunder apply.

The Minister may make such regulations as appear to him necessary or expedient for the purposes of carrying out the provisions of this Act.

Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1) of this section, the Minister may by such regulations —

Any regulations made under this Act may provide that a contravention thereof shall be punishable by a fine not exceeding five thousand dollars or with imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years or with both such fine and imprisonment.