In forceAmended2020 Revised Edition

Contents

Prevention of Pollution ofthe Sea Act 1990 · 2020 Revised Edition · Part 3 · Prevention of Pollution from Ships

10A. Prohibition of discharge of ballast water and sediments from ships

Amended

Last amended by an amending law of 2017.

(1)

Subject to subsections (2) and (3) and section 10B, if any discharge of ballast water or sediments occurs from any ship into Singapore waters, or from a Singapore ship into any part of the sea, the master, the owner and the agent of the ship shall each be guilty of an offence and shall each be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $20,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months or to both.

(2)

Subsection (1) does not apply to the discharge of ballast water through ballast water management in accordance with regulations made under section 34.

(3)

The Authority may, with the approval of the Minister, make regulations to exempt any ship from the operation of subsection (1), either absolutely or subject to any prescribed conditions, and either generally or as respects particular classes of ships, or in relation to particular areas of the sea.

(4)

In this section —

“owner”, in relation to a ship, includes any organisation or person such as the manager, or the bareboat charterer, who has assumed the responsibility for operation of the ship from the owner of the ship and who on assuming such responsibility has agreed to take over all the duties and responsibilities imposed by the International Safety Management Code;

“International Safety Management Code” means the International Management Code for the Safe Operation of Ships and for Pollution Prevention, 2002 adopted by the International Maritime Organization and any amendment to the Code which has come into force and has been accepted by the Government.

Terms defined in s 2

Authority
Defined · s 2
“Authority” means the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore established under the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore Act 1996;
Open s 2
ballast water
Defined · s 2
“ballast water” means water with its suspended matter taken on board a ship to control trim, list, draught, stability or stresses of the ship;
Open s 2
ballast water management
Defined · s 2
“ballast water management” means mechanical, physical, chemical, and biological processes, either singularly or in combination, to remove, render harmless, or avoid the uptake or discharge of harmful aquatic organisms and pathogens within ballast water and sediments;
Open s 2
discharge
Defined · s 2
“discharge”, in relation to harmful substances or effluents containing such substances, means any release howsoever caused from a ship, place or thing and includes any escape, disposal, spilling, leaking, pumping, emitting or emptying but does not include —(a)release of harmful substances directly arising from the exploration, exploitation and associated off‑shore processing of seabed mineral resources; or(b)release of harmful substances for purposes of legitimate scientific research into pollution abatement or control;
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master
Defined · s 2
“master” includes every person, except a pilot, having command or charge of any ship;
Open s 2
owner
Defined · s 2
“owner”, in relation to a ship, means the person registered as the owner of the ship or, in the absence of registration, the person owning the ship or the bareboat charterer of the ship; and, in the case of a ship owned by a state and operated by a company which in that state is registered as the ship’s operator,
Open s 2
sediments
Defined · s 2
“sediments” means matter settled out of ballast water within a ship;
Open s 2
ship
Defined · s 2
“ship” means a vessel of any type operating in the marine environment and includes hydrofoil boats, air‑cushion vehicles, submersibles, floating craft and fixed or floating platforms;
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Singapore ship
Defined · s 2
“Singapore ship” means a ship registered under Part 2 of the Merchant Shipping Act 1995;
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Singapore waters
Defined · s 2
“Singapore waters” means the following waters:(a)the whole of the sea within the seaward limits of the territorial waters of Singapore; (b)all other waters (including inland waters) which are within these limits and are subject to the ebb and flow of the ordinary tides;
Open s 2

Report

Read on from s 10B

Part 4

Preventive Measures Against Pollutionof the Sea

Read on from Part 4

Part 5

Recovery of Costs

Read on from Part 5

Part 6

Miscellaneous Provisions

Read on from Part 6