Prevention of Pollution ofthe Sea Act 1990 · 2020 Revised Edition · Part 3 · Prevention of Pollution from Ships
10B. Special defences to section 10A
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Where a person is charged with an offence under section 10A(1), it is a defence for the person charged to prove, on a balance of probabilities, that —
the uptake or discharge of ballast water or sediments was necessary for the purpose of securing the safety of the ship in an emergency situation or saving life at sea;
discharge
“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;
the discharge of ballast water or sediments —
ballast water
“ballast water” means water with its suspended matter taken on board a ship to control trim, list, draught, stability or stresses of the ship;
was accidental; and
resulted from damage to the ship or its equipment, other than damage that was caused by the person wilfully or recklessly,and all reasonable precautions were taken before and after the occurrence of the damage, or the discovery of the occurrence of the damage or discharge, for the purpose of preventing or minimising the discharge;
ship
“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;
the uptake or discharge of ballast water or sediments was for the purpose of avoiding or minimising pollution incidents from the ship;
the discharge of ballast water or sediments occurred on the high seas, and comprised the same ballast water and sediments that had been taken up in the high seas; or
the discharge of ballast water or sediments was at the same location where the whole of the discharged ballast water or sediments originated, and the discharged ballast water and sediments had not been mixed with ballast water and sediments from any other location which have not undergone ballast water management.
ballast water management
“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;