In forceAmended2020 Revised Edition

Contents

Prevention of Pollution ofthe Sea Act 1990 · 2020 Revised Edition · Part 5 · Recovery of Costs

18. Recovery of costs for removing oil, oily mixture and substances discharged from ships

Amended

Last amended by an amending law of 2008.

(1)

If any oil, oily mixture or noxious liquid substance is discharged from any ship into Singapore waters or into any part of the sea or waters outside Singapore waters and the oil, mixture or substance subsequently flows or drifts into Singapore waters, the owner of the ship shall be liable to pay for the costs of any measure reasonably taken by the appointed authority after the discharge for the purpose of removing it and for preventing or reducing any damage caused in Singapore by contamination resulting from the discharge.

(2)

Where the oil, oily mixture or noxious liquid substance is discharged from 2 or more ships —

(a)

a liability is incurred under this section by the owner of each of them; but(b)the damage or cost of which each of the owners would be liable cannot reasonably be separated from that for which the other or others would be liable,each of the owners shall be liable, jointly and severally with the other or others, for the whole of the damage or cost for which the owners together would be liable under this section.

(3)

The reference in this section to the measures reasonably taken after the discharge of oil, oily mixture or a noxious liquid substance for the purpose of preventing or reducing any damage caused by contamination resulting from the discharge includes actions taken to remove the oil, mixture or substance from the water and foreshores or the taking of such other actions as may be necessary to minimise or mitigate damage to the public health or welfare, including, but not limited to fish, shellfish, wildlife, and public and private property, foreshores and beaches.

(4)

This section does not apply in relation to any discharge of —

(a)

oil or oily mixture where section 3 of the Merchant Shipping (Civil Liability and Compensation for Oil Pollution) Act 1998 applies; and

(b)

bunker oil where section 3 of the Merchant Shipping (Civil Liability and Compensation for Bunker Oil Pollution) Act 2008 applies.

Terms defined in s 2

appointed authority
Defined · s 2
“appointed authority” means the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore established under the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore Act 1996 and any person appointed by the Minister for the purposes of this Act or any regulations made under this Act;
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;
Open s 2
noxious liquid substance
Defined · s 2
“noxious liquid substance” means any substance which is prescribed by regulations as being a noxious liquid substance and which is subject to the provisions of Annex II of the Convention;
Open s 2
oil
Defined · s 2
“oil” means petroleum in any form including crude oil, fuel oil, sludge, oil refuse and refined products (other than petrochemicals which are prescribed by regulations as being subject to the provisions of Annex II of the Convention) and, without limiting the foregoing, includes the substances prescribed by regulations as being listed in Appendix I of Annex I of the Convention;
Open s 2
oily mixture
Defined · s 2
“oily mixture” means a mixture with an oil content of 15 parts or more in 1 million parts of the mixture;
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
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;
Open s 2
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 19

Part 6

Miscellaneous Provisions

Read on from Part 6