Prevention of Oil Pollution Act 1971
| Year | 1971 |
Prevention of Oil PollutionAct 1971
1971 CHAPTER 60
An Act to consolidate the Oil in Navigable Waters Acts 1955 to 1971 and section 5 of the Continental Shelf Act 1964.
[27th July 1971]
Be it enacted by the Queen's most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:—
General provisions for preventing oil pollution
1 Discharge of certain oils into sea outside territorial waters.
(1) If any oil to which this section applies or any mixture containing such oil is discharged from a ship registered in the United Kingdom into any part of the sea outside the territorial waters of the United Kingdom, the owner or master of the ship shall, subject to the provisions of this Act, be guilty of an offence.
(2) This section applies—
(a ) to crude oil, fuel oil and lubricating oil; and
(b ) to heavy diesel oil, as defined by regulations made under this section by the Secretary of State;
and shall also apply to any other description of oil which may be specified by regulations made by the Secretary of State, having regard to the provisions of any Convention accepted by Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom in so far as it relates to the prevention of pollution of the sea by oil, or having regard to the persistent character of oil of that description and the likelihood that it would cause pollution if discharged from a ship into any part of the sea outside the territorial waters of the United Kingdom.
(3) Regulations made by the Secretary of State may make exceptions from the operation of subsection (1) of this section, either generally or with respect to particular classes of ships, particular descriptions of oil or mixtures containing oil or the discharge of oil or mixtures in particular circumstances or into particular areas of the sea, and may do so either absolutely or subject to any specified conditions.
(4) A person guilty of an offence under this section shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding 50,000 or on conviction on indictment to a fine.
2 Discharge of oil into United Kingdom waters.
(1) If any oil or mixture containing oil is discharged as mentioned in the following paragraphs into waters to which this section applies, then, subject to the provisions of this Act, the following shall be guilty of an offence, that is to say—
(a ) if the discharge is from a vessel, the owner or master of the vessel, unless he proves that the discharge took place and was caused as mentioned in paragraph (b ) of this subsection;
(b ) if the discharge is from a vessel but takes place in the course of a transfer of oil to or from another vessel or a place on land and is caused by the act or omission of any person in charge of any apparatus in that other vessel or that place, the owner or master of that other vessel or, as the case may be, the occupier of that place;
(c ) if the discharge is from a place on land, the occupier of that place, unless he proves that the discharge was caused as mentioned in paragraph (d ) of this subsection;
(d ) if the discharge is from a place on land and is caused by the act of a person who is in that place without the permission (express or implied) of the occupier, that person;
(e ) if the discharge takes place otherwise than as mentioned in the preceding paragraphs and is the result of any operations for the exploration of the sea-bed and subsoil or the exploitation of their natural resources, the person carrying on the operations.
(2) This section applies to the following waters, that is to say,—
(a ) the whole of the sea within the seaward limits of the territorial waters of the United Kingdom; and
(b ) all other waters (including inland waters) which are within those limits and are navigable by sea-going ships.
(3) In this Act ‘place on land’ includes anything resting on the bed or shore of the sea, or of any other waters to which this section applies, 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 such waters; and ‘occupier’, in relation to any such thing as is mentioned in the preceding provisions of this subsection, 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 vehicle and not the occupier of the land on which the wagon or vehicle stands.
(4) A person guilty of an offence under this section shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding 50,000 or on conviction on indictment to a fine.
3 Discharge of certain oils form pipe-lines or as the result of exploration etc. in designated areas.
(1) If any oil to which section 1 of this Act applies, or any mixture containing such oil, is discharged into any part of the sea—
(a ) from a pipe-line; or
(b ) (otherwise than from a ship) as the result of any operation for the exploration of the sea-bed and subsoil or the exploitation of their natural resources in a designated area,
then, subject to the following provisions of this Act, the owner of the pipe-line or, as the case may be, the person carrying on the operations shall be guilty of an offence unless the discharge was from a place in his occupation and he proves that it was due to the act of a person who was there without his permission (express or implied).
(2) In this section ‘designated area’ means an area for the time being designated by an Order made under section 1 of the Continental Shelf Act 1964 .
(3) A person guilty of an offence under this section shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding 50,000 or on conviction on indictment to a fine.
4 Equipment in ships to prevent oil pollution.
(1) For the purpose of preventing or reducing discharges of oil and mixtures containing oil into the sea, the Secretary of State may make regulations requiring ships registered in the United Kingdom to be fitted with such equipment and to comply with such other requirements as may be specified in the regulations.
(2) 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 specified description, the regulations may provide that equipment of that description—
(a ) shall not be installed in a ship to which the regulations apply unless it is of a type tested and approved by a person appointed by the Secretary of State;
(b ) while installed in such a ship, shall not be treated as satisfying the requirements of the regulations unless, at such times as may be specified in the regulations, it is submitted for testing and approval by a person so appointed.
(3) The Secretary of State 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, with the approval of the Treasury, may be prescribed by the regulations.
(4) Every surveyor of ships shall be taken to be a person appointed by the Secretary of State 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.
(5) 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 or master of the ship shall be guilty of an offence.
(6) A person guilty of an offence under this section shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding 1,000 or on conviction on indictment to a fine.
5 Defences of owner or master charged with offence under s. 1 or s. 2.
(1) Where a person is charged with an offence under section 1 of this Act, or is charged with an offence under section 2 of this Act as the owner or master of a vessel, it shall be a defence to prove that the oil or mixture was discharged for the purpose of securing the safety of any vessel, or of preventing damage to any vessel or cargo, or of saving life, unless the court is satisfied that the discharge of the oil or mixture was not necessary for that purpose or was not a reasonable step to take in the circumstances.
(2) Where a person is charged as mentioned in subsection (1) of this section, it shall also be a defence to prove—
(a ) that the oil or mixture escaped in consequence of damage to the vessel, and that as soon as practicable after the damage occurred all reasonable steps were taken for preventing, or (if it could not be prevented) for stopping or reducing, the escape of the oil or mixture, or
(b ) that the oil or mixture escaped by reason of leakage, that neither the leakage nor any delay in discovering it was 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...
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