The Merchant Shipping (Implementation of Ship-Source Pollution Directive) Regulations 2009

Made11th May 2009

Laid before Parliament11th May 2009

Coming into force1st July 2009

The Secretary of State makes the following Regulations in exercise of the powers conferred by article 3 of the Merchant Shipping (Prevention of Oil Pollution) Order 1983 M1, articles 3 and 5 of the Merchant Shipping (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Order 1987 M2, article 2 of the Merchant Shipping (Prevention of Pollution) (Law of the Sea Convention) Order 1996 M3, sections 85 and 86 of the Merchant Shipping Act 1995 M4 and section 2(2) of the European Communities Act 1972 M5.

The Secretary of State is a Minister designated M6 for the purposes of section 2(2) of that Act in relation to measures relating to maritime transport.

Annotations:

Marginal Citations

S.I. 1983/1106. Article 3 was amended by S.I. 1985/2002, 1991/2885 and 1993/1580.

S.I. 1987/470. Article 3 was amended by S.I. 1990/2595. Article 5(1) was inserted by S.I. 1997/2569 and amended by S.I. 1998/254.

S.I. 1996/282.

1995 c.21. Sections 85 and 86 were amended by sections 8 and 29 of, and Schedule 7 to, the Merchant Shipping and Maritime Security Act 1997 (c.28). Relevant amendments to section 85 were also made by section 2 of the British Overseas Territories Act 2002 (c.8).

1972 c.68.

S.I. 1994/757.

Citation and commencement1

These Regulations may be cited as the Merchant Shipping (Implementation of Ship-Source Pollution Directive) Regulations 2009 and come into force on 1^st July 2009.

Interpretation2

In these Regulations—

“the Act” means the Merchant Shipping Act 1995; and
“the Directive” means Directive 2005/35/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 7^th September 2005 on ship-source pollution and on the introduction of penalties for infringements M7.

Amendment of section 131 of the Merchant Shipping Act 19953

1

Section 131 of the Act (discharge of oil from ships into certain United Kingdom waters) is amended as follows.

2

Before subsection (1) insert—

A1
In this section “relevant discharge” means—
a
a discharge of oil or a mixture containing oil which is made—
i
from a ship which is an offshore installation, and
ii
into United Kingdom national waters which are navigable by sea-going ships, or
b
a discharge of oil or a mixture containing oil which is made—
i
from a ship which is not an offshore installation, and
ii
into United Kingdom national waters which are navigable by sea-going ships but which do not form part of the sea.

3

In subsection (1)—

a

for the words from “If any oil” to “seagoing ships, then” substitute “ If there is a relevant discharge ”;

b

in paragraph (a), omit “if the discharge is from a ship,”; and

c

in paragraph (b), for “is from a ship but” substitute “ from the ship ”.

4

In subsection (2) after “any discharge” insert “ from an offshore installation ”.

5

After subsection (3) insert—

3A
In this section “offshore installation” means any mobile or fixed drilling or production platform or any other platform used in connection with the exploration, exploitation or associated offshore processing of sea bed mineral resources.

Amendment of the Merchant Shipping (Prevention of Oil Pollution) Regulations 1996F24

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Amendment of the Merchant Shipping (Dangerous or Noxious Liquid Substances in Bulk) Regulations 1996F15

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Transitional provision6

The amendments made by regulation 3 do not apply in relation to any discharge which occurred before the coming into force of these Regulations.

Signed by authority of the Secretary of State for Transport

Jim FitzpatrickParliamentary Under Secretary of StateDepartment for Transport

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations implement Directive 2005/35/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 7^th September 2005 on ship-source pollution and on the introduction of penalties for infringements (O.J. No. L 255, 30.9.2005, p.11). That Directive incorporates certain provisions of Annexes I and II to the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships 1973 as amended by its Protocol of 1978 (“MARPOL 73/78”) into Community law.

Regulation 3 amends the Merchant Shipping Act 1995 to limit the provisions of section 131 regarding discharges of oil or a mixture containing oil into certain types of water that are not sea. Regulation 6 contains a transitional provision in relation to the amendments set out in regulation 3.

Regulation 4 makes amendments to the Merchant Shipping (Prevention of Oil Pollution) Regulations 1996. The principal change is to insert new regulations 11A to 11C excepting from the prohibitions in regulations 12, 13 and 16 discharges of oil into the sea arising from damage to a ship or its equipment in certain circumstances. This removes existing defences in relation to certain discharges in those waters and introduces, in line with the Directive, new defences for those discharges which have a more limited range.

Regulation 5 amends the Merchant Shipping (Dangerous or Noxious Liquid Substances in Bulk) Regulations 1996 to provide that penalties may be imposed on any person who causes or contributes to a prohibited discharge under certain circumstances.

A full impact assessment of the effect that the instrument will have on the costs of business and the voluntary sector has been prepared. A Transposition Note which sets out how Directive 2005/35/EC is to be transposed into UK law has also been prepared. Both documents are available from the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, Spring Place, 105 Commercial Road, Southampton SO15 1EG and are annexed to the Explanatory Memorandum which is available alongside the instrument on the OPSI website (www.opsi.gov.uk). Copies of each document have been placed in the library of each House of Parliament.

Copies of MARPOL 73/78 may be obtained from the International Maritime Organization at 4 Albert Embankment, London SE1 7SR.