Paragraph 1(1)(d) of Schedule 1 to the M1Administration of Justice Act 1956 (Admiralty jurisdiction in claims for damage done by ships) shall be construed as extending to any claim in respect of a liability falling on the Fund under this Chapter; and the Admiralty jurisdiction of the Court of Session shall extend to any case arising out of any such claim.

Where in accordance with rules of court made for the purposes of this subsection the Fund has been given notice of proceedings brought against an owner or guarantor in respect of liability under section 153, any judgment given in the proceedings shall, after it has become final and enforceable, become binding upon the Fund in the sense that the facts and evidence in the judgment may not be disputed by the Fund even if the Fund has not intervened in the proceedings.

Where a person incurs a liability under the law of a Fund Convention Country corresponding to Chapter III of this Part for damage which is partly in the territory of the United Kingdom, subsection (2) above shall, for the purpose of proceedings under this Chapter, apply with any necessary modifications to a judgment in proceedings under that law of the said country.

Subject to subsection (5) below, Part I of the M2Foreign Judgments (Reciprocal Enforcement) Act 1933 shall apply, whether or not it would so apply apart from this subsection, to any judgment given by a court in a Fund Convention country to enforce a claim in respect of liability incurred under any provision corresponding to section 175 or 176A; and in its application to such a judgment the said Part I shall have effect with the omission of sections 4(2) and (3) of the Act of 1933.

No action to enforce a claim against the Fund under this Chapter shall be entertained by a court in the United Kingdom unless the action is commenced not later than six years after the occurrence, or first of the occurrences, resulting in the discharge or escape by reason of which the claim against the Fund arose.

Notwithstanding the preceding provisions of this section, a person’s right to bring an action under the section 176A shall not be extinguished before six months from the date when that person first acquired knowledge of the bringing of an action against him under Chapter III of this Part, or under the corresponding provisions of the law of any country outside the United Kingdom giving effect to the Liability Convention.

In respect of any sum paid by the Fund as compensation for pollution damage the Fund shall acquire by subrogation any rights in respect of the damage which the recipient has (or but for the payment would have) against any other person.

The right of the Fund under subsection (1) above is subject to any obligation of the Fund under section 176A above to indemnify the owner or guarantor for any part of the liability on which he has defaulted.

In respect of any sum paid by a public authority in the United Kingdom as compensation for pollution damage, that authority shall acquire by subrogation any rights which the recipient has against the Fund under this Chapter.

In this Chapter, unless the context otherwise requires—

• “damage” includes loss;

• “discharge or escape”, in relation to pollution damage, means the discharge or escape of oil carried by the ship;

• “guarantor” means any person providing insurance or other financial security to cover the owner’s liability of the kind described in section 163;

• “oil”, except in sections 173 and 174, means persistent hydrocarbon mineral oil;

• “owner” means the person or persons registered as the owner of the ship or, in the absence of registration, the person or persons owning the ship, except that, in relation to a ship owned by a State which is operated by a person registered as the ship’s operator, it means the person registered as its operator;

• “pollution damage” means damage caused outside the ship carrying oil by contamination resulting from the escape or discharge of oil from the ship, wherever the escape or discharge may occur, and includes the cost of preventive measures and further damage caused by preventive measures;

• “preventive measures” means any reasonable measures taken by any person after the occurrence to prevent or minimise pollution damage; and

• “ship” means any sea-going ship and any seaborne craft of any type whatsoever carrying oil in bulk as cargo.

References in this Chapter to the territory of any country include the territorial sea of that country, and references to pollution damage in the United Kingdom shall be construed accordingly.

For the purposes of this Chapter a ship’s tonnage shall be the net tonnage of the ship with the addition of the amount deducted from the gross tonnage on account of engine room space for the purpose of ascertaining the net tonnage.

If the ship cannot be measured in accordance with the normal rules, its tonnage shall be deemed to be 40 per cent of the weight in tons (of 2,240 lbs) of oil which the ship is capable of carrying.

For the purposes of this Chapter, where more than one discharge or escape results from the same occurrence or from a series of occurrences having the same origin, they shall be treated as one.