Merchant Shipping Act 1995

Supplementary U.K.

Jurisdiction of United Kingdom courts and registration of foreign judgments. U.K.

166 (1) Paragraph 1(1)(d) of Schedule 1 to the M1 Administration 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 incurred under this Chapter, and the Admiralty jurisdiction of the Court of Session shall extend to any case arising out of any such claim.

(2) Where any persistent oil is discharged or escapes from a ship but does not result in any damage caused by contamination in the territory of the United Kingdom and no measures are reasonably taken to prevent or reduce such damage in that territory, no court in the United Kingdom shall entertain an action (whether in rem or in personam) to enforce a claim arising from—

(a) any damage caused in the territory of another Liability Convention country by contamination resulting from the discharge or escape;

(b) any cost incurred in taking measures to prevent or reduce such damage in the territory of another Liability Convention country; or

(c) any damage caused by any measures so taken.

(3) Part I of the M2 Foreign Judgments (Reciprocal Enforcement) Act 1933 shall apply, whether or not it would so apply apart from this section, to any judgment given by a court in a Liability Convention country to enforce a claim in respect of a liability incurred under any provision corresponding to section 153; and in its application to such a judgment that Part shall have effect with the omission of section 4(2) and (3) of that Act.

Marginal Citations

M1 1956 c.46

M2 1933 c. 13.

Government ships. U.K.

167 (1) Nothing in the preceding provisions of this Chapter applies in relation to any warship or any ship for the time being used by the government of any State for other than commercial purposes.

(2) In relation to a ship owned by a State and for the time being used for commercial purposes it shall be a sufficient compliance with section 163(2) if there is in force a certificate issued by the government of that State and showing that the ship is owned by that State and that any liability for pollution damage as defined in Article I of the Liability Convention will be met up to the limit prescribed by Article V of the Liability Convention as amended by Article II of the protocol dated 19th November 1976 to the Liability Convention.

(3) Every Liability Convention State shall, for the purposes of any proceedings brought in a court in the United Kingdom to enforce a claim in respect of a liability incurred under section 153, be deemed to have submitted to the jurisdiction of that court, and accordingly rules of court may provide for the manner in which such proceedings are to be commenced and carried on; but nothing in this subsection shall authorise the issue of execution, or in Scotland the execution of diligence, against the property of any State.

Limitation of liability under section 154. U.K.

168 For the purposes of section 185 any liability incurred under section 154 shall be deemed to be a liability to damages in respect of such damage to property as is mentioned in paragraph 1(a) of Article 2 of the Liability Convention in Part I of Schedule 7.

Saving for recourse actions. U.K.

169 Nothing in this Chapter shall prejudice any claim, or the enforcement of any claim, a person incurring any liability under this Chapter may have against another person in respect of that liability.

Interpretation. U.K.

170 (1) In this Chapter—

• “the court” means the High Court or the Court of Session;

• “damage” includes loss;

• “owner”, in relation to a registered ship, means the person registered as its owner, 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; and

• “relevant threat of contamination” shall be construed in accordance with section 154(2).

(2) In relation to any damage or cost resulting from the discharge or escape of any oil carried in a ship, or from a relevant threat of contamination, references in this Chapter to the owner of the ship are references to the owner at the time of the occurrence or first of the occurrences resulting in the discharge or escape or (as the case may be) in the threat of contamination.

(3) References in this Chapter in its application to Scotland—

(a) to payment into court, shall be construed as references to payment to the Accountant of Court for Consignation (within the meaning of the M3 Court of Session Consignations (Scotland) Act 1895); and

(b) to costs, shall be construed as references to expenses.

(4) References in this Chapter to the territory of any country include the territorial sea of that country.

Marginal Citations

M3 1895 c. 19.