Sea Pollution Act , 1991

PART I Preliminary and General

1. Short title.

1.—This Act may be cited as the Sea Pollution Act, 1991.

2. Commencement.

2.—This Act shall come into operation on such day or days as the Minister by order appoints and different days may be appointed for different provisions.

3. Interpretation.

3.—(1)In this Act, except where the context otherwise requires—

F1["AFS Convention" means the International Convention on the Control of Harmful Anti-fouling Systems done at London on 5 October 2001;

"anti-fouling system" means a coating, paint, surface treatment, surface, or device that is used on a ship to control or prevent attachment of unwanted organisms;

"ballast water" means water with its suspended matter taken on board a ship to control trim, list, draught, stability or stresses of the ship;

"ballast water management" means mechanical, physical, chemical, and biological processes, either singularly or in combination, to remove, render harmless, or avoid the uptake or discharge of harmful aquatic organisms and pathogens within ballast water and sediments;

"BWM Convention" means the International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships’Ballast Water and Sediments 2004 done at London on 13 February 2004;]

“discharge”, in relation to oil, oily mixtures, noxious liquid substances, harmful substances, F2[sewage, garbage, substances subject to control by Annex VI to the MARPOL Convention, anti-fouling systems or ships’ballast water and sediments], or any effluent containing any of those substances, means any release, howsoever caused, from a ship and includes any escape, disposal, spilling, leaking, pumping, emitting or emptying of any substance from a ship, but does not include—

(a)dumping, within the meaning of the Dumping at Sea Act, 1981, or

(b)the release of oil, oily mixtures, noxious liquid substances or harmful substances directly arising from the exploration, exploitation and associated offshore processing of sea-bed mineral resources F3[or in connection with the operation of a pipe-line or cable for the transport or transmission of an energy product (within the meaning of theContinental Shelf Act, 1968), whether derived from mineral resources as aforesaid or not], or

(c)the release of oil, oily mixtures, noxious liquid substances or harmful substances for the purpose of legitimate scientific research into pollution abatement or control;

F4["harmful aquatic organisms and pathogens" means aquatic organisms or pathogens which, if introduced into the sea, including estuaries, or into fresh water courses, may create hazards to the environment, human health, property or resources, impair biological diversity or interfere with other legitimate uses of such areas;]

F5["hazardous and noxious substances" means any substance other than oil which, if introduced into the marine environment, is likely to create a hazard to human health, to harm living resources and marine life, to damage amenities or to interfere with other legitimate uses of the sea;

"hazardous and noxious substances handling facility" means a facility where hazardous and noxious substances are loaded into or unloaded from ships;

"hazardous and noxious substances pollution emergency plan" in relation to a harbour, offshore unit, oil handling facility, hazardous and noxious substances handling facility, Irish ship or an area of seashore in whole or in part within the functional area, or contiguous to the functional area, of a local authority, means a plan for the prevention and minimisation of damage arising out of a pollution incident by hazardous and noxious substances approved by the Minister under section 2 of the Sea Pollution (Amendment) Act 1999;]

“fauna” means all wild animals (both aquatic and terrestrial) and includes in particular wild birds, wild mammals, reptiles, non-aquatic invertebrate animals and amphibians, and all such wild animals' eggs and young, and also includes all species of fish and other aquatic invertebrate animals and their eggs or spawn or brood or young;

“flora” means all plants (both aquatic and terrestrial) which occur in the wild (whether within or without the State) and are not trees, shrubs or other plants being grown in the course of agriculture or horticulture and includes, in particular, lichens, mosses, liverworts, fungi, algae, marine algae and vascular plants, namely, flowering plants, ferns, and fern-allied plants and any community of such plants;

“garbage” means all kinds of victual, domestic and operational waste (excluding fresh fish and parts thereof) and any other substance generated during the normal operation of a ship and liable to be disposed of either continuously or periodically other than a substance specifically regulated by this Act;

“harbour” includes any dock, pier, wharf, jetty, boatslip, offshore terminal, installation or place intended or used for the accommodation, berthing or anchorage or for the shipping, unshipping or transhipping of goods;

“harbour authority” means—

(a)in the case of a harbour to which the Harbours Act, 1946, applies, a harbour authority within the meaning of that Act;

(b)in the case of a harbour under the control of the Commissioners of Public Works in Ireland, the Commissioners;

(c)in the case of a fishery harbour centre to which the Fishery Harbour Centres Act, 1968, applies, or Dún Laoghaire Harbour, the Minister for the Marine;

(d)in the case of a harbour under the control of a local authority, the local authority concerned; or

(e)in the case of a harbour under the management of Iarnród Éireann — Irish Rail, that company;

“harbour-master” means a person appointed by a harbour authority to be a harbour-master and includes a person appointed by a harbour authority to enforce the provisions of this Act;

“harmful substance” means any substance which, if introduced into the sea, is liable to—

(a)create hazards to human health,

(b)harm living marine resources,

(c)harm flora and fauna,

(d)damage amenities, or

(e)interfere with legitimate uses of the sea,

and any substance subject to control by the MARPOL Convention or prescribed under section 10 as a harmful substance and includes any such substance carried at sea, however carried;

“inspector” means a person being—

(a)a surveyor of ships, or

(b)a person appointed to be an inspector by warrant of the Minister under section 20, or

(c)an officer holding a commissioned naval rank in the Defence Forces, or

(d)a member of the Garda Síochána;

“the Intervention Convention” means the International Convention Relating to Intervention on the High Seas in Cases of Oil Pollution Casualties, 1969, done at Brussels on the 29th day of November, 1969;

“the Intervention Protocol” means the Protocol Relating to Intervention on the High Seas in Cases of Pollution by Substances other than Oil, 1973, done at London on the 2nd day of November, 1973;

“living marine resources” includes fish and the spawning grounds, or the food, of fish and includes all marine invertebrates, all crustaceans, and molluscs found in the sea;

F6["maritime casualty" means a collision of ships, stranding or other incident of navigation, or other occurrence on board a ship or external to it, resulting in—

(a) material damage or imminent threat of material damage to a ship or cargo, or

(b) pollution;]

“MARPOL Convention” means the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships, 1973, done at London on the 2nd day of November, 1973, as amended by the Protocol thereto done at London on the 17th day of February, 1978;

“master”, in relation to a ship, means the person having, for the time being, the command or charge of the ship;

“the Minister” means the Minister for the Marine;

“noxious liquid substance” means any liquid substance which, if introduced into the sea, is liable to—

(a)create hazards to human health,

(b)harm living marine resources,

(c)harm flora and fauna,

(d)damage amenities, or

(e)interfere with legitimate uses of the sea,

and any liquid substance prescribed under section 10 as a noxious liquid substance;

“oil” (other than in section 26) means petroleum in any form including crude oil, fuel oil, diesel oil, lubricating oil, sludge, oil refuse and refined products and any oil or oily mixture prescribed as such under section 10 but does not include any substance prescribed as a noxious liquid substance;

“oily mixture” means a mixture which has any oil content;

“owner”, in relation to a ship, means the person registered as the owner of the ship, the person who owns the ship, and, in the case of a ship which is owned by a state (including the State) and is operated by a person who in that state is registered as the ship's operator, “owner” means the person registered as such operator;

“pollution”, when used without qualification, includes pollution by oil, by an oily mixture, by a noxious liquid substance, by a harmful substance, by sewage or by garbage;

“prescribe” means prescribe by regulations made by the Minister and “prescribed” shall be construed accordingly;

F7["prescribed area" means an area outside the State prescribed by the Minister for the purposes of this Act;]

“related interests” has the meaning specified in section 26 (5) (b);

F4["sediments" means matter settled out of ballast water within a ship;]

“sewage” means—

(a)drainage and other wastes from any form of toilets, urinals and water closet scuppers on board a ship; or

(b)drainage from medical quarters on board a ship by way of wash basins, wash tubs and scuppers located in such quarters; or

(c)drainage from spaces containing live animals on board a ship; or

(d)any other waste water discharged from a ship when such water is intermingled with any of the drainages specified at paragraph (a), (b) or (c);

“ship” means a vessel of any type whatsoever operating in the marine environment and includes hydrofoil boats, air-cushion vehicles, submersibles, floating craft and fixed or floating platforms and includes fixtures, fittings and equipment;

“surveyor of ships” means a person appointed to be a surveyor of ships by warrant of the Minister under section 724 of the Merchant Shipping Act, 1894;

“transfer”, in relation to oil, means transfer in bulk.

(2)Any word or expression which is used without definition in this Act and is also used in the Merchant Shipping Act, 1894, or the Mercantile Marine Act, 1955, shall, unless the context otherwise requires, have the same meaning in this Act as it has in that Act.

F8[(2A) A reference in this Act to the State includes a reference to—

(a) the internal waters of the State,

(b) the territorial sea of the State within the meaning of the Maritime Jurisdiction Act 2021, its seabed and subsoil, and

(c) the exclusive economic zone of the State (within the meaning of the Maritime Jurisdiction Act 2021).]

F9[(3) A reference in this Act to a country other than the State includes a reference to the territorial sea and internal waters of that country.]

(4)A reference in this Act to a section is a reference to a section of this Act unless it is indicated that a reference to some other Act is intended.

(5)A reference in this Act to a subsection or to a paragraph is a reference to the subsection or paragraph of the provision in which the reference occurs unless it is indicated that a reference to some other provision is intended.

(6)A reference in this Act to any enactment shall be construed as a reference to that enactment as amended or adapted by any subsequent enactment.

4. Exemptions from Act.

4.—(1)This Act shall not apply to any warship or to any ship for the time being used by the government of any country for purposes other than commercial purposes.

(2)The Minister may, where he is satisfied that such an exemption would not result in an increased risk of pollution, by regulations exempt, subject to such conditions (if any) as may be specified in the regulations, any class or classes of ships registered in the State from compliance with any provision of this Act or of any regulations made thereunder.

5. Laying of orders and regulations before each House of Oireachtas.

5.—Every order and regulation made under this Act shall be laid before each House of the Oireachtas as soon as may be after it is made and, if a resolution annulling the order or regulation is passed by either such House within the next twenty-one days on which that House has sat after the order or regulation has been laid before it, the order or regulation shall be annulled accordingly but without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done thereunder.

6. Fees.

6.—(1)Fees under this Act shall be taken and collected in such manner as the Minister for Finance may, from time to time, direct and any fees so taken and collected shall be paid into, or disposed of for the benefit of, the Exchequer in accordance with the directions of the Minister for Finance.

(2)The Public Offices Fees Act, 1879, shall not apply in respect of any fees taken and collected under this Act.

7. Expenses of Minister.

7.—The expenses incurred by the Minister in the administration of this Act shall, to such extent as may be sanctioned by the Minister for Finance, be paid out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas.

8. Repeals.

8.—Each enactment set out in the First Schedule to this Act is hereby repealed to the extent specified in the third column of that Schedule.

9. Continuance of orders, regulations etc.

9.—Every order and regulation made, and every direction given, by the Minister, under any provision of any enactment which is repealed by this Act, which is in force immediately before the commencement of this Act (or, as the case may be, before the commencement of the relevant provision of this Act) shall continue in force and may be amended or revoked as if it were made or given, as the case may be, under this Act.

PART II Prevention of Pollution

10. Prohibition on discharge of oil and other substances.

10.—(1)To give full effect to the purposes of this Act, the Minister may make regulations—

(a)prohibiting or regulating the discharge anywhere at sea from a ship registered in the State or the discharge in the State from any ship of any oil, oily mixture, noxious liquid substance, harmful substance, F10[sewage, garbage, substances subject to control by Annex VI to the MARPOL Convention, anti-fouling systems or ships’ballast water and sediments];

(b)governing prescribed operations on board ship relating to any such substance carried on the ship.

(2)The owner and the master of a ship in respect of which there is a contravention of regulations under this section shall be guilty of an offence.

F11[(2A) Without prejudice tosubsection (2), any person (other than the persons specified in that subsection) responsible for a contravention of regulations under this section shall be guilty of an offence.

(2B)Subsection (2A)shall apply only in respect of a discharge of a polluting substance specified in Annex 1 or Annex II to the MARPOL Convention.]

(3)Regulations under this section may relate to ships generally or to any class of ship, to substances generally or any description of substance, and be made subject to such conditions and such exemptions as may be prescribed.

(4)The Minister may by regulations provide that any prescribed substance shall, for the purposes of this Act, be a harmful substance, a noxious liquid substance, an oil or oily mixture, F10[sewage, garbage, substances subject to control by Annex VI to the MARPOL Convention, anti-fouling systems or ships’ballast water and sediments].

(5)The Minister may by regulations require the notification at such time and in such manner as may be prescribed, by the master or owner of a ship carrying any prescribed substance of any intent to load or unload any such substance in the State.

11. Saver for discharges in certain circumstances.

11.—Regulations under section 10 shall not apply to—

(a)the discharge into the sea of any oil, oily mixture, noxious liquid substance, harmful substance, F12[sewage, garbage, substances subject to control by Annex VI to the MARPOL Convention, anti-fouling systems or ships’ballast water and sediments] for the purpose of—

(i)securing the safety of a ship, or

(ii)saving life at sea,

if such discharge was, having regard to all the circumstances, necessary and reasonable; or

(b)the discharge into the sea of any oil, oily mixture, noxious liquid substance, harmful substance, F12[sewage, garbage, substances subject to control by Annex VI to the MARPOL Convention, anti-fouling systems or ships’ballast water and sediments] which resulted from any damage to the ship, or to its equipment provided that all reasonable steps have been taken after the occurrence of the damage or, as the case may be, the discovery of the discharge, to prevent or minimise the discharge and the owner or the master did not act with intent to cause damage or recklessly; or

(c)the discharge into the sea of any prescribed substance for the purpose of minimising the damage from pollution, provided that the discharge was sanctioned by or on behalf of the Minister.

12. Facilities for disposal of oily residues and other substances.

12.—(1)Whenever the Minister is of opinion, in relation to any harbour in the State, that—

(a)facilities for the discharge or disposal of oil, oily mixtures, noxious liquid substances, harmful substances, F13[sewage, garbage, substances subject to control by Annex VI to the MARPOL Convention, anti-fouling systems or ships’ballast water and sediments] are necessary, or

(b)that the facilities which exist at the harbour for such discharge or such disposal are inadequate,

he may, by regulations, require—

(i)where there is a harbour authority in charge of the harbour, the harbour authority, and

(ii)in any other case, the person under whose control the harbour is,

to make such provision as may be specified in the regulations for such discharge or such disposal.

(2)Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1), regulations under this section may make provision for all or any of the following matters:

(a)the manner in which oil, oily mixtures, noxious liquid substances, harmful substances, F14[sewage, garbage, substances subject to control by Annex VI to the MARPOL Convention, anti-fouling systems and ships’ballast water and sediments] may be discharged from a ship;

(b)the disposal of any such substance so discharged;

(c)the facilities for such discharge or such disposal to be provided by a harbour authority or, as the case may be, the person having control of the harbour;

(d)the time within which such facilities are to be provided;

(e)the circumstances under which an extension of the time for the provision of such facilities may be granted;

(f)the manner in which, and the time within which, an application for such extension of time may be made.