Merchant Shipping (Liability of Shipowners and Others) Act , 1996

PART I Preliminary and General

1 Short title, commencement, collective citation and construction.

1.—(1) This Act may be cited as the Merchant Shipping (Liability of Shipowners and Others) Act, 1996.

(2) This Act shall come into operation on such day or days as by order or orders made by the Minister under this section may be fixed therefor, either generally or with reference to a particular purpose or provision and different days may be fixed for different purposes and different provisions.

(3) The Merchant Shipping Acts, 1894 to 1993, and this Act may be cited together as the Merchant Shipping Acts, 1894 to 1996, and shall be construed together as one.

2 Interpretation generally.

2.—(1) In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires—

“the Central Bank” means the Central Bank of Ireland;

“the Minister” means the Minister for the Marine.

(2) (a) In this Act a reference to a section or Schedule is a reference to a section of, or a Schedule to, this Act unless it is indicated that reference to some other enactment is intended.

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

(c) In this Act a reference to any other enactment is a reference to that enactment as amended, extended or adapted by or under any subsequent enactment.

3 Repeals.

3.—Each enactment mentioned in column (2) of the Fourth Schedule is hereby repealed to the extent specified in column (3) of that Schedule.

4 Orders.

4.—(1) The Minister may by order amend or revoke an order made by him or her under this Act (other than an order under section 1 (2) but including an order under this subsection).

(2) An order under subsection (1) shall be made in the like manner and its making shall be subject to the like (if any) consents and conditions as the order that it is amending or revoking.

(3) A reference in this Act to an order in force shall, as respects such an order that is amended by an order in force under this section, be construed as a reference to the first-mentioned order as so amended.

(4) An order under this Act (other than an order under section 1 (2)) shall be laid before each House of the Oireachtas as soon as may be after it is made and, if a resolution annulling such order is passed by either such House within the next twenty-one days on which that House has sat after the order is laid before it, the order shall be annulled accordingly but without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done thereunder.

5 Expenses.

5.—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.

PART II Convention on Limitation of Liability for Maritime Claims, 1976

6 Interpretation (Part II).

6.—In this Part—

“Contracting State” means a state that is a party to the 1976 Convention;

“the 1976 Convention” means the Convention on Limitation of Liability for Maritime Claims, 1976, done at London on the 19th day of November, 1976.

7 1976 Convention to have the force of law.

7.—(1) Subject to the provisions of this Part, the 1976 Convention shall have the force of law in the State and judicial notice shall be taken thereof.

(2) For convenience of reference there is set out in the First Schedule the text in the English language of the 1976 Convention.

8 Declarations as respects states which are parties to the 1976 Convention.

8.—The Minister may by order declare that any state specified in the order is a Contracting State and such an order that is in force shall be evidence that that state is a Contracting State.

9 Construction of references to ship in 1976 Convention.

9.—References in the 1976 Convention to a ship shall be construed as including references to any structure (whether completed or in the course of completion) launched and intended for use in navigation as a ship or a part of a ship.

10 Right to limit liability extends to non-seagoing ships.

10.—The right to limit liability under the 1976 Convention shall apply in relation to any ship whether seagoing or not and the definition of “shipowner” in paragraph 2 of Article 1 of that Convention shall be construed accordingly.

11 Restriction on right to limit liability.

11.—(1) Notwithstanding paragraph 1 (d) or 1 (e) of Article 2 of the 1976 Convention, the right to limit liability under that Convention shall not apply to claims (including claims under Part IV of the Act of 1993) in respect of the raising, removal, destruction or the rendering harmless of a ship which is sunk, wrecked, stranded or abandoned, including anything that is or has been on board such a ship and Article 3 (claims excepted from limitation) of that Convention shall be construed accordingly.

(2) Subsection (1) shall have effect in lieu of section 53 of the Act of 1993.

(3) In this section “the Act of 1993” means the Merchant Shipping (Salvage and Wreck) Act, 1993.

12 Construction of reference to nuclear ship in Article 3 of 1976 Convention.

12.—The reference in Article 3 of the 1976 Convention to a nuclear ship includes a reference to a ship carrying nuclear material (whether or not the ship is powered by such material).

13 Conversion of amounts in units of account into currency of the State for the purposes of 1976 Convention.

13.—(1) For the purpose of the limits of liability specified in Articles 6 and 7 of the 1976 Convention, the value in the currency of the State of the unit of account specified in that Convention shall be taken to be the value, ascertained in accordance with Article 8 of that Convention, in that currency of such a unit of account on the relevant day specified in the said Article or, if its value on that day cannot be so ascertained, its value in that currency on the latest day before such day on which it can be so ascertained.

(2) For the purposes of this section a certificate purporting to be signed by an officer of the Central Bank and stating that—

(a) a specified amount in the currency of the State is the value of such a unit of account on a specified day, or

(b) the value in the currency of the State of such a unit of account on a specified day cannot be ascertained in accordance with the 1976 Convention and that a specified amount in the currency of the State is the value, calculated in accordance with that Convention, of such a unit of account on a specified day (being the latest day before the first-mentioned specified day on which such value can be ascertained as aforesaid),

shall be admissible as evidence of the facts stated in the certificate.

14 Rate of interest to be applied for purposes of Article 11 of 1976 Convention.

14.—The Minister may, with the consent of the Minister for Finance, prescribe by order the rate of interest to be applied for the purposes of paragraph 1 of Article 11 of the 1976 Convention.

15 Power of court to stay proceedings where fund is constituted.

15.—Where a fund is constituted with a court in accordance with Article 11 of the 1976 Convention for the payment of claims arising out of any occurrence, the court may stay any proceedings relating to any claim arising out of that occurrence which are pending in that court, or any court of lower jurisdiction to that court, against the person by whom the fund has been constituted.

16 Provision with respect to liens or other rights in respect of ship or property.

16.—No lien or other right in respect of any ship or property shall affect the proportions in which under Article 12 of the 1976 Convention the fund mentioned in that Article is distributed among the several claimants concerned.

17 Submission to jurisdiction of court deemed in certain circumstances.

17.—Where the release of a ship or other property is ordered under paragraph 2 of Article 13 of the 1976 Convention the person on whose application it is ordered to be released shall be deemed to have submitted to the jurisdiction of the court to adjudicate on the claim for which the ship or property was arrested or attached.

PART III Convention Relating to the Carriage of Passengers and Their Luggage by Sea, 1974

18 Interpretation (Part III).

18.—In this Part—

“the 1974 Convention” means the Convention relating to the Carriage of Passengers and their Luggage by Sea, 1974, done at Athens on the 13th day of December, 1974, and references to that Convention shall, unless the context otherwise requires, be construed as references to that Convention as amended by the 1976 Protocol;

“the 1976 Protocol” means the Protocol to the 1974 Convention done at London on the 19th day of November, 1976.

19 1974 Convention and 1976 Protocol to have the force of law.

19.—(1) Subject to the provisions of this Part, the 1974 Convention and the 1976 Protocol shall have the force of law in the State and judicial notice shall be taken thereof.

(2) For convenience of reference there are set out in Parts I and II, respectively, of the Second Schedule, the texts in the English language of the 1974 Convention and the 1976 Protocol.

20 Declarations as respects states which are parties to 1974 Convention and 1976 Protocol.

20.—The Minister may by order declare that any state specified in the order is a party to—

(a) the 1974 Convention, or

(b) both that Convention and the 1976 Protocol,

and such an order that is in force shall be evidence that that state is such a party.

21 Provision as respects non-application of 1974 Convention by Article 2 (2) thereof.

21.—For the purposes of paragraph 2 of Article 2 of the 1974 Convention, provisions of such an international convention as is mentioned in that paragraph which, apart from this section, do not have mandatory application to carriage by sea shall be treated as having mandatory application to carriage by sea if it is stated in the contract of carriage for the carriage in question that those provisions are to apply in connection with the carriage.

22 Construction of reference in 1974 Convention to law of the court.

22.—The reference to the law of the court in Article 6 of the 1974 Convention shall be construed as a reference to the Civil Liability Act, 1961.

23 Monetary limit under Article 7 of the 1974 Convention: power to increase as against certain carriers.

23.—The Minister may by order provide that, in relation to a carrier whose principal place of business is in the State, paragraph 1 (inserted by the 1976 Protocol) of Article 7 of the 1974 Convention shall have effect with the substitution for the monetary limit specified in that paragraph of a higher monetary limit specified in the order (which shall not be lower than the monetary limit specified in paragraph 1 of Article 7 of the Convention referred to in section 7).

24 Conversion of amounts in units of account into currency of the State for purposes of 1974 Convention.

24.—(1) For the purpose of determining the amount of damages that may be awarded pursuant to the 1974 Convention by any court or other tribunal in proceedings in which the provisions of Article 7 or 8 of that Convention fall to be applied, the value in the currency of the State of a unit of account specified in that Convention shall be taken to be the value, ascertained in accordance with that Convention, in that currency of such of a unit of account on the day of the award or, if its value on that day cannot be so ascertained, its value in that currency on the latest day before such day on which it can be so ascertained.

(2) For the purposes of this section, a certificate purporting to be signed by an officer of the Central Bank and stating that—

(a) a specified amount in the currency of the State is the value of such a unit of account on a specified day, or

(b) the value in the currency of the State of such a unit of account on a specified day cannot be ascertained in accordance with the 1974 Convention and that a specified amount in the currency of the State is the value, calculated in accordance with that Convention, of such a unit of account on a specified day (being the latest day before the first-mentioned specified day on which such value can be ascertained as aforesaid),

shall be admissible as evidence of the facts stated in the certificate.

25 Application of 1974 Convention where defendant a national of non-Protocol state.

25.—(1) If, as respects the application, by virtue of Article 2 of the 1974 Convention, of the provisions of that Convention in particular proceedings, any state referred to in that Article is not a party to the 1976 Protocol, the provisions of that Convention, without the amendments thereof effected by the said Protocol, shall apply in relation to any defendant in those proceedings who is a national of the said state.

(2) For the purposes of such application of the provisions of the 1974 Convention in relation to a defendant aforesaid, the official value in the currency of the State of a franc referred to in Article 9 of that Convention (“the gold franc”) shall be taken to be the official value in that currency of the gold franc on the day of the award concerned or, if its value on that day cannot be ascertained, on the latest day before such day on which it can be ascertained.

(3) For the purposes of subsection (2), a certificate purporting to be signed by an officer of the Central Bank and stating that—

(a) a specified amount in the currency of the State is the value of a gold franc on a specified day, or

(b) the value in the currency of the State of a gold franc on a specified day cannot be ascertained and that a specified amount in the currency of the State is the value of a gold franc on a specified day (being the latest day before the first mentioned specified day on which such value can be ascertained),

shall be admissible as evidence of the facts stated in the certificate.

26 Construction of reference in 1974 Convention to contract of carriage.

26.—A reference in the 1974 Convention to a contract of carriage does not include a reference to a contract of carriage which is not for reward.

27 Powers of court where liability limited under 1974 Convention.

27.—A court before which proceedings are brought in pursuance of Article 17 of the 1974 Convention to enforce a liability which is limited by virtue of Article 12 of that Convention may at any stage of the proceedings make such order as appears to the court to be just and equitable having regard to the provisions of the said Article 12 and to any other proceedings which have been or are likely to be begun in the State or elsewhere to enforce the liability in whole or in part; without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing such a court shall, where the liability is or may be partly enforceable in other proceedings in the State or elsewhere, have jurisdiction to award an amount less than the court would have awarded if the limitation applied solely to the proceedings before the court or to make any part of its award conditional on the results of any other proceedings.

28 Action for damages under 1974 Convention deemed to be action founded on tort.

28.—(1) An action for damages under the 1974 Convention (“a 1974 Convention action”) shall be deemed for the purposes of every enactment and rule of law to be an action founded on tort.

(2) Subsection (1) shall not have the effect of applying to a 1974 Convention action a provision of an enactment or a rule of law that is inconsistent with a provision of the 1974 Convention.

29 Saving as respects operation of Part II.

29.—Nothing in this Part shall prejudice the operation of Part II of this Act (which limits a shipowner's liability in certain cases of loss of life, injury or damage).

PART IV Carriage of Goods by Sea

30 Interpretation (Part IV).

30.—(1) In this Part—

“the 1924 Convention” means the International Convention for the unification of certain rules of law relating to bills of lading done at Brussels on the 25th day of August, 1924, and references to that Convention shall be construed, other than in paragraph (a) of subsection (2), as references to that Convention as amended by the 1968 and 1979 Protocols;

“the 1968 Protocol” means the Protocol to the 1924 Convention done at Brussels on the 23rd day of February, 1968;

“the 1979 Protocol” means the Protocol to the 1924 Convention done at Brussels on the 21st day of December, 1979;

“the Rules” means Articles I to X of the 1924 Convention.

(2) In this Part and Article X of the Rules, “Contracting State” means a state that is a party to any of the following—

(a) the 1924 Convention,

(b) the 1968 Protocol,

(c) the 1979 Protocol,

whether generally as respects its territory or as respects any place or territory specified in an order under section 32, and shall, where it is such a party only in respect of a place or territory aforesaid, be construed so that this Part and the Rules shall have effect only in relation to that place or territory.

31 Rules to have the force of law.

31.—(1) Subject to the provisions of this Part, the Rules shall have the force of law in the State and judicial notice shall be taken thereof.

(2) For convenience of reference there is set out in the Third Schedule the text in the English language of the Rules.

32 Declarations as respects states which are Contracting States.

32.—The Minister may by order declare that any state specified in the order is a Contracting State, whether generally as respects its territory or as respects any place or territory specified in the order, and such an order that is in force shall be evidence that that state is a Contracting State as aforesaid.

33 Bills of lading and application of Rules.

33.—(1) Without prejudice to Article X (c) of the Rules, the Rules shall have the force of law in relation to—

(a) any bill of lading if the contract contained in or evidenced by it expressly provides that the Rules shall govern the contract, and

(b) any receipt which is a non-negotiable document marked as such if the contract contained in or evidenced by it is a contract for the carriage of goods by sea which expressly provides that the Rules are to govern the contract as if the receipt were a bill of lading,