Prevention of Oil Pollution Act 1971

General provisions for preventing oil pollution

Discharge of certain oils into sea outside territorial waters

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• (1) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

• (2) This section applies—

• (a) to crude oil, fuel oil and lubricating oil; and

• (b) to heavy diesel oil, as defined by regulations made under this section by the Secretary of State;

and shall also apply to any other description of oil which may be specified by regulations made by the Secretary of State, having regard to the provisions of any Convention accepted by Her Majesty’s Government in the United Kingdom in so far as it relates to the prevention of pollution of the sea by oil, or having regard to the persistent character of oil of that description and the likelihood that it would cause pollution if discharged from a ship into any part of the sea outside the territorial waters of the United Kingdom.

• (3) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Discharge of oil into United Kingdom waters

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• (1) If any oil or mixture containing oil is discharged as mentioned in the following paragraphs into waters to which this section applies, then, subject to the provisions of this Act, the following shall be guilty of an offence, that is to say—

• (a) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

• (c) if the discharge is from a place on land, the occupier of that place, unless he proves that the discharge was caused as mentioned in paragraph (d) of this subsection;

• (d) if the discharge is from a place on land and is caused by the act of a person who is in that place without the permission (express or implied) of the occupier, that person;

• (e) if the discharge takes place otherwise than as mentioned in the preceding paragraphs and is the result of any operations for the exploration of the sea-bed and subsoil or the exploitation of their natural resources, the person carrying on the operations.

• (2) This section applies to the following waters, that is to say,—

• (a) the whole of the sea within the seaward limits of the territorial waters of the United Kingdom; and

• (b) all other waters (including inland waters) which are within those limits and are navigable by sea-going ships.

• (2A) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

• (2B) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

• (3) In this Act “place on land” includes anything resting on the bed or shore of the sea, or of any other waters to which this section applies, and also includes anything afloat (other than a vessel) if it is anchored or attached to the bed or shore of the sea or of any such waters; and “occupier”, in relation to any such thing as is mentioned in the preceding provisions of this subsection, if it has no occupier, means the owner thereof, and, in relation to a railway wagon or road vehicle, means the person in charge of the wagon or vehicle and not the occupier of the land on which the wagon or vehicle stands.

• (4) A person guilty of an offence under this section shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £50,000 or on conviction on indictment to a fineon summary conviction, or on conviction on indictment, to a fine.

Discharge of certain oils from pipe-lines or as the result of exploration etc. in designated areas

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• (1) If any oil to which section 1 of this Act applies, or any mixture containing such oil, is discharged into any part of the sea—

• (a) from a pipe-line; or

• (b) (otherwise than from a ship) as the result of any operation for the exploration of the sea-bed and subsoil or the exploitation of their natural resources in a designated area,

then, subject to the following provisions of this Act, the owner of the pipe-line or, as the case may be, the person carrying on the operations shall be guilty of an offence unless the discharge was from a place in his occupation and he proves that it was due to the act of a person who was there without his permission (express or implied).

• (2) In this section “designated area” means an area for the time being designated by an Order made under section 1 of the Continental Shelf Act 1964.

• (3) A person guilty of an offence under this section shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £50,000 or on conviction on indictment to a fineon summary conviction, or on conviction on indictment, to a fine.

Equipment in ships to prevent oil pollution

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Defences of owner or master charged with offence under s. 1 or s. 2

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• (1) Where a person is charged with an offence under section 1 of this Act, or is charged with an offence under section 2 of this Act as the owner or master of a vessel, it shall be a defence to prove that the oil or mixture was discharged for the purpose of securing the safety of any vessel, or of preventing damage to any vessel or cargo, or of saving life, unless the court is satisfied that the discharge of the oil or mixture was not necessary for that purpose or was not a reasonable step to take in the circumstances.

• (2) Where a person is charged as mentioned in subsection (1) of this section, it shall also be a defence to prove—

• (a) that the oil or mixture escaped in consequence of damage to the vessel, and that as soon as practicable after the damage occurred all reasonable steps were taken for preventing, or (if it could not be prevented) for stopping or reducing, the escape of the oil or mixture, or

• (b) that the oil or mixture escaped by reason of leakage, that neither the leakage nor any delay in discovering it was due to any want of reasonable care, and that as soon as practicable after the escape was discovered all reasonable steps were taken for stopping or reducing it.

Defences of other persons charged with offences under s. 2 or s. 3

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• (1) Where a person is charged, in respect of the escape of any oil or mixture containing oil, with an offence under section 2 or 3 of this Act—

• (a) as the occupier of a place on land; or

• (b) as a person carrying on operations for the exploration of the sea-bed and subsoil or the exploitation of their natural resources; or

• (c) as the owner of a pipe-line,

it shall be a defence to prove that neither the escape nor any delay in discovering it was due to any want of reasonable care and that as soon as practicable after it was discovered all reasonable steps were taken for stopping or reducing it.

• (2) Where a person is charged with an offence under section 2 of this Act in respect of the discharge of a mixture containing oil from a place on land, it shall also, subject to subsection (3) of this section, be a defence to prove—

• (a) that the oil was contained in an effluent produced by operations for the refining of oil;

• (b) that it was not reasonably practicable to dispose of the effluent otherwise than by discharging it into waters to which that section applies; and

• (c) that all reasonably practicable steps had been taken for eliminating oil from the effluent.

• (3) If it is proved that, at a time to which the charge relates, the surface of the waters into which the mixture was discharged from the place on land, or land adjacent to those waters, was fouled by oil, subsection (2) of this section shall not apply unless the court is satisfied that the fouling was not caused, or contributed to, by oil contained in any effluent discharged at or before that time from that place.

Protection of acts done in exercise of certain powers of harbour authorities etc.

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• (1) Where any oil, or mixture containing oil, is discharged in consequence of—

• (a) the exercise of any power conferred by sections 530 to 532 of the Merchant Shipping Act 1894 (which relate to the removal of wrecks by harbour, conservancy and lighthouse authorities); or

• (b) the exercise, for the purpose of preventing an obstruction or danger to navigation, of any power to dispose of sunk, stranded or abandoned vessels which is exercisable by a harbour authority under any local enactment;

and apart from this subsection the authority exercising the power, or a person employed by or acting on behalf of the authority, would be guilty of an offence under section 1 or section 2 of this Act in respect of that discharge, the authority or person shall not be convicted of that offence unless it is shown that they or he failed to take such steps (if any) as were reasonable in the circumstances for preventing, stopping or reducing the discharge.

• (2) Subsection (1) of this section shall apply to the exercise of any power conferred by section 13 of the Dockyard Ports Regulation Act 1865 (which relates to the removal of obstructions to dockyard ports) as it applies to the exercise of any such power as is mentioned in paragraph (a) of that subsection, and shall, as so applying, have effect as if references to the authority exercising the power were references to the Queen’s harbour master for the port in question.

Discharge of certain ballast water into harbours

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• (1) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

• (2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Facilities in harbour for disposal of oil residues

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Restrictions on transfer of oil at night

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Duty to report discharge of oil into waters of harbours

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• (1) If any oil or mixture containing oil—

• (a) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

• (b) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

• (c) is found to be escaping or to have escaped into any such waters from a place on land;

. . . the occupier of the place on land . . . shall forthwith report the occurrence to the harbour master, or, if the harbour has no harbour master, to the harbour authority.

• (2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

• (3) If a person fails to make a report as required by this section he shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale.

Shipping casualties

Shipping casualties

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Right to recover in respect of unreasonable loss or damage

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Offences in relation to s. 12

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Service of directions under s. 12

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Application of ss. 12 to 15 to certain foreign and other ships

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Enforcement

Oil records

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Powers of inspection

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• (1) The Secretary of State may appoint any person as an inspector to report to him—

• (a) whether the prohibitions, restrictions and obligations imposed by virtue of this Act (including prohibitions so imposed by the creation of offences under any provision of this Act other than section 3) have been complied with;

• (b) what measures (other than measures made obligatory by regulations made under section 4 of this Act) have been taken to prevent the escape of oil and mixtures containing oil;

• (c) whether the oil reception facilities provided in harbours are adequate;

and any such inspector may be so appointed to report either in a particular case or in a class of cases specified in his appointment.

• (2) Every surveyor of ships shall be taken to be a person appointed generally under the preceding subsection to report to the Secretary of State in every kind of case falling within that subsection.

• (3) Sections 27 and 28(1), (3) and (4) of the Merchant Shipping Act 1979 (powers of inspectors) shall apply to persons appointed or taken to be appointed under subsection (1) of this section as it applies to the inspectors referred to in that section and shall, as so applying, have effect as if—

• (a) any reference to a ship included any vessel, any reference to the Merchant Shipping Acts (except the second reference in sub-paragraph (iii) of section 27(1)(h), were a reference to this Act and the reference in that sub-paragraph to regulations were omitted; and

• (b) any power under that section to inspect premises included power to inspect any apparatus used for transferring oil.

• (4) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

• (5) Any power of an inspector, under section 27 as so applied, to require the production of any oil record book required to be carried or records required to be kept in pursuance of regulations made under section 17 of this Act shall include power to copy any entry therein and require the master to certify the copy as a true copy of the entry; . . .

• (6) Without prejudice to any powers exercisable by virtue of the preceding provisions of this section, in the case of a vessel which is for the time being in a harbour in the United Kingdom the harbour master, and any other person appointed by the Secretary of State under this subsection (either generally or in relation to a particular vessel), shall have power—

• (a) to go on board and inspect the vessel or any part thereof, or any of the machinery, boats, equipment or articles on board the vessel, for the purpose of ascertaining the circumstances relating to an alleged discharge of oil or a mixture containing oil from the vessel into the waters of the harbour;

• (b) to require the production of any oil record book required to be carried or records required to be kept in pursuance of regulations made under section 17 of this Act; and

• (c) to copy any entry in any such book or record and require the master to certify the copy as a true copy of the entry.

• (7) A person exercising any powers conferred by subsection (6) of this section shall not unnecessarily detain or delay the vessel from proceeding on any voyage.

• (8) If any person fails to comply with any requirement duly made in pursuance of paragraph (b) or paragraph (c) of subsection (6) of this section, he shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale; and if any person wilfully obstructs a person acting in the exercise of any power conferred by virtue of this section and the obstruction is not punishable by virtue of the said section 28(1), he shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 4 on the standard scale.]

Prosecutions

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• (1) Proceedings for an offence under this Act may, in England or Wales, be brought only—

• (a) by or with the consent of the Attorney General, or

• (b) if the offence is one to which subsection (2) of this section applies, by the harbour authority, or

• (c) unless the offence is one mentioned in paragraph (b), (c) or (d) of subsection (2) of this section, by the Secretary of State or a person authorised by any general or special direction of the Secretary of State.

• (2) This subsection applies to the following offences—

• (a) any offence under section 2 of this Act which is alleged to have been committed by the discharge of oil, or a mixture containing oil, into the waters of a harbour in the United Kingdom;

• (b) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

• (c) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

• (d) any offence under section 18 of this Act in respect of a failure to comply with a requirement of a harbour master, or in respect of obstruction of a harbour master acting in the exercise of any power conferred by virtue of that section.

• (3) The preceding provisions of this section shall apply in relation to any part of a dockyard port within the meaning of the Dockyard Ports Regulation Act 1865 as follows, that is to say—

• (a) if that part is comprised in a harbour in the United Kingdom, the reference to the harbour authority shall be construed as including a reference to the Queen’s harbour master for the port;

• (b) if that part is not comprised in a harbour in the United Kingdom, the references to such a harbour shall be construed as references to such a dockyard port and the reference to the harbour authority as a reference to the Queen’s harbour master for the port.

• (4) Where, immediately before the date on which (apart from this subsection) the time for bringing summary proceedings for an offence under this Act would expire, the person to be charged is outside the United Kingdom, the time for bringing the proceedings shall be extended until the end of the period of two months beginning with the date on which he next enters the United Kingdom.

• (4A) Any document required or authorised, by virtue of any statutory provision, to be served on a foreign company for the purposes of the institution of, or otherwise in connection with, proceedings for an offence under section 2(2A) of this Act alleged to have been committed by the company as the owner of a vessel shall be treated as duly served on that company if the document is served on the master of the vessel; and any person authorised to serve any document for the purposes of the institution of, or otherwise in connection with, proceedings for an offence under this Act (whether or not in pursuance of the foregoing provisions of this subsection) shall, for that purpose, have the right to go on board the vessel in question.

• (4B) In subsection (4A) of this section a “ foreign company ” means a company or body which is not one to which section 1139 of the Companies Act 2006 applies so as to authorise service of the document in question.

• (5) Proceedings for any offence under this Act may (without prejudice to any jurisdiction exercisable apart from this subsection) be taken against a person at any place at which he is for the time being.

• (5A) If an inshore fisheries and conservation authority for a district established under section 149 of the Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009, or any inshore fisheries and conservation officer appointed by the authority under section 165 of that Act, is authorised in that behalf under subsection (1) of this section, the authority may institute proceedings for any offence under this Act committed within the district.