Maritime Legislation Amendment Act, 2011
The Australian Government introduced increased penalties for pollution from ships and damage to the marine environment by way of new legislation – the Maritime Legislation Amendment Act, 2011 – which came into effect on 4 December 2011. The Act amends the Australian Navigation Act 1912 and the Protection of the Sea (Prevention of Pollution from Ships) Act, 1983.
As a result of these recent amendments, longstanding criminal liability imposed on owners and masters for oil discharge or threat of discharge in Australian waters has been extended to charterers. Charterers, owners and masters are now severally liable with offences punishable by fines.
The maximum penalty for this criminal offence is increased from 500 penalty units to 20,000 penalty units (AUD 2.2 million (USD 2.3 million)) for an individual. This may be multiplied by a further factor of five for a corporation, taking the maximum penalty to AUD 11 million (USD 11.5 million).
In order to address concerns raised by both owners and charterers in respect of the new law, the International Group has drafted, in consultation with BIMCO, a recommended clause for inclusion in charterparties. The clause wording is not country specific and capable of broader application. The clause addresses the specific situation of criminal fines and civil penalties.
The International Group is aware that pending publication of this clause some charterers have sought to use pollution indemnity clauses that do not preserve an owner’s right to limit and have other provisions that render the clause uninsurable by Clubs. Members are therefore strongly urged to use this new clause in their charterparties.
Source: The Standard P&I Club
