Seafarers Wages Act 2023

11 Refusal of harbour access for failure to pay surcharge

(1) A harbour authority must refuse access to its harbour to a ship providing a service to which this Act applies if—

(a) the authority has imposed a surcharge on the operator of the service in respect of the entry into its harbour by any ship providing that service,

(b) the operator has not paid the surcharge in accordance with regulations under section 9(4)(c), and

(c) the period within which the surcharge must be paid has expired.

(2) It does not matter for the purposes of subsection (1) whether an objection has been made to the surcharge under section 10.

(3) Subsection (1) does not apply in relation to any surcharge imposed under subsection (3)(a) or (4) of section 6 which would, if paid, be required to be refunded under subsection (5) of that section.

(4) But a harbour authority must not refuse access to a harbour—

(a) in cases of force majeure;

(b) where there are overriding safety concerns;

(c) where there is a need to reduce or minimise the risk of pollution;

(d) where there is a need to rectify deficiencies on the ship.

(5) The duty under subsection (1) is also subject to any direction given by the Secretary of State under section 16(1)(a).

(6) A harbour authority which fails to comply with subsection (1) is guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction—

(a) in England and Wales, to a fine, or

(b) in Scotland and Northern Ireland, to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale.

(7) Regulations may make provision as to how a harbour authority is to communicate refusal of access under this section.

(8) Nothing in section 33 of the Harbours, Docks and Piers Clauses Act 1847 prevents refusal of access to a harbour under this section.