Larne Harbour Order (Northern Ireland) 1998

Power to raise and remove wrecks

7.—(1) The Company may raise, remove, blow up or otherwise destroy or dispose of any vessel which is sunk, stranded or abandoned (whether before or after the making of this Order) in the port or the approaches thereto.

(2) Where the Company has exercised any of its powers under paragraph (1), it may cause the vessel or its cargo or anything associated with the vessel to be sold in such manner as it thinks fit and may, out of the proceeds of sale, retain the expenses incurred by it in the exercise of its powers under this Article and any expenses incurred by the Company in marking, buoying, watching, lighting or otherwise controlling the vessel or its cargo, in removing or saving the cargo or anything associated with the vessel, or giving warning to shipping of the presence of the vessel and shall pay the surplus, if any, to the person entitled thereto.

(3) If the proceeds of sale are insufficient to reimburse the Company for the said expenses, it may recover as a simple contract debt from the person who, at the time of the sinking, stranding or abandonment of the vessel, is or was the owner thereof, or from the administrators or executors of such owner, or from any person claiming succession in title from such owner, any such expenses which are not reimbursed out of the proceeds of sale or, in the case of an appeal under paragraph (4) against the amount demanded, such sum as may be awarded under that paragraph.

(4) At any time before the expiration of 14 days from the date of service of a demand for the payment of any amount under paragraph (3) the person on whom the demand is made may, if he is dissatisfied with the amount demanded, appeal to the Department which shall appoint an arbitrator to determine whether any, and if so what, sum should properly be payable in respect of the Company’s expenses aforesaid; and the decision of the arbitrator shall be final and binding on both parties, and the costs of the appeal and award shall be borne by the parties in such manner as the arbitrator may determine and be recoverable as a simple contract debt.

(5) Except where there is, in the opinion of the harbour master, an emergency, paragraph (1) shall not apply in relation to any vessel unless, before exercising in relation to that vessel any of the powers conferred on the Company by that paragraph, the Company has given to the owner of the vessel not less than 48 hours' notice of its intention to do so; and if before the notice expires the Company receives from the owner counter-notice in writing that he desires to dispose of the vessel himself, he shall be at liberty to do so, and the Company shall not exercise its powers in relation to that vessel until the expiration of seven days from the receipt of the counter-notice and of any further continuous period thereafter during which the owner of the vessel proceeds with the disposal thereof with all reasonable diligence and in compliance with any directions for the prevention of interference with navigation or the business at the port which may be given to him by the harbour master.

(6) If the owner of a vessel to whom notice is to be given under paragraph (5) is not known to the Company, or if his place of business or abode is not so known or is outside the United Kingdom, the notice may be given by displaying it at the office of the Company for the period of its duration.

(7) The powers conferred by this Article shall be in addition to the powers exercisable by the Company under section 252 of the Merchant Shipping Act 1995(1).

(1)

1995 c. 21