Merchant Shipping Act 1988 (repealed)

Prospective

14 For section 20 substitute—

“20 General interpretation.

“20 (1) In this Act—

• “the court” means the High Court in England and Wales,the Court of Session, or the High Court in NorthernIreland;

• “damage” includes loss;

• “oil” means persistent hydrocarbon mineral oil;

• “owner” means the person or persons registered as the owner of the ship or, in the absence of registration, the person or persons owning the ship, except that, in relation to a ship owned by a State which is operated by a person registered as the ship’s operator, it means the person registered as its operator;

• “relevant threat of contamination” shall be construed in accordance with section 1(2) of this Act;

• “ship” means any sea-going vessel or sea-borne craft of any type whatsoever.

(2) In relation to any damage or cost resulting from the discharge or escape of any oil from a ship, or from a relevant threat of contamination, references in this Act to the owner of the ship are references to the owner at the time of the occurrence or first of the occurrences resulting in the discharge or escape or (as the case may be) in the threat of contamination.

(3) References in this Act to the area of any country include the territorial sea of that country and—

(a) in the case of the United Kingdom, any area within the British fishery limits set by or under the Fishery Limits Act 1976; and

(b) in the case of any other Convention country, the exclusive economic zone of that country established in accordance with international law, or, if such a zone has not been established, such area adjacent to the territorial sea of that country and extending not more than 200 nautical miles from the baselines from which the breadth of that sea is measured as may have been determined by the Convention State in question in accordance with international law.”