Merchant Shipping Act 1995

Contributions to Fund U.K.

173 Contributions by importers of oil and others. U.K.

(1) Contributions shall be payable to the Fund [F1 and to the Supplementary Fund] in respect of oil carried by sea to ports or terminal installations in the United Kingdom otherwise than on a voyage only within its national waters.

(2) Subsection (1) above applies whether or not the oil is being imported, and applies even if contributions are payable in respect of carriage of the same oil on a previous voyage.

(3) Contributions shall also be payable [F2 —

(a)] to the Fund in respect of oil when first received in any installation in the United Kingdom after having been carried by sea and discharged in a port or terminal installation in a country which is not a Fund Convention country[F3 ; and

(b) to the Supplementary Fund in respect of oil when first received in any installation in the United Kingdom after having been carried by sea and discharged in a port or terminal installation in a country which is not a Supplementary Fund Protocol country.]

(4) The person liable to pay contributions is—

(a) in the case of oil which is being imported into the United Kingdom, the importer, and

(b) otherwise, the person by whom the oil is received.

(5) A person shall not be liable to make contributions in respect of the oil imported or received by him in any year if the oil so imported or received in the year does not exceed 150,000 tonnes.

(6) For the purpose of subsection (5) above—

(a) all the members of a group of companies shall be treated as a single person, and

(b) any two or more companies which have been amalgamated into a single company shall be treated as the same person as that single company.

(7) The contributions payable by a person for any year shall—

(a) be of such amount as may be determined [F4 —

(i)] by the Director of the Fund under Article 12 of the Fund Convention and notified to that person by the Fund

(ii) [F5 in the case of contributions to the Supplementary Fund, by the Director of the Supplementary Fund under Article 11 of the Supplementary Fund Protocol and notified to that person by the Supplementary Fund;]

(b) be payable in such instalments, becoming due at such times, as may be so notified to him;

and if any amount due from him remains unpaid after the date on which it became due, it shall from then on bear interest, at a rate determined from time to time by the Assembly of the Fund [F6 or the Assembly of the Supplementary Fund (as the case may be)] , until it is paid.

(8) The Secretary of State may by regulations impose on persons who are or may be liable to pay contributions under this section obligations to give security for payment to the Secretary of State, or the Fund.

(9) Regulations under subsubsection (8) above—

(a) may contain such supplemental or incidental provisions as appear to the Secretary of State expedient, and

(b) may impose penalties for contravention of the regulations punishable on summary conviction by a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale, or such lower limit as may be specified in the regulations.

(10) In this section and in section 174, unless the context otherwise requires—

• “company” means a body incorporated under the law of the United Kingdom, or of any other country;

• “group” in relation to companies, means a holding company and its subsidiaries as defined by [F7 section 1159 of the Companies Act 2006], subject, in the case of a company incorporated outside the United Kingdom, to any necessary modifications of those definitions;

• “importer” means the person by whom or on whose behalf the oil in question is entered for customs or excise purposes on importation, and “import” shall be construed accordingly;

• “oil” means crude oil and fuel oil, and

(a) “crude oil” means any liquid hydrocarbon mixture occurring naturally in the earth whether or not treated to render it suitable for transportation, and includes—

(i) crude oils from which distillate fractions have been removed, and

(ii) crude oils to which distillate fractions have been added,

(b) “fuel oil” means heavy distillates or residues from crude oil or blends of such materials intended for use as a fuel for the production of heat or power of a quality equivalent to the “American Society for Testing and Materials’ Specification for Number Four Fuel Oil (Designation D396-69)”, or heavier,

“terminal installation” means any site for the storage of oil in bulk which is capable of receiving oil from waterborne transportation, including any facility situated offshore and linked to any such site.

Textual Amendments

F1 Words in s. 173(1) inserted (8.9.2006) by The Merchant Shipping (Oil Pollution) (Supplementary Fund Protocol) Order 2006 (S.I. 2006/1265), arts. 1(2), 4(2)

F2 Words in s. 173(3) inserted (8.9.2006) by The Merchant Shipping (Oil Pollution) (Supplementary Fund Protocol) Order 2006 (S.I. 2006/1265), arts. 1(2), 4(3)(a)

F3 S. 173(3)(b) and word inserted (8.9.2006) by The Merchant Shipping (Oil Pollution) (Supplementary Fund Protocol) Order 2006 (S.I. 2006/1265), arts. 1(2), 4(3)(b)

F4 Words in s. 173(7)(a) inserted (8.9.2006) by The Merchant Shipping (Oil Pollution) (Supplementary Fund Protocol) Order 2006 (S.I. 2006/1265), arts. 1(2), 4(4)(a)

F5 Words in s. 173(7)(a) inserted (8.9.2006) by The Merchant Shipping (Oil Pollution) (Supplementary Fund Protocol) Order 2006 (S.I. 2006/1265), arts. 1(2), 4(4)(b)

F6 Words in s. 173(7)(a) inserted (8.9.2006) by The Merchant Shipping (Oil Pollution) (Supplementary Fund Protocol) Order 2006 (S.I. 2006/1265), arts. 1(2), 4(4)(c)

F7 Words in s. 173(10) substituted (1.10.2009) by The Companies Act 2006 (Consequential Amendments, Transitional Provisions and Savings) Order 2009 (S.I. 2009/1941), art. 1(2), Sch. 1 para. 152(4) (with art. 10)

Modifications etc. (not altering text)

C1 S. 173 extended (with modifications) to Anguilla (30.11.1997) by S.I. 1997/2580, art. 2, Sch.

S. 173 extended (with modifications) to Bermuda (30.11.1997) by S.I. 1997/2581, art. 2, Sch.

S. 173 extended (with modifications) to the British Antarctic Territory (30.11.1997) by S.I. 1997/2582, art. 2, Sch.

S. 173 extended (with modifications) to the British Indian Ocean Territory (30.11.1997) by S.I. 1997/2583, art. 2, Sch.

S. 173 extended (with modifications) to the Falkland Islands (30.11.1997) by S.I. 1997/2584, art. 2, Sch.

S. 173 extended (with modifications) to the Pitcairn, Henderson, Ducie and Oneo Islands (30.11.1997) by S.I. 1997/2585, arts. 2, 3, Sch.

S. 173 extended (with modifications) to the Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia (30.11.1997) by S.I. 1997/2587, art. 2, Sch.

S. 173 extended (with modifications) to South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands (30.11.1997) by S.I. 1997/2588, art. 2, Sch.

S. 173 extended (with modifications) to the Turks and Caicos Islands (30.11.1997) by S.I. 1997/2589, art. 2, Sch.

S. 173 extended (with modifications) to the Virgin Islands (30.11.1997) by S.I. 1997/2590, art. 2, Sch.

S. 173 extended (with modifications) to Jersey (1.12.1997) by S.I. 1997/2598, arts. 2, 3, Sch. 1

S. 173 extended (with modifications) to Guernsey (11.3.1998) by S.I. 1998/260, arts. 2, 3, Sch. 1

S. 173 extended (with modifications) to the Cayman Islands (20.5.1998) by S.I. 1998/1261, art. 2, Sch.

S. 173 extended (with modifications) to Montserrat (20.5.1998) by S.I. 1998/1262, art. 2, Sch.

S. 173 extended (with modifications) to Saint Helena (20.5.1998) by S.I. 1998/1263, art. 2, Sch.

174 Power to obtain information. U.K.

(1) For the purpose of transmitting to the Fund [F8 or the Supplementary Fund] the names and addresses of the persons who under section 173 are liable to make contributions to the Fund [F8 or the Supplementary Fund] for any year, and the quantity of oil in respect of which they are so liable, the Secretary of State may by notice require any person engaged in producing, treating, distributing or transporting oil to furnish such information as may be specified in the notice.

(2) A notice under this section may require a company to give such information as may be required to ascertain whether its liability is affected by section 173(6).

(3) A notice under this section may specify the way in which, and the time within which, it is to be complied with.

(4) In proceedings by the Fund [F9 or the Supplementary Fund] against any person to recover any amount due under section 173, particulars contained in any list transmitted by the Secretary of State to [F10 either of those Funds] shall, so far as those particulars are based on information obtained under this section, be admissible as evidence of the facts stated in the list; and so far as particulars which are so admissible are based on information given by the person against whom the proceedings are brought, those particulars shall be presumed to be accurate until the contrary is proved.

(5) If a person discloses any information which has been furnished to or obtained by him under this section, or in connection with the execution of this section, then, unless the disclosure is made—

(a) with the consent of the person from whom the information was obtained, or

(b) in connection with the execution of this section, or

(c) for the purposes of any legal proceedings arising out of this section or of any report of such proceedings,

he shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale.

(6) A person who—

(a) refuses or wilfully neglects to comply with a notice under this section, or

(b) in furnishing any information in compliance with a notice under this section makes any statement which he knows to be false in a material particular, or recklessly makes any statement which is false in a material particular,

shall be liable—

(i) on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding level 4 on the standard scale in the case of an offence under paragraph (a) above and not exceeding the statutory maximum in the case of an offence under paragraph (b) above, and

(ii) on conviction on indictment, to a fine, or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding twelve months, or to both.

Textual Amendments

F8 Words in s. 174(1) inserted (8.9.2006) by The Merchant Shipping (Oil Pollution) (Supplementary Fund Protocol) Order 2006 (S.I. 2006/1265), arts. 1(2), 5(2)

F9 Words in s. 174(4) inserted (8.9.2006) by The Merchant Shipping (Oil Pollution) (Supplementary Fund Protocol) Order 2006 (S.I. 2006/1265), arts. 1(2), 5(3)(a)

F10 Words in s. 174(4) substituted (8.9.2006) by The Merchant Shipping (Oil Pollution) (Supplementary Fund Protocol) Order 2006 (S.I. 2006/1265), arts. 1(2), 5(3)(b)

Modifications etc. (not altering text)

C2 S. 174 extended (with modifications) to Anguilla (30.11.1997) by S.I. 1997/2580, art. 2, Sch.

S. 174 extended (with modifications) to Bermuda (30.11.1997) by S.I. 1997/2581, art. 2, Sch.

S. 174 extended (with modifications) to the British Antarctic Territory (30.11.1997) by S.I. 1997/2582, art. 2, Sch.

S. 174 extended (with modifications) to the British Indian Territory (30.11.1997) by S.I. 1997/2583, art. 2, Sch.

S. 174 extended (with modifications) to the Falkland Islands (30.11.1997) by S.I. 1997/2584, art. 2, Sch.

S. 174 extended (with modifications) to the Pitcairn, Henderson, Ducie and Oneo Islands (30.11.1997) by S.I. 1997/2585, arts. 2, 3, Sch. 1

S. 174 extended (with modifications) to the Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia (30.11.1997) by S.I. 1997/2587, art. 2, Sch.

S. 174 extended (with modifications) to South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands (30.11.1997) by S.I. 1997/2588, art. 2, Sch.

S. 174 extended (with modifications) to the Turks and Caicos Islands (30.11.1997) by S.I. 1997/2589, art. 2, Sch.

S. 174 extended (with modifications) to the Virgin Islands (30.11.1997) by S.I. 1997/2590, art. 2, Sch.

S. 174 extended (with modifications) to Jersey (1.12.1997) by S.I. 1997/2598, arts. 2, 3, Sch. 1

S. 174 extended (with modifications) to Guernsey (11.3.1998) by S.I. 1998/260, arts. 2, 3, Sch. 1

S. 174 extended (with modifications) to the Cayman Islands (20.5.1998) by S.I. 1998/1261, art. 2, Sch.

S. 174 extended (with modifications) to Montserrat (20.5.1998) by S.I. 1998/1262, art. 2, Sch.

S. 174 extended (with modifications) to Saint Helena (20.5.1998) by S.I. 1998/1263, art. 2, Sch.