The Merchant Shipping (Oil Pollution) (Solomon Islands) Order 1975

Limitation of liability under s. 1

4.—(1) Where the owner of a ship incurs a liability under section 1 of this Act by reason of a discharge or escape which occurred without his actual fault or privity—

(a) section 503 of the Merchant Shipping Act 1894 (limitation of liability) shall not apply in relation to that liability; but

(b) he may limit that liability in accordance with the provisions of this Act, and if he does so his liability (that is to say, the aggregate of his liabilities under section 1 resulting from the discharge or escape) shall not exceed 2,000 gold francs for each ton of the ship's tonnage nor (where that tonnage would result in a greater amount) 210 million gold francs.

(2) For the purposes of this section the tonnage of a ship shall be ascertained as follows—

(a) if the ship is a British ship (whether registered in Solomon Islands or elsewhere) or a ship to which an Order under section 84 of the Merchant Shipping Act 1894 applies, its tonnage shall be taken to be its registered tonnage increased, where a deduction has been made for engine room space in arriving at that tonnage, by the amount of that deduction;

(b) if the ship is not such a ship as is mentioned in the preceding paragraph and it is possible to ascertain what would be its registered tonnage if it were registered in Solomon Islands, that paragraph shall apply (with the necessary modifications) as if the ship were so registered;

(c) if the ship is not such a ship as is mentioned in paragraph (a) of this subsection and is of a description with respect to which no provision is for the time being made by regulations under section 1 of the Merchant Shipping Act 1965(1) (tonnage regulations) its tonnage shall be taken to be 40 per cent. of the weight (expressed in tons of 2,240 lbs.) of oil which the ship is capable of carrying;

(d) if the tonnage of the ship cannot be ascertained in accordance with the preceding paragraphs the Chief Marine Officer shall, if so directed by the court, certify what, on the evidence specified in the direction, would in his opinion be the tonnage of the ship if ascertained in accordance with those paragraphs, and the tonnage stated in his certificate shall be taken to be the tonnage of the ship.

(3) For the purposes of this section a gold franc shall be taken to be a unit of sixty-five and a half milligrams of gold of millesimal fineness nine hundred.

(4) The Governor may from time to time by order specify the amounts which for the purposes of this section are to be taken as equivalent to 2,000 gold francs and 210 million gold francs respectively.

(5) Where the amounts specified by an order under the preceding subsection are varied by a subsequent order the variation shall not affect the limit of any liability under section 1 of this Act if, before the variation

(1)

S.I. 1971/383 (1971 I, p. 1175).