PART XB
CIVIL LIABILITY FOR OIL POLLUTION DAMAGE

352G. Application
352H. Definitions
352 I. Liability of owner
352J. Limitation of liability
352K.Constitution of limitation fund.
352L. Acquisition of right for compensation by subrogation
352M.Consolidation of Claim and distribution of fund.
352N. Compusory insurance or other financial guarantee.
352O Acceptance of Certificate issued outside India.
352P Ban on entering or leaving an Indian Port without Certificate.
352Q Government ships.
352R Power to make rules.

352G. Application--- This Part applies to--

(a) every Indian ship whenever it is; and

(b) every foreign ship while it is at a port or place in India or within the territorial waters of India or any marine areas adjacent thereto over which India has, or may hereafter have, exclusive jurisdiction in regard to control of marine pollution under the Territorial Waters. Continental Shelf, Exclusive Economic Zone and other Maritime Zones Act, 1976 (80 of 1976), or any other law for the time being in force.

352H. Definitions-- In this Part, unless the context otherwise requires--

(a) “incident” means any occurrence, or series of occurrences having the same origin, which causes of pollution damage;

(b) “oil” means any persistent oil such as crude oil, fuel oil, heavy diesel oil, lubricating oil and whale oil, whether carried on board a tanker as cargo or fuel;

(c) “owner” means--

(i) the person registered as owner of the ship and includes the operator who for the time being is in charge of the ship and the master of the ship; or

(ii) in the absence of registeration, the person owning the ship; or

(iii) in the case of a tanker owned by a foreign State, the person registered in that State as operator of the ship;

(d) “pollution damage” means loss or damage caused outside the ship by contamination resulting from escape or discharge of oil from that ship, wherever such escape or discharge occurs, and includes the costs of preventive measures and further loss or damage caused by preventive measures; so, however, that the provisions of clause (a) of sub-section (1) of section 352B shall not apply to such loss or damage;

(e) “preventive measures” means any reasonable measures taken by any person after the incident to prevent or minimise pollution damage.

3[(f) ‘ tonnage ‘ means the tonnage of a ship determined in accordance with the provisions of Section 352-B and where it is not so determinable, it means forty per cent of the weight in tons of oil cargo the ship is capable of carrying].

352I. Liability of owner-- (1) Save as otherwise provided in sub-sections (2), (3) and (4), the owner at the time of an incident, or, where the incident consists of a series of occurrences, at the time of first of such occurrences, shall be liable for any pollution damage caused by oil which has escaped or been discharged from the ship as a result of the incident.

(2) No liability for pollution damage shall attach to the owner undersubsection (1), if he proves that the pollution damage--

(a) resulted from an act of war, hostilities, civil war, insurrection or a natural phenomenon of an exceptional, inevitable and irresisable character; or

(b) was wholly caused by an act or omission done with intent to cause such damage by any other person; or

(c) was wholly caused by the negligence or other wrongful act of any Government or other authority responsible for the maintenance of lights or other navigational aids in exercise of its functions in that behalf.

(3). Where, with respect to any incident, the owner proves that the politician damage resulted, either wholly or partially, from an act or omission done; with intent to cause such damage, by the person who suffered damage, or from the negligence of that person, the owner shall be exonerated wholly or, as the case may be, partially, from liability to that person.

(4) Where in any incident, pollution damage results from escape or discharge of oil from two or more ships, the owners of all such ships shall be jointly and severally liable for all such damage which is not reasonably separable.

(5) No claim for pollution damage shall be made against any owner otherwise than in accordance with the provisions of this section.

(6) No claim for pollution damage shall be made against any servant or agent of the owner.

352J. Limitation of liability-- (1) Save as otherwise provided in sub-section (2), the owner may limit his liability under section 352I in respect of any incident to an aggregate amount of--

1(a) one hundred and thirty-three Special Drawing Rights for each ton of the ship’s tonnage; or

(b) fourteen million Special Drawing Rights,
whichever is lower.

(2) Where any incident causing pollution damage occurs as a result of the actual fault of the owner, he shall not be entitled to limit his liability under sub-section (1).

352K. Constitution of limitation fund-- (1) (a) Any owner designing to avail of the benefit of limitation of his liability under sub-section (1) of section 352J shall make an application of the High Court for constitution of a limitation fund (hereafter in this Part referred to as fund).

(B) Such fund may be constituted either by depositing the sum with the High court or by furnishing bank guarantee or such other security as, in the opinion of the High Court, is satisfactory.

(2) (a) The insurer or any other person providing financial security to the owner may apply to the High Court for constitution of the fund under sub-section (1) and any fund so constituted shall have the same effect as if it were constituted by the owner.

(b) Such fund may be constiuted even in cases where sub-section (2) of section 352J applies but in any such event constitution of the fund shall not prejudice the rights of any claimant against the owner for full compensation exceeding the amount deposited or second in the fund.

[(3) The amount in Special Drawing Rights to be deposited or secured in the fund under sub-section (1) shall be converted in rupees on the basis of official value in rupees of the Special Drawing Rights as determined by the Reserve Bank of India on the date of constitution of the fund.

352L. Acquisition of right for compensation by subrogation--- (1) Where the owner or any of his servants or agents or any other person providing him insurance or other financial security has, a result of incident in question, paid any compensation to any claimant, such person shall, up to the amount so paid by him, be entitled to acquire by subrogation the rights to whcih the claimant so compensated would be entitled to.

(2) Where the owner or any other person providing him insurance or other financial secuirty establishes that he may, at a later date, be compelled to pay to any person, in whole or in part, any amount by way of compensation for pollution damage caused by the incident with respect to which he would have been entitled to acquire by subrogation the right of the claimant had the compensation been paid before the fund was distributed, the High Court may order that sufficient amount from the fund may provisionally be set aside to enable the owner or such other person to enforce his claim against the fund at a later date.

352M. Consolidation of claim and distribution of fund-- (1) The High Court shall consolidate all claims against the fund including those arising under section 352L.

(2) Any claim in respect of expenses reasonably incurred or sacrifices reasonably made by the owner voluntarily to prevent or minimise pollution damage shall rank equally with other claims against the fund.

(3) Subject to the provisions of sub-section (2) of section 352L, the High Court shall distribute the amount in the fund among all claimants in proportion to their established claims.

352N. Compulsory insurance or other financial guarantee-- (1) The owner of every Indian ship which carries 2000 tons or morse oil in bulk as cargo shall, in respect of such ship, maintain an insurance or other financial security for an amount equivalent to--

(a) "one hundred and thirty-three Special Drawing Rights for each ton of the ships tonnage, or

(b) fourteen million Special Drawing Rights,",

whichever is lower.

(2) In respect of every Indian ship which maintains insurance or otehr financial security under sub-section (1), there shall be issued by the Director General a certificate in such form and giving such particulars as may be prescribed.