Marine Liability Act (S.C. 2001, c. 6)

Marginal note:Action by Administrator

• 102. (1) If there is an occurrence that gives rise to the liability of an owner of a ship under section 51, 71 or 77, Article III of the Civil Liability Convention or Article 3 of the Bunkers Convention,

  • (a) the Administrator may, either before or after receiving a claim under section 103, commence an action in rem against the ship that is the subject of the claim, or against any proceeds of sale of the ship that have been paid into court; and

  • (b) subject to subsection (3), the Administrator is entitled in any such action to claim security in an amount not less than the owner’s maximum aggregate liability determined in accordance with section 71 or 77, or Article V of the Civil Liability Convention.

• Marginal note:Subrogation

  (2) The Administrator may continue the action only if he or she has become subrogated to the rights of the claimant under paragraph 106(3)(c).

• Marginal note:Entitlement to claim security

  (3) The Administrator is not entitled to claim security under subsection (1) if

  • (a) in the case of a ship within the meaning of Article I of the Civil Liability Convention, a fund has been constituted under subsection 52(2); and

  • (b) in the case of any other ship, a fund has been constituted under Article 11 of the Convention as defined in section 24.

Marginal note:Claims filed with Administrator

• 103. (1) In addition to any right against the Ship-source Oil Pollution Fund under section 101, a person who has suffered loss or damage or incurred costs or expenses referred to in section 51, 71 or 77, Article III of the Civil Liability Convention or Article 3 of the Bunkers Convention in respect of actual or anticipated oil pollution damage may file a claim with the Administrator for the loss, damage, costs or expenses.

• Marginal note:Limitation period

  (2) Unless the Admiralty Court fixes a shorter period under paragraph 111(a), a claim must be made

  • (a) within two years after the day on which the oil pollution damage occurs and five years after the occurrence that causes that damage; or

  • (b) if no oil pollution damage occurs, within five years after the occurrence in respect of which oil pollution damage is anticipated.

• Marginal note:Exception

  (3) Subsection (1) does not apply to a response organization referred to in paragraph 51(a), 71(a) or 77(1)(b) or a person in a state other than Canada.

Marginal note:Liability — exception

104. Sections 101 and 103 do not apply in respect of actual or anticipated oil pollution damage

• (a) on the territory or in the territorial sea or internal waters of a state, other than Canada, that is a party to the Civil Liability Convention or the Bunkers Convention; or

• (b) in the exclusive economic zone of a state referred to in paragraph (a) or, if the state has not established an exclusive economic zone, in an area beyond and adjacent to the territorial sea of that state and extending not more than 200 nautical miles from the baselines from which the breadth of its territorial sea is measured.