Wrecked, Abandoned or Hazardous Vessels Act (S.C. 2019, c. 1)

Marginal note:Governor in Council may accept offers of settlement

• 52 (1) The Governor in Council may, on the recommendation of the Attorney General of Canada, accept, on behalf of Her Majesty in right of Canada and the master or a crew member, offers of settlement made with respect to claims for salvage services rendered by Crown vessels.

• Marginal note:Distribution

  (2) The proceeds of a settlement made under subsection (1) must be distributed in the manner that the Governor in Council specifies.

Limitation or Prescription Period for Salvage Proceedings

Marginal note:Proceedings within two years

• 53 (1) No action in respect of salvage services may be commenced more than two years after the date that the salvage services were rendered.

• Marginal note:Extension of period by court

  (2) The court having jurisdiction to deal with an action to which this section relates may, in accordance with the rules of court, extend the period described in subsection (1) to the extent and on the conditions that it considers appropriate.

Aircraft

Marginal note:Aircraft treated as if vessel

54 The provisions of this Part with respect to salvage apply in respect of aircraft on or over Canadian waters as they apply in respect of vessels, with any modifications that the circumstances require.

Rights of Salvors

Marginal note:Salvage

55 Compliance with section 130, 131 or 132 of the Canada Shipping Act, 2001 does not affect the right of a master or of any other person to salvage.

PART 4Receiver of Wreck

Interpretation

Marginal note:Definition of wreck

56 In this Part, wreck includes

• (a) jetsam, flotsam, lagan and derelict and any other thing that was part of or was on a vessel wrecked, stranded or in distress; and

• (b) aircraft wrecked in waters and anything that was part of or was on an aircraft wrecked, stranded or in distress in waters.

Designation of Receivers of Wreck

Marginal note:Designation

• 57 (1) The Minister may designate persons or classes of persons as receivers of wreck.

• Marginal note:Authorization

  (2) A receiver of wreck may authorize any person or class of persons to exercise any of their powers or perform any of their duties or functions.

Finding or Bringing Wreck into Canada

Marginal note:Obligation to report

• 58 (1) A person must report a wreck whose owner is unknown or cannot be located to a receiver of wreck, in the form and manner specified by the receiver of wreck,

  • (a) as soon as feasible after taking possession of it under paragraph (3)(a);

  • (b) before taking possession of it, other than under paragraph (3)(a), if the wreck was found in Canada; or

  • (c) as soon as feasible, if the person brings the wreck into Canada.

• Marginal note:Exception

  (2) Subsection (1) does not apply in respect of a wreck that is a thing that could not reasonably be expected to be identified as having been part of or on a vessel or aircraft.

• Marginal note:Finding wreck

  (3) It is prohibited for a person that finds a wreck in Canada whose owner is unknown or cannot be located to take possession of it unless

  • (a) the wreck is in danger and the possession is necessary to secure or otherwise protect it; or

  • (b) that person has been authorized to do so by the receiver of wreck under paragraph (4)(a).

• Marginal note:Powers of receiver of wreck

  (4) On receipt of a report referred to in subsection (1), a receiver of wreck may

  • (a) authorize the person that made the report to take possession of the wreck;

  • (b) direct the person that made the report to

    • (i) provide any additional information that the receiver specifies,

    • (ii) take the measures with respect to the wreck — other than selling, dismantling, destroying or otherwise disposing of it — that the receiver specifies, including delivering it to the receiver or keeping it in their possession, in accordance with his or her instructions, and

    • (iii) take the measures that the receiver specifies to determine the owner of the wreck, including giving notice that the wreck was reported, in the form and manner that the receiver considers appropriate; and

  • (c) take, or authorize any other person to take, the measures with respect to the wreck — other than selling, dismantling, destroying or otherwise disposing of it — that the receiver considers appropriate.

Marginal note:Salvage award

• 59 (1) The following persons are entitled to a salvage award to be determined by the receiver of wreck:

  • (a) a person that took possession of a wreck and that was authorized to do so under paragraph 58(4)(a); and

  • (b) a person that reported a wreck under paragraph 58(1)(a) or (c).

• Marginal note:Nature of award

  (2) The salvage award may consist of the wreck, part of the wreck or all or part of the proceeds of its disposition.

• Marginal note:Reimbursement of costs and expenses

  (3) A person that has complied with a direction given to them under subparagraph 58(4)(b)(iii) or that has taken a measure under paragraph 58(4)(c) is entitled to the reimbursement of any costs and expenses incurred by them in doing so from the person that pays them under paragraph 61(d) or, if no payment is made under that paragraph, from the receiver of wreck.

Marginal note:Prohibition — selling, dismantling, etc.

• 60 (1) Except as authorized under this Part, it is prohibited for a person to sell, dismantle, destroy or otherwise dispose of a wreck that was required to be reported under subsection 58(1).

• Marginal note:Prohibition — concealing or disguising

  (2) It is prohibited for a person to conceal a wreck, or use any means to disguise or conceal the fact that anything is a wreck, if the person knows that it has not been reported to a receiver of wreck under subsection 58(1).

Marginal note:Claim to wreck

61 A receiver of wreck must release a wreck or pay the proceeds of its disposition under subsection 63(1) to a person that claims ownership of the wreck and that

• (a) submits, in the form and manner specified by the Minister, a claim to the receiver within 30 days after the day on which notice was given under paragraph 63(1)(a);

• (b) establishes their claim to the satisfaction of the receiver;

• (c) pays to the receiver the receiver’s costs and expenses and the prescribed fees;

• (d) pays to the person entitled to a reimbursement under subsection 59(3) the costs and expenses referred to in that subsection; and

• (e) pays to the person entitled to the salvage award under subsection 59(1) the salvage award determined by the receiver.

Marginal note:Interpleader in case of wreck

• 62 (1) If two or more persons claim a wreck or proceeds of the disposition of a wreck, or if a person disputes the amount or value of the salvage award determined by the receiver of wreck, any court having jurisdiction in civil matters to the value or amount in question may hear and determine the matter.

• Marginal note:Maximum award

  (2) A salvage award that a court makes under subsection (1) must not exceed the value of the wreck.

Disposition of Wrecks

Marginal note:When wrecks may be disposed of

• 63 (1) A receiver of wreck may sell, dismantle, destroy or otherwise dispose of a wreck that was the subject of a report referred to in subsection 58(1), or authorize its disposition, only if

  • (a) 30 days have elapsed after the day on which notice was given that the wreck was reported; or

  • (b) in the opinion of the receiver, the wreck is likely to deteriorate rapidly.

• Marginal note:Proceeds held by receiver of wreck

  (2) The proceeds, if any, of a disposition under subsection (1) must be held by the receiver of wreck for not less than 30 days after the day on which the disposition occurred.

• Marginal note:Payment to Receiver General

  (3) The proceeds of a disposition under subsection (1) must be paid, less the amounts described in paragraphs 61(c) to (e), to the Receiver General

  • (a) if no claim has been submitted in accordance with paragraph 61(a); or

  • (b) if a claim to the wreck has not been established within the period that the receiver of wreck considers appropriate.