### Bunker Oil Pollution (Liability and Compensation) Ordinance 《燃油污染(法律責任及補償)條例》

6. Liability of shipowners of ships—joint and several
(1) If a liability is incurred under section 5 and the ship concerned has more than one shipowner, the shipowners are liable jointly and severally with each other.
(2) If a liability is incurred under section 5 by the shipowner of each of 2 or more ships, and the pollution damage for which each of the shipowners of those ships would, apart from this subsection, be liable cannot reasonably be separated from that for which the other shipowner or shipowners would be liable, the shipowners of all those ships are liable jointly and severally with each other for the whole of the damage.
(3) If a person is liable under section 5 for any pollution damage that is not due to the person’s fault, then despite the fact that the damage is not due to the person’s fault, section 21 of the Law Amendment and Reform (Consolidation) Ordinance (Cap. 23) applies in relation to the damage as if it were due to the person’s fault.

7. Exemptions from liability under section 5
The shipowner of a ship is not liable under section 5 in respect of any damage resulting from an incident if the shipowner proves that the incident—
(a) resulted from an act of war, hostilities, civil war, insurrection or an exceptional, inevitable and irresistible natural phenomenon;
(b) was due wholly to anything done or omitted to be done by any other person, not being a servant or agent of the shipowner, with intent to cause damage;
(c) was due wholly to the negligence of the person who suffered the damage; or
(d) was due wholly to the negligence or wrongful act of a government or any other authority in exercising its function of maintaining lights or other navigational aids for the maintenance of which it was responsible.

8. Limitation of liability of shipowners of ships
If the shipowner of a ship has incurred or is alleged to have incurred a liability under section 5—
(a) the shipowner may bring an action in the Court to limit the shipowner’s liability under Part III of the Merchant Shipping (Limitation of Shipowners Liability) Ordinance (Cap. 434); and
(b) the liability of the shipowner is, for the purposes of paragraph (a), to be treated as a liability in respect of damage to property mentioned in paragraph 1(a) of Article 2 of the Convention on Limitation of Liability for Maritime Claims, 1976 set out in Schedule 2 to that Ordinance.

### Bunker Oil Pollution (Liability and Compensation) Ordinance 《燃油污染(法律責任及補償)條例》

9. Liability of persons other than shipowners of ships
(1) If an incident occurs, whether or not the shipowner of the ship concerned incurs a liability under section 5, a specified person is not liable for any damage referred to in that section resulting from any act done or omitted to be done by the person, unless the person—
(a) did the act or omitted to do the act with intent to cause the damage; or
(b) recklessly did the act or omitted to do the act knowing that the damage would probably be caused.
(2) In subsection (1), specified person (指明人士) means—
(a) any servant or agent of the shipowner of the ship;
(b) any person who does not fall within the description in paragraph (a) but is employed or engaged in any capacity on board the ship or to perform any services for the ship;
(c) any person who performs salvage operations with the consent of the shipowner of the ship or on the instructions of a public authority who is vested with the power to issue the instructions;
(d) any person who takes preventive measures; or
(e) any servant or agent of a person mentioned in paragraph (c) or (d).

10. Rights of third parties against insurers
(1) If it is alleged that—
(a) as a result of an incident the shipowner of a ship has incurred a liability under section 5; and
(b) while the incident occurred, there was in force a contract of insurance or other security to which an insurance certificate in respect of the ship relates,
legal proceedings to enforce a claim in respect of the liability may be brought against the person who provided the insurance or other security (an insurer

11. Whether shipowners of ships would be liable for pollution damage etc. otherwise than under section 5
If an incident occurs, whether or not the shipowner of a ship is liable under section 5, the shipowner is not liable under any other law of Hong Kong for any pollution damage referred to in that section.

12. Application of this Part
(1) This Part applies to a ship having a gross tonnage of more than 1 000, but does not apply to a local vessel that operates exclusively within the river trade limits.
(2) In subsection (1)—
local vessel (本地船隻) has the same meaning as in section 2 of the Merchant Shipping (Local Vessels) Ordinance (Cap. 548);
river trade limits (內河航限) has the same meaning as in section 2 of the Shipping and Port Control Ordinance (Cap. 313).

### Bunker Oil Pollution (Liability and Compensation) Ordinance 《燃油污染(法律責任及補償)條例》

13. Compulsory insurance against liability for pollution damage
(1) Subject to subsection (3), a ship is not allowed to enter or leave the waters of Hong Kong unless there is in force a certificate—
(a) complying with the requirements in paragraphs 2 and 4 of Article 7 of the Bunker Oil Convention; and
(b) certifying that there is in force in respect of the ship a contract of insurance or other security satisfying the requirements of Article 7 of the Convention.
(2) A certificate required under subsection (1) must be issued by a competent authority.
(3) A ship that is owned by a state may enter or leave the waters of Hong Kong without a certificate required under subsection (1), if there is in force in respect of the ship a specified certificate.
(4) If subsection (1) is contravened, the master and the registered owner of the ship each commits an offence and is liable—
(a) on conviction on indictment to a fine of $500,000; or
(b) on summary conviction to a fine at level 6.
(5) In this section—
competent authority (主管當局) means—
(a) in relation to a ship registered in Hong Kong—
(i) the Director; or
(ii) an authorized person;
(b) in relation to a ship registered in any other Bunker Oil Convention place—
(i) the government of that other place; or
(ii) a person authorized by the government of that other place; and
(c) in relation to any other ship—
(i) the Director;
(ii) an authorized person;
(iii) the government of a Bunker Oil Convention place other than Hong Kong; or
(iv) a person authorized by the government of a Bunker Oil Convention place other than Hong Kong;

specified certificate (指明證書), in relation to a ship owned by a state, means a certificate issued by the state and certifying that—
(a) the ship is owned by the state; and
(b) the liability for pollution damage as defined in Article 1 of the Bunker Oil Convention will be met up to the limit determined under paragraph 1 of Article 7 of the Convention.