Dumping At Sea Act, 1981
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Restrictions on dumping at sea. |
2.—(1) If any substance or material— | |
(a) is dumped in the territorial seas of the State, | ||
(b) is dumped anywhere in the sea outside the territorial seas of the State and the vessel, aircraft or marine structure concerned in the dumping is an Irish vessel, an Irish aircraft or an Irish marine structure, or | ||
(c) is loaded on to a vessel, aircraft or marine structure in the State or in the territorial seas of the State for dumping, | ||
the master and the owner of the vessel, or the pilot in command and the owner of the aircraft, or the person in charge and the owner of the structure, as the case may be, and any other person who causes or permits the dumping or loading shall be guilty of an offence. | ||
(2) It shall be a defence for a person charged with an offence under this section to prove— | ||
(a) that the commission of the offence was due to a mistake or to the act or default of another person or to an accident or some other cause beyond his control and that he took all reasonable precautions and exercised all due diligence to avoid the commission of such an offence by himself or any person under his control, or | ||
(b) that the dumping or loading concerned took place under and in accordance with a permit under section 3 of this Act, or, in the case of dumping to which subsection (1) (b) of this section relates, under and in accordance with a permit granted by another State that is party to the Oslo Convention or the London Convention. | ||
(3) (a) Paragraphs (a) and (b) of subsection (1) of this section shall not apply in relation to dumping, if it is reasonably necessary for the purpose of securing the safety of a vessel, aircraft or marine structure or of saving life. | ||
(b) Dumping for a purpose specified in paragraph (a) of this subsection shall be reported to the Minister by the master of the vessel, pilot in command of the aircraft, or person in charge of the marine structure, concerned, as the case may be, as soon as may be, but not later than 7 days after it takes place. | ||
(c) A person who contravenes paragraph (b) of this subsection shall be guilty of an offence. |