Hong Kong Ordinances

MERCHANT SHIPPING (LIABILITY AND COMPENSATION FOR OIL POLLUTION) ORDINANCE - SECT 23

Contributions to the Fund

(Past version on 01/07/1997).
(Past version on 30/06/1997).

(1) Contributions shall be payable to the Fund in respect of oil carried by
sea to ports or terminal installations in Hong Kong.

(2) Subsection (1) applies whether or not the oil is being imported, and
applies even if contributions are payable in respect of carriage of the same
oil on a previous voyage.

(3) Contributions shall also be payable to the Fund in respect of oil when
first received in any terminal installation in Hong Kong after having been
carried by sea and discharged in a port or terminal  installation in a country
which is not a Fund Convention country.

(4) The person liable to pay contributions is-

   (a)  in the case of oil which is being imported, the importer; and

   (b)  in any other case, the person by whom the oil is received.

(5) A person shall not be liable to make contributions in respect of the oil
imported or received by him in any year if the oil so imported or received in
that year does not exceed 150 000 tonnes.

(6) For the purpose of subsection (5)-

   (a)  all the companies in a group of companies shall be treated as a single
        person; and

   (b)  any 2 or more companies which have been amalgamated into a single
        company shall be treated as the same person as that single company.

(7) The contributions payable by a person for any year shall-

   (a)  be of such amount as may be determined by the Director of the Fund
        under Article 12 of the Fund Convention and notified to him by the
        Fund; (Amended 46 of 1997 s. 18)

   (b)  be payable in such instalments, becoming due at such times, as may be
        so notified to him, and if any amount due from him remains unpaid
        after the date on which it became due, such amount-

        (i)    shall from that date bear interest, at a rate determined from
               time to time by the Assembly of the Fund, until it is paid; and

        (ii)   shall, together with such interest, be recoverable as a civil
               debt due to the Fund.

(8) The Chief Executive in Council may by regulations require persons who are
or may be liable to pay contributions under this section to give security for
payment to the Chief Executive or to the Fund; and such regulations may-

   (a)  contain such supplemental or incidental provisions as appear to the
        Chief Executive in Council expedient; and

   (b)  provide that a contravention of specified provisions of the
        regulations shall be an offence and may provide penalties therefor not
        exceeding a fine of $5000. (Amended 64 of 1999 s. 3)

(9) In this section and section 24, unless the context otherwise requires-

"company" (公司) means a body incorporated under the law of Hong Kong, or of
any other country;

"crude oil" (原油) means any liquid hydrocarbon mixture occurring naturally
in the earth whether or not treated to render it suitable for transportation,
and includes-

   (a)  crude oils from which distillate fractions have been removed; and

   (b)  crude oils to which distillate fractions have been added;

"fuel oil" (燃油) means heavy distillates or residues from crude oil or
blends of such materials intended for use as a fuel for the production of heat
or power of a quality equivalent to the American Society for Testing and
Materials' Specification for Number Four Fuel Oil (Designation D 396-69), or
heavier;

"group of companies" (公司集團) has the same meaning as in section 2(1) of
the Companies Ordinance ( Cap 32), and in the case of a company incorporated
outside Hong Kong, has a corresponding meaning subject to any necessary
modifications;

"import" (進口) means import into Hong Kong;

"importer" (進口商) means the person by whom or on whose behalf the oil in
question is entered for customs purposes on importation; "oil" (油、油類)
means crude oil and fuel oil.

(10) In this section, "sea" (海) does not include any of the waters of Hong
Kong within the meaning of section 3 of the Interpretation and 
General Clauses Ordinance ( Cap 1). (Replaced 26 of 1998 s. 44) (Enacted 1990)

"company" (公司)

"crude oil" (原油)

"fuel oil" (燃油)

"group of companies" (公司集團)

"import" (進口)

"importer" (進口商) "oil" (油、油類)

"sea" (海)