WRECK AND SALVAGE ACT
WRECK AND
SALVAGE ACT 94 OF 1996
[ASSENTED TO 12
NOVEMBER 1996] [DATE OF COMMENCEMENT1 FEBRUARY
1997]
(English text
signed by the President)
ACT
To provide for the salvage of
certain vessels and for the application in the
Republic of the International Convention of
Salvage, 1989; and to provide for the repeal or
amendment of certain provisions of the Merchant
Shipping Act, 1951, and the amendment of the
Admiralty Jurisdiction Regulation Act, 1983; and
to provide for matters connected therewith.
1 Definitions
In this Act, unless the context
indicates otherwise-
'Convention' means the
International Convention on Salvage, 1989,
contained in the Schedule;
'master', in relation to a
ship, means any person, other than a pilot,
having charge or command of such ship;
'Minister' means the Minister
of Transport;
'owner of a ship' means any
person to whom a ship or a share in a ship
belongs;
'port' means a place, whether
proclaimed a public harbour or not, and whether
natural or artificial, to which ships may resort
for shelter or to load or discharge goods or
persons;
'prescribe' means prescribe by
regulation under section 21;
'Republic' includes the Prince
Edward Islands referred to in section 1 of the
Prince Edward Islands Act, 1948 (Act 43 of 1948);
'salvage officer' means a
salvage officer appointed in terms of section 8;
'seaman' means any person,
except a master or a pilot, employed or engaged
in any capacity on a ship;
'ship' means any vessel used or
capable of being used on any waters, and includes
any hovercraft, power boat, yacht, fishing boat,
submarine vessel, barge, crane barge, crane,
dock, oil or other rig, mooring installation or
similar installation, whether floating or fixed
to the sea-bed and whether self-propelled or not;
'South African ship' means a
ship registered in the Republic in terms of the
Merchant Shipping Act, 1951 (Act 57 of 1951), or
deemed to be so registered;
'wreck' includes any flotsam,
jetsam, lagan or derelict, any portion of a ship
or aircraft lost, abandoned, stranded or in
distress, any portion of the cargo, stores or
equipment of any such ship or aircraft and any
portion of the personal property on board such
ship or aircraft when it was lost, abandoned,
stranded or in distress.
2 Application and
interpretation of Convention
(1) The Convention shall,
subject to the provisions of this Act, have the
force of law and apply in the Republic.
(2) The provisions of
Attachment 1 to the Convention shall have effect
in connection with the application and
interpretation of the Convention.
(3) This Act shall not affect
any rights or liabilities arising out of any
salvage operations or other acts started before
the commencement of this Act.
(4) Any reference in the
Convention to a State Party shall be construed
as, or as including, a reference to the Republic.
(5) Notwithstanding anything to
the contrary in any other law or the common law
contained, a court of law or any tribunal may, in
the interpretation of the Convention, consider
the preparatory texts to the Convention,
decisions of foreign courts and any publication.
(6) Notwithstanding anything to
the contrary in article 3 or any other article of
the Convention, a subject of salvage shall
include any fixed or floating platform or any
mobile offshore drilling unit whether or not it
is engaged in the exploration, exploitation or
production of sea-bed mineral resources.
(7) 'Damage to the environment'
as defined in article 1 of the Convention shall
for purposes of this Act, notwithstanding
anything to the contrary contained in this Act,
not be restricted to coastal or inland waters or
to areas adjacent thereto, but shall apply to any
place where such damage may occur.
(8) Notwithstanding the
provisions of article 14 (3) of the Convention,
for the purposes of this Act, the expression
'fair rate' means a rate of remuneration which is
fair having regard to the scope of the work and
to the prevailing market rate, if any, for work
of a similar nature.
(9) In the case of any conflict
between the Afrikaans and English texts of this
Act and the Convention the English text shall be
decisive.
(10) Any claimant under this
Act shall be entitled to enforce a maritime lien.
3 Court trying salvage claim
may be assisted by assessors
The court in which proceedings
for a claim relating to salvage have been
instituted may, in its discretion, appoint one or
more assessors acting only in an advisory
capacity, and those assessors shall be impartial
persons who are conversant with maritime affairs.
4 Application to aircraft
The provisions of this Act
relating to wreck and to salvage of life or
property and to the duty to render assistance to
ships in distress shall apply to aircraft as they
apply to ships, and the owner of an aircraft
shall be entitled to the award of a sum for
salvage services rendered by the aircraft and be
liable to pay a sum of salvage in respect of
services rendered in saving life from the
aircraft or in saving the aircraft or any wreck
from the aircraft in any case where the owner of
the aircraft would have been so entitled or
liable had it been a ship.
5 Obligation to assist ships in
distress
(1) The master of a South
African ship, on receiving at sea a signal of
distress or information from any source that a
ship is in distress, shall proceed with all speed
to the assistance of the persons in distress,
informing them if possible that he or she is
doing so, unless he or she is unable, or in the
special circumstances of the case considers it
unreasonable or unnecessary, to do so, or unless
he or she is released under the provisions of
subsection (3) or (4) from the obligation imposed
by this subsection.
(2) Where the master of any
ship in distress has requisitioned any South
African ship that has answered his or her call
for assistance, it shall be the duty of the
master of the South African ship to comply with
the requisition by continuing to proceed with all
speed to the assistance of the person in distress
unless he or she is released under the provisions
of subsection (4) from the obligation imposed by
this subsection.
(3) A master shall be released
from the obligation imposed by subsection (1) as
soon as he or she is informed of the requisition
of one or more ships other than his or her own
and that the requisition is being complied with
by the ship or ships requisitioned.
(4) A master shall be released
from the obligation imposed by subsection (1),
and if his or her ship has been requisitioned,
from the obligation imposed by subsection (2), if
he or she is informed by the person in distress,
or by the master of any ship that has reached the
person in distress, that assistance is no longer
required.
(5) If the master of a South
African ship, on receiving at sea a signal of
distress or information from any source that a
ship is in distress, is unable, or in the special
circumstances of the case considers it
unreasonable or unnecessary, to go to the
assistance of the person in distress, he or she
shall forthwith cause a statement to be entered
in the official logbook, of his or her reasons
for not going to the assistance of that person.
(6) Compliance by the master of
a ship with the provisions of this section shall
not affect his or her right, or the right of any
other person, to salvage.
(7) In the application of this
section every reference to a ship in distress
shall be interpreted so as to include a reference
to an aircraft or a survival craft from a vessel
or an aircraft in distress.
6 Duty to render assistance to
persons in danger at sea
(1) The master of a ship shall,
so far as he or she can do so without serious
danger to his or her ship or to any person on the
ship, render assistance to every person who is
found at sea in danger of being lost, even if
that person is a citizen of a country at war with
the Republic or with the country in which the
ship is registered.
(2) Compliance by the master of
a ship with the provisions of subsection (1)
shall not affect his or her right, or the right
of any other person, to salvage.
(3) This section shall apply to
all ships, wherever they may be registered.
7 Duty of masters of ships in
collision to render assistance
(1) In every case of collision
between two or more ships, it shall be the duty
of the master of each ship, if and in so far as
he or she can do so without danger to any person
on the ship-
(a) to render to the other ship
and every person thereon such assistance as may
be practicable and necessary to save them from
any danger caused by the collision and to stay by
the other ship until he or she has ascertained
that there is no need for further assistance;
(b) to give to the master of
the other ship, the name of his or her ship and
of its port of registry and the name of the port
from which it has come and to which it is bound.
(2) Compliance by the master of
a ship with the provisions of subsection (1)
shall not affect his or her right, or the right
of any other person, to salvage.
(3) This section shall apply to
all ships, wherever they may be registered.
8 Salvage officers
(1) The Minister may appoint
suitably qualified persons to be salvage officers
at ports or other places in the Republic in
respect of any defined area.
(2) Such officers shall be
appointed for the period and under the conditions
as the Minister may deem fit.
(3) The powers, duties and
functions of salvage officers appointed under
this section shall be as prescribed.
9 Payment of allowances to
salvage officers
Any person appointed under this
Act as a salvage officer and who is not in the
employ of the Government shall be paid such
remuneration and allowances towards subsistence
and transport as the Minister with the
concurrence of the Minister of Finance may
determine.
10 Exercise of powers in
absence of salvage officer
(1) If a salvage officer or his
or her authorised representative is not present-
(a) a suitable qualified
officer in the South African Police Service; or
(b) in the absence of an
officer referred to in paragraph (a), a suitably
qualified commissioned officer in the South
African National Defence Force,
may do anything he or she is
authorised to do by the salvage officer.
(2) Any person acting for a
salvage officer in terms of subsection (1) shall
in respect of any wreck be considered to be the
agent of the salvage officer and shall comply
with the provisions of section 112 (2) of the
Custom and Excise Act, 1964 (Act 91 of 1964), but
shall not be deprived, by reason of his or her so
acting, of any right to salvage to which he or
she would otherwise be entitled.
(3) Any salvage officer or any
person acting for a salvage officer shall not
interfere with the lawful performance of a
salvage service by a salvor.
11 Investigation concerning
ships wrecked, stranded or in distress
If a ship is wrecked, stranded
or in distress, a salvage officer or person
authorised by him or her, may conduct an
investigation into any or all of the following
matters:
(a) The name and description of
the ship;
(b) the names of the master and
of the owners;
(c) the names of the owners of
the cargo;
(d) the port from and to which
the ship was bound;
(e) the cause of the wrecking,
stranding or distress of the ship;
(f) the services rendered; and
(g) such other relevant matters
or circumstances as he or she deems fit.
12 Powers to pass over
adjoining lands
(1) Whenever a ship is wrecked,
stranded or in distress all persons may, for the
purpose of rendering assistance to the ship or of
saving the lives of any shipwrecked persons or of
saving any wreck, unless there is some public
road or camping site equally convenient, pass and
repass either with or without vehicles or animals
over any lands and camp on such lands, without
being subject to interruption by the owner or
occupier, if they do so with as little damage as
possible, and may also, on the same condition,
deposit on such lands any goods required for the
construction of a camp and their stay thereat,
and any wreck recovered from the ship.
(2) Any damage sustained by an
owner or occupier in consequence of the exercise
of the rights granted by this section shall be a
charge on the ship or wreck in respect of or by
which the damage is caused.
(3) The amount payable in
respect of the damage referred to in subsection
(2) shall, in the event of a dispute, be
determined in the same manner as salvage is
determined in terms of this Act, and shall, in
default of payment, be recoverable in the same
manner as salvage is recoverable under this Act.
13 Power of salvage officer to
suppress plunder and disorder
No person shall, when a ship is
wrecked, stranded or in distress, plunder, create
disorder or obstruct the preservation of the ship
or shipwrecked persons or the wreck, and the
salvage officer or his or her authorised
representative may cause any person contravening
the provisions of this section to be detained.
14 Interfering with wrecked
ship or aircraft
(1) No unauthorised person
shall board any ship or aircraft wrecked,
stranded or in distress without the leave of the
person in charge of such ship or aircraft, and
any person boarding such ship or aircraft without
permission may be repelled by reasonable force.
(2) No person shall-
(a) impede or hinder the saving
of any ship stranded or in danger of being
stranded, or otherwise in distress, or of any
life from any such ship, or of any wreck;
(b) secrete any wreck, or
deface or obliterate any marks thereon; or
(c) wrongfully carry away or
remove any wreck.
15 Salvage payable for saving
life
(1) Salvage shall be payable to
the salvor by the owner of the ship or the owner
of any wreck, whether or not such ship or wreck
has been saved, when services are rendered in
saving life from any ship.
(2) Notwithstanding anything to
the contrary contained in the Convention, the
payment of salvage in respect of the preservation
of life shall have priority over all other claims
for salvage.
(3) When the ship or wreck is
lost or the value thereof is insufficient, after
payment of the actual expenses incurred, to pay
the amount of salvage payable in respect of the
preservation of life, the Minister may, in his or
her discretion, award to the salvor, out of
moneys made available by Parliament for the
purpose, such sum as he or she thinks fit, in
whole or part satisfaction of any amount of
salvage so left unpaid.
16 Salvage payable by
Commissioner for Customs and Excise
When any ship is wrecked,
stranded, abandoned or in distress or any wreck
is found and services are rendered in saving such
ship or wreck, salvage shall, subject to the
provisions of section 15 (2), be paid to the
person who rendered the services by the
Commissioner for Customs and Excise if the ship
or wreck is disposed of by him or her in terms of
section 112 (3) of the Customs and Excise Act,
1964.
17 Detention of wreck until
salvage is paid
(1) If the salvage officer is
satisfied that salvage is due to any person under
this Act, he or she shall detain the ship or
wreck saved or assisted or from which life was
saved until payment is made for the salvage due,
or until process for the arrest or detention of
such ship or wreck by a competent court is
served.
(2) The salvage officer may
release any ship or wreck detained by him or her
under subsection (1) if security to his or her
satisfaction is given for the payment of the
salvage due.
18 Powers of Minister in
respect of certain wrecks and ships
(1) (a) When a ship is wrecked,
stranded or in distress, the Minister may direct
the master or owner of such ship, or both such
master and such owner, either orally or in
writing to move such ship to a place specified by
the Minister or to perform such acts in respect
of such ship as may be specified by the Minister.
(b) If the master or owner of a
ship referred to in paragraph (a) fails to
perform within the time specified by the Minister
any act which he or she has in terms of that
paragraph been required to perform, the Minister
may cause such act to be performed.
(2) The Minister may,
notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (1),
cause any wreck or any wrecked, stranded or
abandoned ship or any part thereof to be raised,
removed or destroyed or dealt with in such a
manner as he or she may deem fit, if he or she
has not been able to contact the master or the
owner of the said wreck, ship or part thereof.
(3) If the Minister incurs any
expenses in connection with the exercise of any
power in terms of subsection (1) (b) or (2), he
or she may recover such expenses from the owner
of the wreck or ship in question or, in the case
of an abandoned wreck or ship, from the person
who was the owner thereof at the time of the
abandonment.
(4) If the Minister incurred or
will incur any expenses in connection with the
exercise of any power in terms of subsection (1)
(b) or (2) in respect of any wreck or ship, he or
she may cause any goods to be removed from such
wreck or ship.
(5) The Minister may-
(a) sell any wreck or ship in
respect of which any power has been exercised in
terms of subsection (1) (b) or (2), any part of
such wreck or ship and any goods removed
therefrom in terms of subsection (4) and apply
the proceeds of the sale towards the defrayal of
any expenses incurred in connection with the
exercise of such power; or
(b) cause any such wreck, ship
or goods to be detained until security to the
satisfaction of the Minister has been given for
the payment of such expenses.
(6) If any wreck, ship or goods
are sold in terms of subsection (5) and the
proceeds of the sale exceed the amount of the
expenses referred to in that subsection, the
surplus shall be paid to the owner of the wreck,
ship or goods in question after deducting
therefrom the amount of any duty payable in
respect of such wreck, ship or goods in terms of
the Customs and Excise Act, 1964.
(7) The Minister, or any person
acting under the authority of the Minister, shall
not be liable in respect of anything done in good
faith in terms of the provisions of this section.
19 Agreement to forfeit right
to salvage is void
(1) A seaman of a South African
ship shall not by agreement abandon any right
that he or she may have or obtain in the nature
of salvage, and any provision in any agreement
with him or her inconsistent with the provisions
of this section shall be void.
(2) The provisions of
subsection (1) shall not apply to any provision
made by a seaman belonging to a ship engaged in
salvage service regarding the remuneration to be
paid to him or her for salvage services to be
rendered by that ship to any other ship.
20 Restrictions on assignment
of salvage
The following provisions shall
apply to salvage due or to become due to a seaman
of a South African ship:
(a) Such salvage shall not be
liable to attachment or subject to any form of
execution under a judgment or order of any court;
(b) an assignment or
hypothecation thereof shall not bind the person
making the same;
(c) a power of attorney or
authority for the receipt thereof shall not be
irrevocable; and
(d) a payment of salvage to a
seaman shall be valid in law, notwithstanding any
previous assignment or hypothecation of salvage,
or any attachment of or execution upon that
salvage.
21 Regulations
(1) The Minister may make
regulations to prescribe any matter which in
terms of this Act may be prescribed or which may
be necessary or expedient to prescribe in order
to achieve or promote the objects of this Act.
(2) Any regulation contemplated
in subsection (1) may for any contravention of or
failure to comply with its provisions, provide
for penalties of a fine or imprisonment for a
period not exceeding three months.
22 Offences and penalties
Any person who contravenes or
fails to comply with the provisions of section 5
(1) or (2), 6 (1), 7 (1), 13 or 14 (1) or (2)
shall be guilty of an offence, and shall on
conviction be liable-
(a) in the case of an offence
mentioned in section 13 or 14 (1) or (2) to a
fine or imprisonment for a period not exceeding
two years; and
(b) in the case of an offence
mentioned in section 5 (1) or (2), 6 (1) or 7 (1)
to a fine or to imprisonment for a period not
exceeding one year.
23 Declaration of wreck to be a
monument
This Act shall not derogate
from the operation of the National Monuments Act,
1969 (Act 28 of 1969).
24 Act to bind State
This Act shall bind the State.
25 Amends section 1 (1) of the
Admiralty Jurisdiction Regulation Act 105 of 1983
by substituting paragraph (k) of the definition
of 'maritime claim'.
26 Amends section 134 of the
Merchant Shipping Act 57 of 1951, as follows:
paragraph (a) substitutes subsection (1); and
paragraph (b) deletes subsection (2).
27 Amends section 135 of the
Merchant Shipping Act 57 of 1951 by substituting
subsection (1).
28 Repeals sections 234, 258,
293 to 306, 330 and 331 of the Merchant Shipping
Act 57 of 1951.
29 Amends section 344 of the
Merchant Shipping Act 57 of 1951 by substituting
subsection (1).
30 Substitutes section 345 of
the Merchant Shipping Act 57 of 1951.
31 Short title and commencement
This Act shall be called the
Wreck and Salvage Act, 1996, and shall come into
operation on a date fixed by the President by
proclamation in the Gazette.
Schedule
PART 1
INTERNATIONAL
CONVENTION ON SALVAGE, 1989
[Website note: Dr Geoffrey
Brice QC, shortly before his untimely passing, prepared a
Protocol amending Articles 1, 13, 18 and 30 to deal with the
protectin yet exploration and salvage of historical wrecks. We
include these articles as amended by the Brice Protocol.]
THE STATES PARTIES TO THE
PRESENT CONVENTION,
RECOGNIZING the desirability of
determining by agreement uniform international
rules regarding salvage operations,
NOTING that substantial
developments, in particular the increased concern
for the protection of the environment, have
demonstrated the need to review the international
rules presently contained in the Convention for
the Unification of Certain Rules of Law relating
to Assistance and Salvage at Sea, done at
Brussels, 23 September 1910,
CONSCIOUS of the major
contribution which efficient and timely salvage
operations can make to the safety of vessels and
other property in danger and to the protection of
the environment,
CONVINCED of the need to ensure
that adequate incentives are available to persons
who undertake salvage operations in respect of
vessels and other property in danger,
HAVE AGREED as follows:
CHAPTER 1
GENERAL
PROVISIONS
ARTICLE 1
Definitions
For the purpose of this
Convention:
(a) Salvage operation means any
act or activity undertaken to assist a vessel or
any other property in danger in navigable waters
or in any other waters whatsoever.
(b) Vessel means any ship or
craft, or any structure capable of navigation.
(c) Property means any property
not permanently and intentionally attached to the
shoreline and includes freight at risk.
(d) Damage to the environment
means substantial physical damage to human health
or to marine life or resources in coastal or
inland waters or areas adjacent thereto, caused
by pollution, contamination, fire, explosion or
similar major incidents.
(e) Payment means any reward,
remuneration or compensation due under this
Convention.
(f) Organization means the
International Maritime Organization.
(g) Secretary-General means the
Secretary-General of the Organization.
ARTICLE 2
Application
of the Convention
This Convention shall apply
whenever judicial or arbitral proceedings
relating to matters dealt with in this Convention
are brought in a State Party.
ARTICLE 3
Platforms and
drilling units
This Convention shall not apply
to fixed or floating platforms or to mobile
offshore drilling units when such platforms or
units are on location engaged in the exploration,
exploitation or production of sea-bed mineral
resources.
ARTICLE 4
State-owned
vessels
(1) Without prejudice to
article 5, this Convention shall not apply to
warships or other non-commercial vessels owned or
operated by a State and entitled, at the time of
salvage operations, to sovereign immunity under
generally recognized principles of international
law unless that State decides otherwise.
(2) Where a State Party decides
to apply the Convention to its warships or other
vessels described in paragraph (1), it shall
notify the Secretary-General thereof specifying
the terms and conditions of such application.
ARTICLE 5
Salvage
operations controlled by public authorities
(1) This Convention shall not
affect any provisions of national law or any
international convention relating to salvage
operations by or under the control of public
authorities.
(2) Nevertheless, salvors
carrying out such salvage operations shall be
entitled to avail themselves of the rights and
remedies provided for in this Convention in
respect of salvage operations.
(3) The extent to which a
public authority under a duty to perform salvage
operations may avail itself of the rights and
remedies provided for in this Convention shall be
determined by the law of the State where such
authority is situated.
ARTICLE 6
Salvage
contracts
(1) This Convention shall apply
to any salvage operations save to the extent that
a contract otherwise provides expressly or by
implication.
(2) The master shall have the
authority to conclude contracts for salvage
operations on behalf of the owner of the vessel.
The master or the owner of the vessel shall have
the authority to conclude such contracts on
behalf of the owner of the property on board the
vessel.
(3) Nothing in this article
shall affect the application of article 7 nor
duties to prevent or minimize damage to the
environment.
ARTICLE 7
Annulment and
modification of contracts
A contract or any terms thereof
may be annulled or modified if:
(a) the contract has been
entered into under undue influence or the
influence of danger and its terms are
inequitable; or
(b) the payment under the
contract is in an excessive degree too large or
too small for the services actually rendered.
CHAPTER II
PERFORMANCE
OF SALVAGE OPERATIONS
ARTICLE 8
Duties of the
salvor and of the owner and master
(1) The salvor shall owe a duty
to the owner of the vessel or other property in
danger:
(a) to carry out the salvage
operations with due care;
(b) in performing the duty
specified in subparagraph (a), to exercise due
care to prevent or minimize damage to the
environment;
(c) whenever circumstances
reasonably require, to seek assistance from other
salvors; and
(d) to accept the intervention
of other salvors when reasonably requested to do
so by the owner or master of the vessel or other
property in danger; provided however that the
amount of his reward shall not be prejudiced
should it be found that such a request was
unreasonable.
(2) The owner and master of the
vessel or the owner of other property in danger
shall owe a duty to the salvor:
(a) to co-operate fully with
him during the course of the salvage operations;
(b) in so doing, to exercise
due care to prevent or minimize damage to the
environment; and
(c) when the vessel or other
property has been brought to a place of safety,
to accept redelivery when reasonably requested by
the salvor to do so.
ARTICLE 9
Rights of
coastal States
Nothing in this Convention
shall affect the right of the coastal State
concerned to take measures in accordance with
generally recognized principles of international
law to protect its coastline or related interests
from pollution or the threat of pollution
following upon a maritime casualty or acts
relating to such a casualty which may reasonably
be expected to result in major harmful
consequences, including the right of a coastal
State to give directions in relation to salvage
operations.
ARTICLE 10
Duty to
render assistance
(1) Every master is bound, so
far as he can do so without serious danger to his
vessel and persons thereon, to render assistance
to any person in danger of being lost at sea.
(2) The State Parties shall
adopt the measures necessary to enforce the duty
set out in paragraph (1).
(3) The owner of the vessel
shall incur no liability for a breach of the duty
of the master under paragraph (1).
ARTICLE 11
Co-operation
A State Party shall, whenever
regulating or deciding upon matters relating to
salvage operations such as admittance to ports of
vessels in distress or the provision of
facilities to salvors, take into account the need
for co-operation between salvors, other
interested parties and public authorities in
order to ensure the efficient and successful
performance of salvage operations for the purpose
of saving life or property in danger as well as
preventing damage to the environment in general.
CHAPTER III
RIGHTS OF
SALVORS
ARTICLE 12
Conditions
for reward
(1) Salvage operations which
have had a useful result give right to a reward.
(2) Except as otherwise
provided, no payment is due under this Convention
if the salvage operations have had no useful
result.
(3) This chapter shall apply,
notwithstanding that the salved vessel and the
vessel undertaking the salvage operations belong
to the same owner.
ARTICLE 13
Criteria for
fixing the reward
(1) The reward shall be fixed
with a view to encouraging salvage operations,
taking into account the following criteria
without regard to the order in which they are
presented below:
(a) the salved value of the
vessel and other property;
(b) the skill and efforts of
the salvors in preventing or minimizing damage to
the environment;
(c) the measure of success
obtained by the salvor;
(d) the nature and degree of
the danger;
(e) the skill and efforts of
the salvors in salving the vessel, other property
and life;
(f) the time used and expenses
and losses incurred by the salvors;
(g) the risk of liability and
other risks run by the salvors or their
equipment;
(h) the promptness of the
services rendered;
(i) the availability and use of
vessels or other equipment intended for salvage
operations;
(j) the state of readiness and
efficiency of the salvor's equipment and the
value thereof.
(2) Payment of a reward fixed
according to paragraph (1) shall be made by all
of the vessel and other property interests in
proportion to their respective salved values.
However, a State Party may in its national law
provide that the payment of a reward has to be
made by one of these interests, subject to a
right of recourse of this interest against the
other interests for their respective shares.
Nothing in this article shall prevent any right
of defence.
(3) The rewards, exclusive of
any interest and recoverable legal costs that may
be payable thereon, shall not exceed the salved
values of the vessel and other property.
ARTICLE 14
Special
compensation
(1) If the salvor has carried
out salvage operations in respect of a vessel
which by itself or its cargo threatened damage to
the environment and has failed to earn a reward
under article 13 at least equivalent to the
special compensation assessable in accordance
with this article, he shall be entitled to
special compensation from the owner of that
vessel equivalent to his expenses as herein
defined.
(2) If, in the circumstances
set out in paragraph (1), the salvor by his
salvage operations has prevented or minimized
damage to the environment, the special
compensation payable by the owner to the salvor
under paragraph (1) may be increased up to a
maximum of 30% of the expenses incurred by the
salvor. However, the tribunal, if it deems it
fair and just to do so and bearing in mind the
relevant criteria set out in article 13,
paragraph (1), may increase such special
compensation further, but in no event shall the
total increase be more than 100% of the expenses
incurred by the salvor.
(3) Salvor's expenses for the
purpose of paragraphs (1) and (2) means the
out-of-pocket expenses reasonably incurred by the
salvor in the salvage operation and a fair rate
for equipment and personnel actually and
reasonably used in the salvage operation, taking
into consideration the criteria set out in
article 13, paragraph 1 (h), (i) and (j).
(4) The total special
compensation under this article shall be paid
only if and to the extent that such compensation
is greater than any reward recoverable by the
salvor under article 13.
(5) If the salvor has been
negligent and has thereby failed to prevent or
minimize damage to the environment, he may be
deprived of the whole or part of any special
compensation due under this article.
(6) Nothing in this article
shall effect any right of recourse on the part of
the owner of the vessel.
ARTICLE 15
Apportionment
between salvors
(1) The apportionment of a
reward under article 13 between salvors shall be
made on the basis of the criteria contained in
that article.
(2) The apportionment between
the owner, master and other persons in the
service of each salving vessel shall be
determined by the law of the flag of that vessel.
If the salvage has not been carried out from a
vessel, the apportionment shall be determined by
the law governing the contract between the salvor
and his servants.
ARTICLE 16
Salvage of
persons
(1) No remuneration is due from
persons whose lives are saved, but nothing in
this article shall affect the provisions of
national law on this subject.
(2) A salvor of human life, who
has taken part in the services rendered on the
occasion of the accident giving rise to salvage,
is entitled to a fair share of the payment
awarded to the salvor for salving the vessel or
other property or preventing or minimizing damage
to the environment.
ARTICLE 17
Services
rendered under existing contracts
No payment is due under the
provisions of this Convention unless the services
rendered exceed what can be reasonably considered
as due performance of a contract entered into
before the danger arose.
ARTICLE 18
The effect of
salvor's misconduct
A salvor may be deprived of the
whole or part of the payment due under this
Convention to the extent that the salvage
operations have become necessary or more
difficult because of fault or neglect on his part
or if the salvor has been guilty of fraud or
other dishonest conduct.
ARTICLE 19
Prohibition
of salvage operations
Services rendered
notwithstanding the express and reasonable
prohibition of the owner or master of the vessel
or the owner of any other property in danger
which is not and has not been on board the vessel
shall not give rise to payment under this
Convention.
CHAPTER IV
CLAIMS AND
ACTIONS
ARTICLE 20
Maritime lien
(1) Nothing in this Convention
shall affect the salvor's maritime lien under any
international convention or national law.
(2) The salvor may not enforce
his maritime lien when satisfactory security for
his claim, including interest and costs, has been
duly tendered or provided.
ARTICLE 21
Duty to
provide security
(1) Upon the request of the
salvor a person liable for a payment due under
this Convention shall provide satisfactory
security for the claim, including interest and
costs of the salvor.
(2) Without prejudice to
paragraph (1), the owner of the salved vessel
shall use his best endeavours to ensure that the
owners of the cargo provide satisfactory security
for the claims against them including interest
and costs before the cargo is released.
(3) The salved vessel and other
property shall not, without the consent of the
salvor, be removed from the port or place at
which they first arrive after the completion of
the salvage operations until satisfactory
security has been put up for the salvor's claim
against the relevant vessel or property.
ARTICLE 22
Interim
payment
(1) The tribunal having
jurisdiction over the claim of the salvor may, by
interim decision, order that the salvor shall be
paid on account such amount as seems fair and
just, and on such terms including terms as to
security where appropriate, as may be fair and
just according to the circumstances of the case.
(2) In the event of an interim
payment under this article the security provided
under article 21 shall be reduced accordingly.
ARTICLE 23
Limitation of
actions
(1) Any action relating to
payment under this Convention shall be
time-barred if judicial or arbitral proceedings
have not been instituted within a period of two
years. The limitation period commences on the day
on which the salvage operations are terminated.
(2) The person against whom a
claim is made may at any time during the running
of the limitation period extend that period by a
declaration to the claimant. The period may in
the like manner be further extended.
(3) An action for indemnity by
a person liable may be instituted even after the
expiration of the limitation period provided for
in the preceding paragraphs, if brought within
the time allowed by the law of the State where
proceedings are instituted.
ARTICLE 24
Interest
The right of the salvor to
interest on any payment due under this Convention
shall be determined according to the law of the
State in which the tribunal seized of the case is
situated.
ARTICLE 25
State-owned
cargoes
Unless the State owner
consents, no provision of this Convention shall
be used as a basis for the seizure, arrest or
detention by any legal process of, nor for any
proceedings in rem against, non-commercial
cargoes owned by a State and entitled, at the
time of the salvage operations, to sovereign
immunity under generally recognized principles of
international law.
ARTICLE 26
Humanitarian
cargoes
No provision of this Convention
shall be used as a basis for the seizure, arrest
or detention of humanitarian cargoes donated by a
State, if such State has agreed to pay for
salvage services rendered in respect of such
humanitarian cargoes.
ATTACHMENT 1
COMMON
UNDERSTANDING CONCERNING ARTICLES 13 AND 14 OF
THE INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION ON SALVAGE 1989
It is the common understanding
of the Conference that, in fixing a reward under
article 13 and assessing special compensation
under article 14 of the International Convention
on Salvage, 1989 the tribunal is under no duty to
fix a reward under article 13 up to the maximum
salved value of the vessel and other property
before assessing the special compensation to be
paid under article 14.
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