24Authorised officer may exercise certain powers in relation to vessels with consent of person in charge

24 Authorised officer may exercise certain powers in relation to vessels with consent of person in charge

(1) If an authorised officer has reasonable grounds to believe: (a) that a vessel is being used for the transportation of fuel between places within Australia; or (b) that a vessel is capable of carrying more than 1,000 litres of fuel; the authorised officer may: (c) stop the vessel; and (d) with the consent of the person in charge, or apparently in charge, of the vessel—board the vessel and exercise all or any of the preliminary audit powers set out in section 26. (2) An authorised officer may not continue to detain a vessel, or remain on board a vessel, if the person apparently in charge of the vessel requests the officer to discontinue the exercise of his or her powers.