83Authorised officer to give notice of damage

83 Authorised officer to give notice of damage (1) If: (a) an authorised officer damages anything in the exercise of a power under this Act; or

Marine Pollution Act 1999 53 (b) a person who is authorised by an authorised officer to take action under this Act damages anything in taking the action, the authorised officer must promptly give written notice of the particulars of the damage. (2) The notice must be given: (a) if the object is a ship or is on a ship – to the ship's master; or (b) in any other case – to the person who appears to the authorised officer to be the object's owner. (3) If the authorised officer believes the damage was caused by a latent defect in the object or other circumstances beyond the officer's control, the officer may state this in the notice. (4) If, for any reason, it is not practicable to comply with subsection (2), the authorised officer must: (a) leave the notice at the place where the damage happened; and (b) ensure the notice is left in a reasonably secured way in a conspicuous position. (5) This section does not apply to damage the authorised officer believes, on reasonable grounds, is trivial.