137CPowers of authorized persons

137C Powers of authorized persons (1) Subject to subsection (3), an authorized person may: (a) board a vessel that the authorized person has reasonable grounds to believe has been used, is being used or is about to be used, in contravention of section 137B; (b) where, under paragraph (a), he has boarded a vessel: (i) require a person on board the vessel to answer questions relating to the vessel or to the movements of the vessel; (ii) require the master of the vessel to state whether there is in force in respect of the vessel a consent under section 137B(1) and, if so, to produce the consent; (iii) if the vessel is registered under the Shipping Registration Act 1981 of the Commonwealth – require the master of the vessel to produce the certificate of registration of the vessel; or (iv) search the vessel for documents relating to the vessel or movements of the vessel; (c) require the master of a vessel, being a vessel that is in a safety zone and that is not an exempt vessel in relation to the safety zone, to take the vessel outside the safety zone; (d) require the master of a disabled vessel that is in a safety zone to permit the vessel to be towed away from the safety zone or to accept the giving of such other assistance to the vessel as the authorized person considers necessary; or (e) detain a vessel that the authorized person has reasonable grounds to believe has been used in contravention of section 137B. (2) A person who: (a) fails to facilitate, by all reasonable means, the boarding under subsection (1)(a) of a vessel by an authorized person; (b) refuses to allow a search to be made under subsection (1)(b)(iv) by an authorized person;

Petroleum (Submerged Lands) Act 1981 137 (c) refuses or neglects to comply with a requirement made under subsection (1) by an authorized person; (d) where, under subsection (1), an authorized person requires the person to give information, gives information that is, to the knowledge of the person, false or misleading in a material particular; or (e) resists or obstructs an authorized person who is acting in pursuance of subsection (1), is guilty of an offence. (3) The powers, under subsection (1)(a), (b) and (e), of an authorized person in relation to a vessel shall not be exercised except: (a) in pursuance of a warrant issued under section 137D; (b) after obtaining the consent of the master of the vessel; or (c) in circumstances of seriousness and urgency, under section 137E.