11FTransfer of oil cargo between oil tankers in Australian waters—notification of transfer

11F Transfer of oil cargo between oil tankers in Australian waters—notification of transfer

Main offence (1) A person commits an offence if: (a) the person is the master of an oil tanker (the subject oil tanker); and (b) the subject oil tanker has a gross tonnage of 150 or more; and (c) the subject oil tanker is engaged in the transfer of oil cargo with another oil tanker that has a gross tonnage of 150 or more; and (d) one of the following subparagraphs applies: (i) the transfer occurs while the subject oil tanker is in the sea near a State, the Jervis Bay Territory or an external Territory and there is no law of that State or Territory that makes provision giving effect to Regulation 42 of Annex I to the Convention in relation to the area of the sea where the transfer occurs; (ia) the transfer occurs while the subject oil tanker is in the outer territorial sea; (ii) the transfer occurs while the subject oil tanker is in the exclusive economic zone; and (e) if the ship‑to‑ship transfer information was available to the person at least 48 hours before the transfer began—either or both of the following subparagraphs apply: (i) the person did not notify a prescribed officer, in the manner prescribed by the regulations, of the transfer at least 48 hours before the transfer began; (ii) the person did not notify a prescribed officer, in the manner prescribed by the regulations, of that information at least 48 hours before the transfer began; and (f) if the ship‑to‑ship transfer information was not available to the person at least 48 hours before the transfer began—either or both of the following subparagraphs apply: (i) the person did not notify a prescribed officer, in the manner prescribed by the regulations, of the transfer at least 48 hours before the transfer began; (ii) the person did not notify a prescribed officer, in the manner prescribed by the regulations, of that information before the transfer began.

Penalty: 200 penalty units.

Offence—failure to notify change of arrival time (2) A person commits an offence if: (a) the person is the master of an oil tanker (the subject oil tanker); and (b) the subject oil tanker has a gross tonnage of 150 or more; and (c) the subject oil tanker is engaged in the transfer of oil cargo with another oil tanker that has a gross tonnage of 150 or more; and (d) one of the following subparagraphs applies: (i) the transfer occurs while the subject oil tanker is in the sea near a State, the Jervis Bay Territory or an external Territory and there is no law of that State or Territory that makes provision giving effect to Regulation 42 of Annex I to the Convention in relation to the area of the sea where the transfer occurs; (ia) the transfer occurs while the subject oil tanker is in the outer territorial sea; (ii) the transfer occurs while the subject oil tanker is in the exclusive economic zone; and (e) the person notified a prescribed officer, in the manner prescribed by the regulations, of the transfer, and of the ship‑to‑ship transfer information, at least 48 hours before the transfer began; and (f) after the notification referred to in paragraph (e), the estimated time of arrival of the subject oil tanker at the location for the transfer changed by more than 6 hours; and (g) the person did not notify a prescribed officer, in the manner prescribed by the regulations, of the new estimated time of arrival within 2 hours of the person becoming aware of the new estimated time of arrival.

Penalty: 60 penalty units.

Ship‑to‑ship transfer information (3) For the purposes of this section, ship‑to‑ship transfer information is information prescribed by the regulations for the purposes of this subsection. Strict liability offence (4) An offence against subsection (2) is an offence of strict liability.

Note: For strict liability, see section 6.1 of the Criminal Code.

Exception (5) Subsection (1) or (2) does not apply if the transfer is described in paragraph 2, 3, 4 or 5 of Regulation 40 of Annex I to the Convention.

Note: A defendant bears an evidential burden in relation to the matter in subsection (5): see subsection 13.3(3) of the Criminal Code.