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Port of Singapore Authority (Amendment) Bill

Bill No. 57/1970

Read the first time on 30th December 1970.

An Act to amend the Port of Singapore Authority Ordinance, 1963 (No. 36 of 1963).

Be it enacted by the President with the advice and consent of the Parliament of Singapore, as follows: —

Short title and commencement

1. This Act may be cited as the Port of Singapore Authority (Amendment) Act, 1970, and shall come into operation on such date as the Minister may, by notification in the Gazette, appoint.

Repeal and re-enactment of section 58

2. Section 58 of the Port of Singapore Authority Ordinance, 1963 (hereinafter in this Act referred to as “the Ordinance”) is hereby repealed and the following substituted therefore: —

“Power to sell goods remaining in custody

58.—(1) Without prejudice to the provisions of section 57 of this Ordinance, if any goods which have been placed in or on the premises of the Authority, other than goods accepted for storage by the Authority under section 96 of this Ordinance, are not removed therefrom within twenty-one days or, in the case of goods for which a through bill of lading has been issued from the time when the goods were placed in or on such premises within forty-two days, the Authority may, at the expiration of the said period of twenty-one days or forty-two days, as the case may be, dispose of all or any such goods in such manner as it thinks fit:

Provided that if the goods are of a perishable nature the Authority may direct their removal within such shorter period, not being less than twenty-four hours after the landing thereof as the Authority thinks fit, and if not removed, the Authority may dispose of such goods in such manner as it thinks fit.

(2) The proceeds of sale shall be applied by the Authority in the following manner: —

(a)	firstly, in payment of any duty payable to the Government;
(b)	secondly, in payment of the expenses of the sale;
(c)	thirdly, in payment of the rates, charges and expenses due to the Authority in respect of the goods; and
(d)	fourthly, in payment of freight and other claims or liens of which notice under the Merchant Shipping Ordinance (Cap. 207) has been given,

and by rendering the surplus, if any, to the person entitled thereto on demand, and, in case no such demand is made within one year from the date of the sale of the goods, by paying the surplus to the account of the Authority, whereupon all rights to the same by such person shall be extinguished.”.

Amendment of section 62

3. Section 62 of the Ordinance is hereby amended —

(a)

by deleting the word “and” appearing at the end of paragraph (o) of subsection (1) thereof;

(b)

by deleting the full-stop appearing at the end of paragraph (p) of subsection (1) thereof and substituting therefor a semi-colon;

(c)

by inserting immediately thereafter the following new paragraphs: —

“(q)	regulating the towage of or other assistance to vessels and the terms and conditions of such towage or assistance;
(r)	prescribing the terms and conditions for the sale and supply of water in the port and prohibiting such sale and supply except through the Authority or by agreement with the Authority;
(s)	regulating and controlling the use of harbour craft and providing for the licensing thereof; and
(t)	excluding or limiting the liability of the Authority in respect of anything done pursuant to any regulations made under this Ordinance.”; and

(d)

by deleting the words “two thousand” and “five hundred” appearing in subsection (4) thereof and substituting therefor the words “five thousand” and “one thousand” respectively.

New Part VIIIA

4. The Ordinance is hereby amended by inserting immediately after section 70 thereof the following new Part: —

“PART VIIIA

REMOVAL OF VESSELS SUNK AND OTHER OBSTRUCTIONS

Power to raise and remove vessel or aircraft sunk

70A.—(1) If in the opinion of the Authority any vessel or aircraft sunk, stranded or abandoned in the port or in any approach to the port or near any such approach is, or is likely to become, an obstruction, impediment or danger to navigation or to the safe and convenient use or operation of the port, the Authority may —

(a)	take possession of and raise, remove or destroy the whole or any part of such vessel or aircraft;
(b)	light, mark or buoy such vessel or aircraft until the raising, removal or destruction thereof; and
(c)	sell, in such manner as it thinks fit, any such vessel or aircraft together with its cargo or anything else associated with it and out of the proceeds of sale reimburse itself for the whole of the expenses incurred by it in the exercise of its powers under this section, and shall on demand pay the surplus, if any, of the proceeds of such sale to the owner.

(2) If the proceeds of sale under subsection (1) of this section are insufficient to reimburse the Authority for the whole expenses incurred by it, the Authority may recover the balance from the owner of the vessel or aircraft as a debt in any court of competent jurisdiction.

(3) For the purposes of this section “owner” includes not only the owner of the vessel or aircraft at the time of the sinking, stranding or abandonment thereof but also any purchaser of any such vessel or aircraft so long as the same remains sunk, stranded or abandoned.

Removal of obstructions other than vessels or aircraft

70B.—(1) The Authority may take possession of and remove or destroy anything (other than a vessel or aircraft) causing or likely to become an obstruction, impediment or danger in any part of the port or any approach to the port.

(2) The Authority may, at such time and in such manner as it thinks fit, dispose of anything removed by it under this section and apply the proceeds of sale towards payment of the expenses incurred by it under this section and any surplus shall be paid to any person who, within three months from the date the thing was removed by the Authority, proves to the reasonable satisfaction of the Authority that he was the owner thereof.

(3) If anything removed under this section is unsaleable or is sold by the Authority and the proceeds of sale are insufficient to reimburse the Authority for the expenses incurred by it, the Authority may recover as a debt in any court of competent jurisdiction the deficiency or the whole of the expenses, as the case may be, from the owner of the thing removed by the Authority.

(4) The provisions of this section shall not affect the application of section 65 of this Ordinance in respect of obstructions which have been lawfully made or have become lawful.”.

Amendment of section 75

5. Section 75 of the Ordinance is hereby amended by deleting the words “who are not employees of the Government or of the Authority” appearing in subsection (6) thereof.

Amendment of section 86

6. Section 86 of the Ordinance is hereby amended —

(a)

by renumbering the existing section as subsection (1);

(b)

by inserting immediately thereafter the following new subsection: —

“(2) This section shall be without prejudice to any limitation of liability for loss or damage which may be available to the Authority under section 340 of the Merchant Shipping Ordinance (Cap. 207).”.

Repeal and re-enactment of section 88

7. Section 88 of the Ordinance is hereby repealed and the following substituted therefor: —

“Loss or destruction of or damage to goods other than transhipment goods and goods accepted for storage

88.—(1) Neither the Authority nor any person duly authorised by it shall be liable —

(a)

for any loss caused to any person by reason of misdelivery, short delivery or non-delivery of any goods deposited with or placed in the custody or control of the Authority, other than transhipment goods and goods accepted for storage by the Authority under section 96 of this Ordinance;

(b)

for damage to or destruction of such goods as have been duly acknowledged by the Authority to be in its custody in the sum of more than two thousand dollars per package or unit unless the nature and value of the goods contained therein have, prior to delivery to the Authority, been declared in writing to the Authority by the person delivering or causing the same to be delivered, and the Authority shall not in any event be liable therefor where the value of any such goods has been mis-stated.

(2) For the purposes of this section and of section 90 of this Ordinance, “transhipment goods” means goods landed from a vessel and placed in the custody of the Authority for the purposes of shipment on another vessel on a through bill of lading dated at the port of loading of such goods and showing that the destination is via Singapore, with the ultimate port of destination marked on each package or unit containing such goods and declared on a transhipment manifest lodged with the Authority prior to or at the time such goods are placed in its custody.”.

Amendment of section 91

8. Section 91 of the Ordinance is hereby amended by deleting the expression “paragraph (b) of subsection (2) of” appearing in the first line thereof.

New sections 95A and 95B

9. The Ordinance is hereby amended by inserting immediately after section 95 thereof the following new sections: —

“Cargo subject to general or particular average

95A.—(1) The owner or master of any vessel discharging or intending to discharge any cargo which is the subject or likely to be the subject of a declaration of general or particular average into the premises of the Authority shall inform the Authority of the existence or likelihood of such declaration and of the particulars of the cargo affected or likely to be affected thereby prior to the commencement of such discharge.

(2) The Authority shall be exempt from all liability in respect of the discharge, reception, storage or removal of any cargo referred to in subsection (1) of this section.

Authority not responsible for acts of stevedores or workmen

95B. Any stevedore or workman whilst engaged in performing work in or in respect of any vessel shall, notwithstanding that his wage or remuneration for performing the said work is paid by the Authority, be deemed to be the servant of the owner and master of such vessel and the Authority shall be exempt from all liability for any loss or damage caused by any act, omission or default of such stevedore or workman.”.

Amendment of section 105

10. Section 105 of the Ordinance is hereby amended by inserting immediately after the word “master” appearing in the first line thereof the expression “, owner or agent”.

Repeal and re-enactment of section 119

11. Section 119 of the Ordinance is hereby repealed and the following substituted therefore: —

“Powers of arrest

119. A police officer, or any employee of the Authority generally or specially authorised in writing by the General Manager, may arrest without warrant any person found committing or whom he has reason to believe has committed an offence punishable under this Ordinance or any regulations made thereunder:

Provided that no person so arrested shall be detained longer than is necessary for bringing him before a court unless the order of court for his continued detention is obtained.”.

Amendment of Second Schedule

12. The Second Schedule to the Ordinance is hereby amended by inserting immediately after paragraph 17 thereof the following new paragraph: —

“18. To own and operate vessels for the purpose of providing any of the services which the Authority is required or empowered to provide.”.