Marine Liability Act (S.C. 2001, c. 6)

Marginal note:Extended meaning of expressions

• 25. (1) For the purposes of this Part and Articles 1 to 15 of the Convention,

  • (a) “ship” means any vessel or craft designed, used or capable of being used solely or partly for navigation, without regard to method or lack of propulsion, and includes

    • (i) a ship in the process of construction from the time that it is capable of floating, and

    • (ii) a ship that has been stranded, wrecked or sunk and any part of a ship that has broken up,

    but does not include an air cushion vehicle or a floating platform constructed for the purpose of exploring or exploiting the natural resources or the subsoil of the sea-bed;

  • (b) the definition “shipowner” in paragraph 2 of Article 1 of the Convention shall be read without reference to the word “seagoing” and as including any person who has an interest in or possession of a ship from and including its launching; and

  • (c) the expression “carriage by sea” in paragraph 1(b) of Article 2 of the Convention shall be read as “carriage by water”.

• Marginal note:Inconsistency

  (2) In the event of any inconsistency between sections 28 to 34 of this Act and Articles 1 to 15 of the Convention, those sections prevail to the extent of the inconsistency.

Marginal note:Force of law

26. Subject to the other provisions of this Part, Articles 1 to 15 of the Convention have the force of law in Canada.

Marginal note:State Party to the Convention

27. For purposes of the application of the Convention, Canada is a State Party to the Convention.

Marginal note:Liability for ships under 300 tons

• 28. (1) The maximum liability for maritime claims that arise on any distinct occasion involving a ship with a gross tonnage of less than 300 tons, other than claims mentioned in section 29, is

  • (a) $1,000,000 in respect of claims for loss of life or personal injury; and

  • (b) $500,000 in respect of any other claims.

• Marginal note:Calculation of tonnage

  (2) For the purposes of subsection (1), a ship’s gross tonnage shall be calculated in accordance with the tonnage measurement rules contained in Annex I of the International Convention on Tonnage Measurement of Ships, 1969, concluded at London on June 23, 1969, including any amendments, whenever made, to the Annexes or Appendix to that Convention.

Marginal note:Passenger claims, no certificate

• 29. (1) The maximum liability for maritime claims that arise on any distinct occasion for loss of life or personal injury to passengers of a ship for which no certificate is required under Part V of the Canada Shipping Act is the greater of

  • (a) 2,000,000 units of account; and

  • (b) the number of units of account calculated by multiplying 175,000 units of account by the number of passengers on board the ship.

• Marginal note:Passenger claims, no contract of carriage

  (2) Notwithstanding Article 6 of the Convention, the maximum liability for maritime claims that arise on any distinct occasion for loss of life or personal injury to persons carried on a ship otherwise than under a contract of passenger carriage is the greater of

  • (a) 2,000,000 units of account, and

  • (b) 175,000 units of account multiplied by

    • (i) the number of passengers that the ship is authorized to carry according to its certificate under Part V of the Canada Shipping Act, or

    • (ii) if no certificate is required under that Part, the number of persons on board the ship.

• Marginal note:Exception

  (3) Subsection (2) does not apply in respect of

  • (a) the master of a ship, a member of a ship’s crew or any other person employed or engaged in any capacity on board a ship on the business of a ship; or

  • (b) a person carried on board a ship other than a ship operated for a commercial or public purpose.

• Definition of “passenger”

  (4) In subsection (1), “passenger” means a person carried on a ship in circumstances described in paragraph 2(a) or (b) of Article 7 of the Convention.

• Definition of “unit of account”

  (5) In subsections (1) and (2), “unit of account” means a special drawing right issued by the International Monetary Fund.