Marine Liability Act

Marginal note:Liability for pollution and related costs

• 77 (1) The owner of a ship is liable

  • (a) for oil pollution damage from the ship, including economic loss in relation to the exercise of fishing, hunting, trapping or harvesting rights recognized and affirmed by section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982 suffered by an Indigenous group, community or people that holds those rights or suffered by a member of such a group, community or people;

  • (b) for the costs and expenses incurred by the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, a response organization within the meaning of section 165 of the Canada Shipping Act, 2001 or any other person in Canada in respect of measures taken to prevent, repair, remedy or minimize oil pollution damage from the ship, including measures taken in anticipation of a discharge of oil from it, to the extent that the measures taken and the costs and expenses are reasonable, and for any loss or damage caused by those measures; and

  • (c) in relation to pollutants, for the costs and expenses incurred by

    • (i) the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans in respect of measures taken under paragraph 180(1)(a) of the Canada Shipping Act, 2001, in respect of any monitoring under paragraph 180(1)(b) of that Act or in relation to any direction given under paragraph 180(1)(c) of that Act to the extent that the measures taken and the costs and expenses are reasonable, and for any loss or damage caused by those measures, or

    • (ii) any other person in respect of the measures that they were directed to take or refrain from taking under paragraph 180(1)(c) of the Canada Shipping Act, 2001 to the extent that the measures taken and the costs and expenses are reasonable, and for any loss or damage caused by those measures.

• Marginal note:Liability — grave and imminent threat of pollution damage

  (1.1) For the purposes of subsection (1), with respect to the costs and expenses incurred by the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans or any other person, including in respect of preventive measures referred to in paragraph (1)(c), the owner of a ship is liable only for the costs and expenses related to an occurrence — or series of occurrences having the same origin — that causes pollution damage or creates a grave and imminent threat of causing such damage.

• Marginal note:Words and expressions defined

  (1.2) For the purposes of subsection (1.1), words and expressions used in that subsection that are not defined have the same meaning as in the Civil Liability Convention as defined in subsection 47(1).

• Marginal note:Liability for environmental damage

  (2) If oil pollution damage from a ship results in impairment to the environment, the owner of the ship is liable for the costs of reasonable measures of reinstatement undertaken or to be undertaken.

• Marginal note:Strict liability subject to certain defences

  (3) The owner’s liability under subsections (1) and (2) does not depend on proof of fault or negligence, but the owner is not liable under those subsections if they establish that the occurrence

  • (a) resulted from an act of war, hostilities, civil war or insurrection or from a natural phenomenon of an exceptional, inevitable and irresistible character;

  • (b) was wholly caused by an act or omission of a third party with intent to cause damage; or

  • (c) was wholly caused by the negligence or other wrongful act of any government or other authority that is responsible for the maintenance of lights or other navigational aids, in the exercise of that function.

• Marginal note:Owner’s rights against third parties

  (4) Nothing in this Division shall be construed as limiting or restricting any right of recourse that the owner of a ship who is liable under subsection (1) may have against another person.

• Marginal note:Owner’s own claim for costs and expenses

  (5) The costs and expenses incurred by the owner of a ship in respect of measures voluntarily taken by them to prevent, repair, remedy or minimize oil pollution damage from the ship, including measures taken in anticipation of a discharge of oil from it, to the extent that the measures taken and the costs and expenses are reasonable, rank equally with other claims against any security given by that owner in respect of their liability under this section.

• Marginal note:Limitation period

  (6) No action lies in respect of a matter referred to in subsection (1) unless it is commenced

  • (a) if pollution damage occurs, within the earlier of

    • (i) three years after the day on which the pollution damage occurs, and

    • (ii) six years after the occurrence that causes the pollution damage or, if the pollution damage is caused by more than one occurrence having the same origin, six years after the first of the occurrences; or

  • (b) if no pollution damage occurs, within six years after the occurrence.