Canada Shipping Act, 2001 (S.C. 2001, c. 26)

Marginal note:Search and seizure without warrant

• 220 (1) If the conditions for obtaining a warrant under section 487 of the Criminal Code exist in respect of the contravention of a relevant provision but by reason of exigent circumstances it would not be feasible to obtain one, a marine safety inspector may exercise the powers of search and seizure provided in that section without a warrant.

• Marginal note:Living quarters

  (2) A marine safety inspector may not search living quarters without a warrant unless the inspector first obtains the consent of the occupant.

• Marginal note:Additional powers

  (3) In the course of a search under subsection (1) or section 487 of the Criminal Code, a marine safety inspector has all the powers referred to in subsection 211(4) (inspections).

Analysis and Examination

Marginal note:Submission

• 221 (1) A marine safety inspector may submit to a person designated by the Minister, for analysis or examination, anything seized or any sample taken under this Part.

• Marginal note:Certificate or report

  (2) A person who has made an analysis or examination may issue a certificate or report that sets out the results of the analysis or examination.

• Marginal note:Certificate

  (3) Subject to subsections (4) and (5), the certificate or report is admissible in evidence in any proceeding related to the contravention of a relevant provision and, in the absence of any evidence to the contrary, is proof of the statements contained in the certificate or report without proof of the signature or the official character of the person appearing to have signed it.

• Marginal note:Attendance of analyst

  (4) The party against whom the certificate or report is produced may, with leave of the court, require for the purposes of cross-examination the attendance of the person who issued it.

• Marginal note:Notice

  (5) The certificate or report may be admitted in evidence only if the party who intends to produce it has given to the party against whom it is intended to be produced reasonable notice of that intention, together with a copy of the certificate or report.

Detention of Vessels

Marginal note:Optional detention

• 222 (1) If a marine safety inspector believes on reasonable grounds that a contravention of a relevant provision has been committed by or in respect of a vessel or that the vessel is not seaworthy, the inspector may make a detention order in respect of the vessel.

• Marginal note:Mandatory detention — unsafe vessels

  (2) The inspector must make a detention order if the contravention is a contravention of section 110 (too many passengers) or the inspector also believes on reasonable grounds that the vessel is unsafe, that it is unfit to carry passengers or crew members or that its machinery or equipment is defective in any way so as to expose persons on board to serious danger.

• Marginal note:Mandatory detention — foreign vessels

  (3) If an information has been laid, an indictment has been preferred or a notice of violation has been issued or an assurance of compliance has been entered into under section 229 in respect of a contravention of a relevant provision that is alleged to have been committed by or in respect of a foreign vessel, a marine safety inspector must make a detention order in respect of the vessel.

• Marginal note:Order to be in writing

  (4) A detention order made under this section must be in writing and be addressed to every person empowered to grant clearance in respect of the vessel.

• Marginal note:Detention order to be served on master

  (5) Notice of a detention order made under this section in respect of a vessel must be served on the master

  • (a) by delivering a copy of the notice personally to the master; or

  • (b) if service cannot reasonably be effected in the manner provided in paragraph (a), by leaving a copy of the notice with the person who is, or appears to be, in charge of the vessel or, if there is no such person, by fixing a copy of the notice to a prominent part of the vessel.

• Marginal note:Contents of notice

  (6) The notice must

  • (a) indicate the measures to ensure compliance with the relevant provision or to render the vessel seaworthy that must be taken for the detention order to be rescinded;

  • (b) in the case of a foreign vessel, if an information has been laid, an indictment has been preferred or a notice of violation has been issued or an assurance of compliance has been entered into under section 229 in respect of a contravention of a relevant provision, indicate the amount and form of security that, pending the outcome of any proceedings related to the information, indictment or notice, must be deposited with the Minister for the detention order to be rescinded; and

  • (c) in the case of a Canadian vessel, if an indictment has been preferred in respect of a contravention of a relevant provision, indicate the amount and form of security that, pending the outcome of any proceedings related to the indictment, must be deposited with the Minister for the detention order to be rescinded.

• Marginal note:Foreign state to be notified

  (7) If a vessel in respect of which a detention order is made under this section is registered in a foreign state, that state is to be notified that the order was made.

• Marginal note:Rescission of orders

  (8) A marine safety inspector must

  • (a) rescind a detention order made under this section if the inspector is satisfied that the measures indicated in the notice referred to in subsection (6) have been taken and, if applicable, security in the amount and form indicated in the notice referred to in that subsection has been deposited with the Minister; and

  • (b) notify, in the form and manner specified by the Minister, the master and the persons referred to in subsection (4) of the rescission.

• Marginal note:Duty of persons empowered to give clearance

  (9) No person to whom a detention order made under this section is addressed shall, after notice of the order is received by them, grant clearance to the vessel in respect of which the order was made unless they have been notified that the order has been rescinded under subsection (8).

• Marginal note:Movement of vessel prohibited

  (10) Subject to section 224, no person shall move a vessel that is subject to a detention order made under this section.

• Marginal note:Liability for expenses

  (11) The authorized representative and the owner of a vessel that is detained under this section are jointly and severally, or solidarily, liable for all expenses incurred in respect of the detained vessel.

• Marginal note:Return of security

  (12) The Minister, after proceedings in respect of which security was deposited are concluded,

  • (a) may apply the security to reimburse Her Majesty in right of Canada, either fully or partially, if any of the expenses or any fine or penalty has not been paid; and

  • (b) is to return the security, or any part of it that remains if it is applied under paragraph (a), if all expenses and any fine or penalty imposed have been paid.

Marginal note:Interference with service

223 No person shall wilfully interfere with the service of a notice of a detention order.

Marginal note:Direction to move a detained vessel

224 The Minister may

• (a) on application made by the authorized representative of a detained vessel in the form and manner specified by the Minister, permit the master to move it in accordance with the directions of the Minister;

• (b) on application made by the owner of a dock or wharf or by the person in charge of a harbour at which a detained vessel is situated in the form and manner specified by the Minister, direct the person who is, or appears to be, in charge of the vessel to move the vessel in accordance with the directions of the Minister; and

• (c) if a person to whom a direction is given under paragraph (b) does not comply with it and the Minister is satisfied that the applicant for the direction has sufficient insurance in place to cover any incident that may arise from the moving of the vessel, authorize the applicant to move the vessel in accordance with the Minister’s directions and at the expense of the authorized representative and the owner of the vessel, for which the authorized representative and the owner are jointly and severally, or solidarily, liable for the expense of moving the vessel.

Sale of Vessels

Marginal note:Distress on vessel for sums ordered to be paid

225 A court, justice of the peace or provincial court judge that orders the authorized representative of a vessel to pay any fine, crew member’s wages or other sum of money may, if payment is not made in accordance with the order, order the seizure and sale of the vessel or its machinery or equipment.

• 226 (1) [Repealed, 2019, c. 1, s. 148]

• Marginal note:Vessel may be seized and sold if fine or penalty not paid

  (2) At any time after a fine is imposed under a relevant provision against, or a certificate is registered in the Federal Court under subsection 235(2) in respect of, a vessel, its authorized representative or its owner, the Minister may, while the fine or debt remains unpaid, seize the vessel and, after giving notice to the authorized representative or owner, sell it and, by bill of sale, give the purchaser a valid title to the vessel free from any mortgage or other claim on the vessel that exists at the time of the sale.

• Marginal note:Proceeds of sale

  (3) Any surplus remaining from the proceeds of a sale is to be distributed in accordance with the regulations after satisfying the following claims in the following order:

  • (a) the cost of the seizure and sale;

  • (b) any claim for salvage in respect of the vessel;

  • (c) the claims of masters and crew members for wages;

  • (c.1) the claims of masters for disbursements made or liabilities incurred for necessaries on account of the vessel;

  • (d) the amount of any fine imposed or debt due under a relevant provision; and

  • (e) the cost of returning masters and crew members to the place where they first came on board or to another place to which they and the Minister have agreed.

• Marginal note:If proceeds insufficient

  (4) If the proceeds of sale of a vessel are insufficient to satisfy the claims described in subsection (3), the Minister may proceed for the balance owing against

  • (a) the authorized representative and the owner, jointly and severally, or solidarily, in the case of a Canadian vessel; and

  • (b) the owner, in the case of a foreign vessel.

Foreign Vessels in Contravention of International Conventions

Marginal note:Minister’s powers

• 227 (1) If the Minister has reasonable grounds to believe that a foreign vessel is in contravention of an international convention, protocol or resolution listed in Schedule 1, the Minister may

  • (a) if the vessel has not entered Canadian waters, direct the vessel not to enter Canadian waters;

  • (b) if the vessel has entered Canadian waters but is not in a port in Canada, direct the vessel to leave Canadian waters; and

  • (c) if the vessel is in a port in Canada, direct the vessel to leave Canadian waters, subject to any terms and conditions that the Minister may specify.

• Marginal note:Limitation

  (2) The Minister may not give a direction under subsection (1) if, in the Minister’s opinion, doing so would put the safety of the vessel, any person on board or the environment at imminent risk.

• Marginal note:Notification

  (3) If the Minister gives a direction under subsection (1) in respect of a vessel, the Minister must notify the state where the vessel is registered of the direction given and the reason for it.

Administrative Penalties

Interpretation

Definition of violation

228 In sections 229 to 244, violation means a contravention of a relevant provision, or a contravention of a direction given under a relevant provision, that is designated as a violation by the regulations made under this Part.