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

Marginal note:Release

34.7 If an air cushion vehicle or other property is released under paragraph 2 of Article 13 of the Convention, in any case other than one in which a fund has been constituted in a place described in paragraphs 2(a) to (d) of that Article, the person who obtained the release is deemed to have submitted to the jurisdiction of the court that ordered the release for the purpose of determining the claim.

PART 4Liability for Carriage of Passengers by Water

Interpretation

Marginal note:Definitions

35 The definitions in this section apply in this Part.

Convention

Convention means the Athens Convention relating to the Carriage of Passengers and their Luggage by Sea, 1974, concluded at Athens on December 13, 1974, as amended by the Protocol, Articles 1 to 22 of which Convention are set out in Part 1 of Schedule 2. (Convention)

Protocol

Protocol means the Protocol of 1990 to amend the Athens Convention relating to the Carriage of Passengers and their Luggage by Sea, 1974, concluded at London on March 29, 1990, Articles III and VIII of which are set out in Part 2 of Schedule 2. (Protocole)

Marginal note:Extended meaning of expressions

• 36 (1) For the purposes of this Part and Articles 1 to 22 of the Convention,

  • (a) the definition ship in Article 1 of the Convention shall be read as including any vessel, craft or air cushion vehicle designed, used or capable of being used solely or partly for navigation, whether seagoing or not, but not including a vessel propelled manually by paddles or oars; and

  • (b) in the definition contract of carriage in Article 1 of the Convention, the expression “carriage by sea” shall be read as “carriage by water”.

• Marginal note:Owners of ships

  (2) For greater certainty, in the application of the Convention under this Part, Article 19 of the Convention applies to owners of all ships, whether seagoing or not.

• Marginal note:Inconsistency

  (3) In the event of any inconsistency between this section and sections 35 and 37 to 40 of this Act and Articles 1 to 22 of the Convention, those sections prevail to the extent of the inconsistency.

Application

Marginal note:Force of law

• 37 (1) Articles 1 to 22 of the Convention have the force of law in Canada.

• Marginal note:Extended application

  (2) Articles 1 to 22 of the Convention also apply in respect of

  • (a) the carriage by water, under a contract of carriage, of passengers or of passengers and their luggage from one place in Canada to the same or another place in Canada, either directly or by way of a place outside Canada; and

  • (b) the carriage by water, otherwise than under a contract of carriage, of persons or of persons and their luggage, excluding

    • (i) 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 the ship,

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

    • (iii) a person carried on board a ship in pursuance of the obligation on the master to carry shipwrecked, distressed or other persons or by reason of any circumstances that neither the master nor the owner could have prevented, and

    • (iv) a stowaway, a trespasser or any other person who boards a ship without the consent or knowledge of the master or the owner.

Marginal note:Exception — adventure tourism activities

• 37.1 (1) This Part does not apply to an adventure tourism activity that meets the following conditions:

  • (a) it exposes participants to an aquatic environment;

  • (b) it normally requires safety equipment and procedures beyond those normally used in the carriage of passengers;

  • (c) participants are exposed to greater risks than passengers are normally exposed to in the carriage of passengers;

  • (d) its risks have been presented to the participants and they have accepted in writing to be exposed to them; and

  • (e) any condition prescribed under paragraph 39(c).

• Marginal note:Exception — persons

  (2) This Part does not apply to the carriage of a sail trainee or a person who is a member of a class of persons prescribed under paragraph 39(d).

Marginal note:State Party to the Convention

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

Regulations and Orders

Marginal note:Governor in Council

39 The Governor in Council may make regulations

• (a) respecting insurance or other financial security to be maintained in respect of classes of carriage, ships or persons to cover liability under this Part up to the maximum amount set out in it;

• (b) respecting the form and manner in which proof of insurance or other financial security is provided;

• (c) prescribing any condition for the purpose of subsection 37.1(1);

• (d) prescribing classes of persons for the purpose of subsection 37.1(2); and

• (e) generally for carrying out the purposes and provisions of this Part.

Marginal note:Amendment of limits

40 The Governor in Council may, by regulation, amend Schedule 2 to implement an amendment that is made in accordance with Article VIII of the Protocol to any of the limits of liability that are specified in paragraph 1 of Article 7 or in Article 8 of the Convention, including the deductibles referred to in that Article 8.

PART 5Liability for Carriage of Goods by Water

Interpretation

Marginal note:Definition of Hague-Visby Rules

41 In this Part, Hague-Visby Rules means the rules set out in Schedule 3 and embodied in the International Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules of Law relating to Bills of Lading, concluded at Brussels on August 25, 1924, in the Protocol concluded at Brussels on February 23, 1968, and in the additional Protocol concluded at Brussels on December 21, 1979.

Marginal note:Other statutory limitations of liability

42 Nothing in this Part affects the operation of any other Part of this Act, or section 250 of the Canada Shipping Act, 2001, or a provision of any other Act or regulation that limits the liability of owners of ships.

Hague-Visby Rules

Marginal note:Effect

• 43 (1) The Hague-Visby Rules have the force of law in Canada in respect of contracts for the carriage of goods by water between different states as described in Article X of those Rules.

• Marginal note:Extended application

  (2) The Hague-Visby Rules also apply in respect of contracts for the carriage of goods by water from one place in Canada to another place in Canada, either directly or by way of a place outside Canada, unless there is no bill of lading and the contract stipulates that those Rules do not apply.

• Meaning of Contracting State

  (3) For the purposes of this section, the expression Contracting State in Article X of the Hague-Visby Rules includes Canada and any state that, without being a Contracting State, gives the force of law to the rules embodied in the International Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules of Law relating to Bills of Lading, concluded at Brussels on August 25, 1924 and in the Protocol concluded at Brussels on February 23, 1968, regardless of whether that state gives the force of law to the additional Protocol concluded at Brussels on December 21, 1979.

• (4) [Repealed, 2023, c. 26, s. 320]

44 [Repealed, 2023, c. 26, s. 321]

45 [Repealed before coming into force, 2008, c. 20, s. 3]

Institution of Proceedings in Canada

Marginal note:Claims

• 46 (1) If a contract for the carriage of goods by water provides for the adjudication or arbitration of claims arising under the contract in a place other than Canada, a claimant may institute judicial or arbitral proceedings in a court or arbitral tribunal in Canada that would be competent to determine the claim if the contract had referred the claim to Canada, if

  • (a) the actual port of loading or discharge, or the intended port of loading or discharge under the contract, is in Canada;

  • (b) the person against whom the claim is made resides or has a place of business, branch or agency in Canada; or

  • (c) the contract was made in Canada.

• Marginal note:Agreement to designate

  (2) Notwithstanding subsection (1), the parties to a contract referred to in that subsection may, after a claim arises under the contract, designate by agreement the place where the claimant may institute judicial or arbitral proceedings.

PART 6Liability and Compensation for Pollution

DIVISION 1International Conventions

Interpretation

Marginal note:Definitions

• 47 (1) The following definitions apply in this Division.

  Bunkers Convention

  Bunkers Convention means the International Convention on Civil Liability for Bunker Oil Pollution Damage, 2001, concluded at London on March 23, 2001. (Convention sur les hydrocarbures de soute)

  Civil Liability Convention

  Civil Liability Convention means the International Convention on Civil Liability for Oil Pollution Damage, 1992, concluded at London on November 27, 1992, Article V of which was amended by the Resolution adopted by the Legal Committee of the International Maritime Organization on October 18, 2000. (Convention sur la responsabilité civile)

  discharge

  discharge, in relation to oil and bunker oil, means a discharge of oil or bunker oil that directly or indirectly results in the oil or bunker oil entering the water, and includes spilling, leaking, pumping, pouring, emitting, emptying, throwing and dumping. (rejet)

  Fund Convention

  Fund Convention means the International Convention on the Establishment of an International Fund for Compensation for Oil Pollution Damage, 1992, concluded at London on November 27, 1992, Article 4 of which was amended by the Resolution adopted by the Legal Committee of the International Maritime Organization on October 18, 2000. (Convention sur le Fonds international)

  Hazardous and Noxious Substances Convention

  Hazardous and Noxious Substances Convention means the International Convention on Liability and Compensation for Damage in Connection with the Carriage of Hazardous and Noxious Substances by Sea, 2010, concluded at London on April 30, 2010. (Convention sur les substances nocives et potentiellement dangereuses)

  HNS Fund

  HNS Fund means the International Hazardous and Noxious Substances Fund established by Article 13 of the Hazardous and Noxious Substances Convention. (Fonds SNPD)

  in bulk

  in bulk means in a hold or tank that is part of a ship’s structure, without any intermediate form of containment. (en vrac)

  International Fund

  International Fund means the International Oil Pollution Compensation Fund, 1992 established by Article 2 of the Fund Convention. (Fonds international)

  owner

  owner

  • (a) in relation to the Civil Liability Convention, has the same meaning as in Article I of that Convention;

  • (b) in relation to the Fund Convention, has the same meaning as in Article I of the Civil Liability Convention and as shipowner within the meaning of the Fund Convention;

  • (c) in relation to the Supplementary Fund Protocol, has the same meaning as in Article I of the Civil Liability Convention; and

  • (d) in relation to the Bunkers Convention, has the same meaning as the definition Shipowner in Article 1 of that Convention. (Version anglaise seulement)

  Supplementary Fund

  Supplementary Fund means the International Oil Pollution Compensation Supplementary Fund, 2003 established by Article 2 of the Supplementary Fund Protocol. (Fonds complémentaire)

  Supplementary Fund Protocol

  Supplementary Fund Protocol means the Protocol of 2003 to the International Convention on the Establishment of an International Fund for Compensation for Oil Pollution Damage, 1992, concluded at London on May 16, 2003. (Protocole portant création d’un Fonds complémentaire)

• Marginal note:Words and expressions defined

  (2) For the purposes of this Division and unless otherwise provided, words and expressions used in this Division have the same meaning as in the following applicable conventions:

  • (a) Article I of the Civil Liability Convention;

  • (b) Article 1 of the Fund Convention;

  • (c) Article 1 of the Supplementary Fund Protocol;

  • (d) Article 1 of the Bunkers Convention; and

  • (e) Article 1 of the Hazardous and Noxious Substances Convention.

• Marginal note:Inconsistency

  (3) In the event of an inconsistency between this section and sections 48 to 74.4 and 79 to 90 and the Civil Liability Convention, the Fund Convention, the Supplementary Fund Protocol, the Bunkers Convention or the Hazardous and Noxious Substances Convention, those sections prevail to the extent of the inconsistency.