Federal Government Introduces Two New Maritime Bills into Parliament
Monday 2 March 2015 @ 2.57 p.m. | Legal Research
Last week (26 February 2015), the Federal Government introduced two new bills into the House of Representatives, the Limitation of Liability for Maritime Claims Amendment Bill 2015 and the Seafarers Rehabilitation and Compensation and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2015.
Limitation of Liability for Maritime Claims Amendment Bill 2015
This Bill is designed to implement amendments to the Protocol of 1996 to the Convention on Limitation of Liability for Maritime Claims, 1976, which Australia has signed and implemented through the Limitation of Liability for Maritime Claims Act 1989 (Cth). The amendments will increase the liability limits currently under the Protocol.
In his second reading speech, Mr Warren Truss (Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Infrastructure and Regional Development) told the House of Representatives:
“Australia was the leading advocate of increasing the liability limits under the 1996 LLMC Protocol. A proposal to increase the limits was brought forward at the IMO by Australia following the Pacific Adventurer incident off the Queensland coast on 11 March 2009, which involved a bunker oil spill. The costs for cleaning up the spill were estimated at $34 million. However, under the 1996 LLMC Protocol (and therefore under the LLMC Act) the shipowner was legally entitled to limit its liability to approximately $17.5 million.”
The liability limits in the Protocol are expressed in terms of units of account which are based on the Special Drawing Rights of the International Monetary Fund. However, according to figures in the Explanatory Memorandum, the liability limit for a medium sized vessel in respect of claims for loss of life or personal injury will increase by approximately $33,600,00 in Australian dollars, and any other claims by approximately $16,800,000.
If passed, the new amendments will commence on the later of assent or 8 June 2015
Seafarers Rehabilitation and Compensation and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2015
This bill contains amendments in response to the Full Federal Court decision in Samson Maritime Pty Ltd v Aucote [2014] FCAFC 182. It is intended to “clarify the coverage” of the Seafarers Rehabilitation and Compensation Act 1992 (Cth) (“the Seafarers Act”) and the Occupational Health and Safety (Maritime Industry) Act 1993 (Cth) (“the OHS(MI) Act”).
In his second reading speech, Mr Luke Hartsuyker (Deputy Leader of the House and Assistant Minister for Employment) said that the case law:
“interpreted the coverage of the seafarers act as being beyond what it had widely been understood to be by including within its scope intrastate trade or commerce. The decisions also have potential implications for the OHS(MI) act, since it has near identical coverage provisions to the seafarers act...
This bill amends the coverage provisions of both the seafarers act and the OHS (MI) act to ensure that coverage aligns with how the Seacare scheme had been understood to apply. The amendments will clearly provide that the seafarers act and the OHS (MI) act do not apply to ships engaged in purely intra-state trade or commerce. This will provide ongoing clarity and certainty for maritime regulators, employers and employees on the coverage of the Seacare scheme.”
If passed, the provisions will operate retrospectively, from the commencement of Part 2 of the Seafarers Act (24 June 1993) and the commencement of section 6 of the OHS(MI) Act (18 July 1994).
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Sources:
Limitation of Liability for Maritime Claims Amendment Bill 2015 (Cth), Explanatory Memorandum and Second Reading Speech - available from the TimeBase LawOne Service
Seafarers Rehabilitation and Compensation and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2015 (Cth), Explanatory Memorandum and Second Reading Speech - available from the TimeBase LawOne Service
