ACT No. 11 of 1980 AN ACT to regulate the carriage of goods by Sea to a n d from Malta.

I assent.

(L.S.)

ANTON BUTTIGIEG

President

29th January,

ACT No. 11 of 1980

AN ACT to regulate the carriage of goods by Sea to a n d from Malta.

BE IT ENACTED by the President, by and with the advice and

consent of the House of Representatives, in this presen t Parliament

assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:-

l. This Act may be cited as the Carriage of Goods by Sea (Re­

gulation) Act, 1980.

Dan l-Att jista' jissejjaħ l-Att ta'

ta' Merkanzija bil-Baħar.

In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires -

"goods" inc1udes goods of any description;

"Minister" means the Minister responsible for ports and,

to the extent of the authority given, includes any person author­

ised by the said Minister in that behalf;

"port" means any place where goods are loaded or unload­

ed on or from a ship;

"shipping line" includes a liner conference.

(1) Where in respect of the carriage of goods by sea to or

carriage of goods

from Malta from or to a port in any other country the Minister has,

by order in the Gazette, provided that no such carriage of goods as

aforesaid shaH take place except with his permission, no goods car­

ried or intended to be carried by sea to or from Malta from or to a

port in any country to which an order as aforesaid applies shaH be

loaded or unloaded in Malta unless such loading or unloading is

permitted by the Minister and except in accordance with the Minis­

ter's permission and any conditions or other provisions contained

therein.

(2) Where in respect of the carriage of goods by sea to or

from Malta from or to a port in any other country there is in force

an agreement for the sharing of such cargo between shipping lines,

and such agreement has been approved by the Minister for the pur­

poses of this Act, such approval, and any conditions or other pro-

visions thereof shaH have the effect of a permission granted under

subsection (1) of this section and, subject to any conditions or other

provisions of the Minister's approval, the provisions of the agree­

ment shaH have the same effect as if they were provisions of the

Minister's permission.

(3) The Minister's permission or approval under either of

the foregoing subsections of this section may be given by such means

and in such manner or form as the Minister may deem appropriate,

and may be general, specific or applicable to a class or classes of

cases.

Where the Minister has given a permission under subsection

(1) of section 3 of this Act or has approved an agreement under sub­

section (2) of that section, he. shaH, by notice in the Gazette, or in

the order or regulation containing that permission or approval or

providing therefor, give such information about the permission or

the agreement, including the countries, ships and shipping lines af­

fected thereby, as may be appropriate in the circumstances.

A declaration under the hand of the Minister stating that

goods may or may not be loaded or unloaded in Malta on or from a

specified ship, Of a ship of a specified shipping line, shaH be conclu­

sive evidence of its contents.

The Director of Ports shaH have power to refuse entry into

or departure from any port in Malta if he has reasonable ground to

believe that a provision of this Act has been or is likely to be con­

travened in respect of that ship or its cargo.

The Minister may make regulations for carrying into effect

the provisions of this Act and, without prejudice to the generality of

the foregoing, for -

(a)

exempting any goods from any of the provisions of this

Act,

(b) providing for any matter incidental or supplementary

to the provisions of this Act.

A person who contravenes any of the provisions of section

3 of this Act or of any order or regulation made under this Act shaH

be guiIty of an offence and shaH for each offence be liable on con­

viction to a fine (multa) of not less than fifty pounds and not exceed­

ing five thousand pounds; and any goods loaded or unloaded in con­

travention of any of those provisions shaH be forfeited to the Go­

vernment.

Passed by the House of Representatives at Sitting No. 349 of the 28th January

l�Q

C.AGWS

Speaker

C. MJFSUD

Clerk to the House of Representatives

- Published by the Department 01 Information

ta'

l-Informazzjoni

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