Public Law 89-551 89th Congress, H.R. 8760 September 1, 1966 AN ACT To amend the provisions of the Oil Pollution Act, 1961, (33 U.S.C. 1001-1015), to implement the provisions of the International Convention for the Prevention of the Pollution of the Sea by Oil, 1954, as amended, and for other purposes Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the "Oil Pollution Act, 1961" approved August 30, 1961 (33 U.S.C. 1001-1015), is amended as follows: ol Pollution Act, 1961, 75 Stat. 402. amendments. (1) Section 1 is amended by inserting after the title "International Convention for the Prevention of the Pollution of the Sea by Oil, 1954" the phrase "as amended," 12 UST 2989. and by changing the designation of the Act from "Oil Pollution Act, 1961" to "Oil Pollution Act, 1961, as amended,". (2) Section 2 (33 U.S.C. 1001) is amended (A) in subsection (a) by changing the semicolon to a comma at the end thereof and by adding "as amended;"; (B) in subsection (c) by changing the reference at the end thereof from "D. 158/53;" to "D. 86/59;"; (C) by amending subsection (e) to read as follows: "(e) The term 'oil' means crude oil, fuel oil, heavy Definitions. diesel oil, and lubricating oil, and 'oily' shall be construed accordingly. An 'oily mixture' means a mixture with an oil content of one hundred parts or more in one million parts of mixture." (D) by amending subsection (i) to read as follows: "(i) The term 'ship', subject to the exceptions provided in paragraph (1) of this subsection, means any seagoing vessel of any type whatsoever of American registry or nationality, including floating craft, whether self-propelled or towed by another vessel making a sea voyage; and 'tanker', as a type included within the term 'ship,' means a ship in which the greater part of the cargo 80 Stat. 372. space is constructed or adapted for the carriage of liquid cargoes in bulk and which is not, for the time being, carrying a cargo other than oil in that part of its cargo space. 80 Stat. 373. excepted. "(1) The following categories of vessels are excepted Vessels from all provisions of the Act: "From the nearest land." 15 UST 1606. Discharge of oil, prohibitions. Special circumstances. Exceptions. "(i) tankers of under one hundred and fifty tons gross tonnage, and other ships of under five hundred tons gross tonnage. "(ii) ships for the time being engaged in the whaling industry when actually employed on whaling operations. 66 "(iii) ships for the time being navigating the Great Lakes of North America and their connecting and tributary waters as far east as the lower exit of Saint Lambert lock at Montreal in the Province of Quebec, Canada. "(iv) naval ships and ships for the time being used as naval auxiliaries." (E) by adding a new subsection (j) reading as follows: "(j) The term 'from the nearest land' means from the baseline from which the territorial sea of the territory in question is established in accordance with the Geneva Convention on the Territorial Sea and the Contiguous Zone, 1958." (3) Section 3 (33 U.S.C. 1002) is amended to read as follows: "SEC. 3. Subject to the provisions of sections 4 and 5, it shall be unlawful for any person to discharge oil or oily mixture from: "(a) a tanker within any of the prohibited zones. "(b) a ship, other than a tanker, within any of the prohibited zones, except when the ship is proceeding to a port not provided with facilities adequate for the reception, without causing undue delay, it may discharge such residues and oily mixture as would remain for disposal if the bulk of the water had been separated from the mixture: Provided, such discharge is made as far as practicable from land. "(c) a ship of twenty thousand tons gross tonnage or more, including a tanker, for which the building contract is placed on or after the effective date of this Act. However, if in the opinion of the master, special circumstances make it neither reasonable nor practicable to retain the oil or oily mixture on board, it may be discharged outside the prohibited zones. The reasons for such discharge shall be reported in accordance with the regulations prescribed by the Secretary." (4) Section 4 (33 U.S.C. 1003) is amended to read as follows: "SEC. 4. Section 3 shall not apply to "(a) the discharge of oil or oily mixture from a ship for the purpose of securing the safety of a ship, preventing damage to a ship or cargo, or saving life at sea; or "(b) the escape of oil, or of oily mixture, resulting from damage to a ship or unavoidable leakage, if all reasonable precautions have been taken after the escape; 80 Stat. 374. (c) the discharge of residue arising from the 80 Stat. 373. purification or clarification of fuel oil or lubricating oil: Provided, That such discharge is made as far from land as practicable." (5) Section 5 (33 U.S.C. 1004) is amended to read as follows: "SEC. 5. Section 3 shall not apply to the discharge from the bilges of a ship of an oily mixture containing no oil other than lubricating oil which has drained or leaked from machinery spaces. 99 (6) Section 9 (33 U.S.C. 1008) is amended to read as follows: Olly mix tures from bilges. books. "SEC. 9. (a) The Secretary shall have printed separate Oll record oil record books, containing instructions and spaces for inserting information in the form prescribed by the Convention, which shall be published in regulations prescribed by the Secretary. "(b) If subject to this Act, every ship using oil fuel and every tanker shall be provided, without charge, an oil record book which shall be carried on board. The provisions of section 140 of title 5, United States Code, shall 65 Stat. 290. not apply. The ownership of the booklet shall remain in the United States Government. This book shall be available for inspection as provided in this Act and for surrender to the United States Government pursuant to regulations of the Secretary. (c) The oil record book shall be completed on each occasion, whenever any of the following operations takes place in the ship: "(1) ballasting of and discharge of ballast from cargo tanks of tankers; "(2) cleaning of cargo tanks of tankers; "(3) settling in slop tanks and discharge of water from tankers; "(4) disposal from tankers of oily residues from slop tanks or other sources; (5) ballasting, or cleaning during voyage, of bunker fuel tanks of ships other than tankers; "(6) disposal from ships other than tankers of oily residues from bunker fuel tanks or other sources; "(7) accidental or other exceptional discharges or escapes of oil from tankers or ships other than tankers. "In the event of such discharge or escape of oil or oily mixture, as is referred to in subsection 3 (c) and section 4 of this Act, a statement shall be made in the oil record book of the circumstances of, and reason for, the discharge or escape. Penalty. 80 Stat. 374. 80 Stat. 375. Prohibited zones. Repeal. Effective date. 12 UST 2989. "(d) Each operation described in subsection 9(c) of the Act shall be fully recorded without delay in the oil record book so that all the entries in the book appropriate to that operation are completed. Each page of the book shall be signed by the officer or officers in charge of the operations concerned and, when the ship is manned, by the master of the ship. "(e) Oil record books shall be kept in such manner and for such length of time as set forth in the regulations prescribed by the Secretary. "(f) If any person fails to comply with the requirements imposed by or under this section, he shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $1,000 nor less than $500 and if any person makes an entry in any records kept in accordance with this Act or regulations prescribed thereunder by the Secretary which is to his knowledge false or misleading in any material particular, he shall be liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding $1,000 nor less than $500 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or both." (7) Section 10 (33 U.S.C. 1009) is amended by changing the phrase at the end thereof from "and 9" to "9, and 12." (8) Section 12 (33 U.S.C. 1011) is amended to read as follows: "SEC. 12. (a) All sea areas within fifty miles from the nearest land shall be prohibited zones, subject to extensions or reduction effectuated in accordance with the terms of the Convention, which shall be published in regulations prescribed by the Secretary. "(b) With respect to the reduction or extension of the zones described under the terms of the Convention, the Secretary shall give notice thereof by publication of such information in Notices to Mariners issued by the United States Coast Guard and United States Navy." (9) Section 13 (33 U.S.C. 1012) is repealed. (10) Section 17 (33 U.S.C. 1015) is amended to read as follows: "SEC. 17. (a) This Act shall become effective upon the date of its enactment or upon the date the amended Convention becomes effective as to the United States, whichever is the later date. "(b) Any rights or liabilities existing on the effective date of this Act shall not be affected by the enactment of this Act. Any procedures or rules or regulations in effect on the effective date of this Act shall remain in effect until modified or superseded under the authority of this Act. Any reference to any other law or rule or regulation prescribed pursuant to law to the 'International Convention for the Prevention of the Pollution of the Sea by Oil, 1954,' shall be deemed to be a reference to that Convention as revised by the 'Amendments of the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution of the Sea by Oil, 1954,' which were adopted by a Conference of Contracting Governments convened at London on April 11, 1962. Any reference in any other law or rule or regulation prescribed pursuant to law to the 'Oil Pollution Act, 1961, approved August 30, 1961 (33 U.S.C. 1001-1015), 75 Stat. 402. shall be deemed to be a reference to that Act as amended by this Act." Approved September 1, 1966. LEGISLATIVE HISTORY House report No. 1620 (Committee on Merchant Marine & Fisheries). Congressional Record, volume 112 (1966) : June 20: Considered and passed House. Aug. 19: Considered and passed Senate. 90-224 O 73 19 |