Maritime Transport Act 1994

Miscellaneous provisions applying to this Act generally - Detention of ship and distress on ship

464: Agents' contracts of indemnity

You could also call this:

"Protection for ship agents: getting paid back if things go wrong"

If you are an agent for a ship's owner, charterer, manager, or operator in New Zealand, this law applies to you. You can make an agreement with them to pay you back if you get in trouble because of your work as their agent. This agreement is called a contract of indemnity and it can cover you for problems that come up under the Maritime Transport Act 1994, the Resource Management Act 1991, and the Exclusive Economic Zone and Continental Shelf (Environmental Effects) Act 2012.

You can only get the owner, charterer, manager, or operator to pay you back if you did not do something wrong on purpose or neglect your duties. A New Zealand court will make sure of this before they enforce the contract of indemnity. If you made a mistake or did not do your job properly, the court might not make them pay you back.

The court's decision will depend on what you did as an agent and whether you followed the rules.

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This page was last updated on 25 May 2025

View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM338895.

463: Detention in lieu of security for civil claims, or

"Holding a ship until a problem is fixed or paid for"

465: Designation of parties to conventions, or

"Who's agreed to maritime rules: a list of countries"

Part 30Miscellaneous provisions applying to this Act generally
Detention of ship and distress on ship

464Agents' contracts of indemnity

This section applies to a person (the agent) who enters into an agreement to act as the agent in New Zealand of the owner, charterer, manager, or operator of a ship.
The agent may enter into a contract of indemnity under which the owner, charterer, manager, or operator agrees to indemnify the agent for any sum for which the agent may become liable as a result of proceedings (whether civil or criminal) against the agent, in that capacity, in any court under any provision of any 1 or more of this Act, the Resource Management Act 1991, and the Exclusive Economic Zone and Continental Shelf (Environmental Effects) Act 2012.
A New Zealand court may enforce the contract of indemnity only if the proceedings do not result from the wilful act or neglect or default of the agent.

Notes

Section 464: replaced, on 31 October 2015, by section 47(1) of the Exclusive Economic Zone and Continental Shelf (Environmental Effects) Amendment Act 2013 (2013 No 85).
Section 464(2): amended, on 23 December 2023, by section 6 of the Resource Management (Natural and Built Environment and Spatial Planning Repeal and Interim Fast-track Consenting) Act 2023 (2023 No 68).