Maritime Transport Act 1994

Civil liability for pollution of marine environment from marine structures - Liability for pollution from marine structures and operations

385D: Liability for unattributable pollution damage from marine structures and operations

You could also call this:

"Polluters are responsible for cleaning up marine damage, even if it's hard to say who caused what."

If you own a marine structure or are in charge of marine operations and you cause pollution damage, you can be liable for damages under section 385C. If it's hard to figure out how much damage you caused compared to others, you and the other owners or people in charge are all liable for the whole damage together. You are all responsible for the damage, and this is called being jointly and severally liable.

Your liability is also subject to the rules in section 385E. This means that when you are working out how much you have to pay for the damage, you have to follow the rules in that section.

You can be liable for the whole of the pollution damage, even if you didn't cause all of it, if it can't be separated from the damage caused by others.

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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=DLM5692707.

385C: Liability for pollution damage from marine structures and operations, or

"Pollution damage from boats or marine activities: you pay for the harm and cleanup costs"

385E: Defences in respect of liability for pollution damage from marine structures and operations, or

"When you're not to blame for polluting the sea from your boat or marine work"

Part 26ACivil liability for pollution of marine environment from marine structures
Liability for pollution from marine structures and operations

385DLiability for unattributable pollution damage from marine structures and operations

Where the owner of a marine structure or the person in charge of any marine operations is liable in damages for pollution damage under section 385C, but the pollution damage for which that owner or person in charge is liable cannot reasonably be separated from the pollution damage for which any other owner of a marine structure or person in charge of any marine operations, or both, is liable under section 385C, each of the owners and persons in charge is liable, jointly and severally with the others, for the whole of the pollution damage for which the owners and persons in charge together would be liable under section 385C.
Any liability under subsection (1) is subject to the provisions of section 385E.

Compare

s 357

Notes

Section 385D: inserted, on 23 October 2013, by section 62 of the Maritime Transport Amendment Act 2013 (2013 No 84).