Tasmanian Consolidated Acts Tasmanian Consolidated Acts
(1) If an authorized officer is satisfied on reasonable grounds, following a maritime casualty or an act related to a maritime casualty, that the maritime casualty or the act, by its nature or magnitude, constitutes grave and imminent danger to State waters, the coastline or another part of the State's physical environment or the related interests of the State, the authorized officer may assume control of the ship, boarding it if necessary with or without assistants and equipment, and take critical action in accordance with this section.
(2) If the action involves the destruction of the ship or part of the ship, or the jettisoning or destruction of all or part of its cargo, the authorized officer must first, if it is practicable to do so, make a reasonable attempt to obtain approval from the Minister or Director for the action to be taken.
(3) The provisions of subsections (3), (4), (5), (6), (7) and (8) of section 26 have the same application to the exercise of an authorized officer's powers under this section as those provisions have to the exercise of an authorized officer's powers under that section.
(4) Unless it has been abandoned or evacuated by its crew, an authorized officer is taken to have assumed control of a ship under the power conferred by this section as soon as the officer has –
(a) produced, if the officer is not a police officer, the officer's written authority under section 26(7) to the master; and
(b) subject to subsection (5), given the master written notice that the officer is exercising the power.
(5) If it is not practicable for the notice to be in writing it may be given orally and confirmed in writing as soon as practicable.
(6) An authorized officer who has taken control of a ship has power to do all the things that may be necessary or expedient for the purposes of exercising that control.
(7) An authorized officer who has assumed control of a ship under this section must, if it is possible and safe to do so, relinquish that control to its master as soon as practicable after taking, or making a reasonable attempt to take, the critical action.
(8) A person must not –
(a) prevent an authorized officer from exercising power under this section; or
(b) hinder, threaten or endanger an authorized officer in the exercise of a power under this section; or
(c) disobey an order or signal given by an authorized officer who is in control of a ship pursuant to this section.
Penalty:
Fine not exceeding 500 penalty units.
(9) In this section –
"critical action" includes, but is not limited to, any one or any combination of the following:(a) moving a ship;
(b) moving cargo within a ship or removing (other than by jettisoning) cargo from a ship;
(c) jettisoning or destroying all or part of a ship's cargo;
(d) sinking or destroying all or part of a ship;
(e) taking on, moving or discharging a ship's ballast;
(f) taking emergency measures in respect of a fire, gas or marine pollutant;
(g) evacuating people or animals from a ship;
"master" does not include an authorized officer in control of a ship;
"ship" includes the ship's cargo.