Marginal note:Detention of ships
16 (1) Where an enforcement officer believes on reasonable grounds that an offence under this Act has been committed by or in respect of a ship, the enforcement officer may make a detention order in respect of the ship.
Marginal note:Geographical application of section
(2) The power to make a detention order under this section may be exercised in Canadian waters and in waters above the continental shelf of Canada.
Marginal note:Order to be in writing
(3) A detention order made under subsection (1) shall be in writing and addressed to all persons who, at the place where the ship to which the order relates is or will be, are empowered to give a clearance in respect of the ship.
Marginal note:Notice of detention order to be served on master
(4) Where a detention order under this section is made in respect of a ship, notice thereof shall be served on the master of the ship
(a) by delivering a copy thereof personally to the master; or
(b) if service cannot reasonably be effected in the manner provided in paragraph (a),
(i) by leaving a copy thereof for the master on board the ship with the person who is, or appears to be, in command or charge of the ship, or
(ii) by leaving a copy thereof with the owner or agent of the owner of the ship residing in Canada or, where no such owner or agent is known or can be found, by fixing a copy thereof to a prominent part of the ship.
Marginal note:Ship under detention not to depart
(5) Where notice of a detention order in respect of a ship is served under subsection (4) and, during the term of the detention order, the master or owner of the ship gives an order for the ship to depart from Canadian waters or from waters above the continental shelf of Canada, the master or owner, as the case may be, is guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding fifty thousand dollars.
Marginal note:Duty of persons empowered to give clearance
(6) Subject to subsection (7), no person to whom a detention order made under subsection (1) is addressed shall, after notice of the order is received by that person, give clearance in respect of the ship to which the order relates.
Marginal note:When clearance shall be given
(7) A person to whom a detention order made under subsection (1) is addressed and who has received notice of the order shall give clearance in respect of the ship to which the order relates where
(a) security satisfactory to the Minister of Transport in the amount of fifty thousand dollars is given to Her Majesty in right of Canada;
(b) the ship has not been charged with an offence under this Act within thirty days after the making of the detention order; or
(c) the ship has been charged with an offence under this Act within the period referred to in paragraph (b) and
(i) security satisfactory to the Minister of Transport for payment of the maximum fine that might be imposed as a result of a conviction of a ship charged with that offence, or in such lesser amount as may be approved by the Minister of Transport, is given to Her Majesty in right of Canada, or
(ii) proceedings in respect of the alleged offence that gave rise to the making of the detention order are discontinued.
Marginal note:Sale of ship where no appearance and no security
(8) Where a ship has been charged with an offence under this Act within thirty days after the making of a detention order in respect thereof and, within thirty days after the day on which the ship was charged with the offence,
(a) no one has appeared on behalf of the ship to answer to the charge, and
(b) security referred to in paragraph (7)(c) has not been given,
the Minister of Transport may apply to a court for an order authorizing the Minister of Transport to sell the ship.
Marginal note:Sale of ship where appearance but no security
(9) Where a ship has been charged with an offence under this Act within thirty days after the making of a detention order in respect thereof and
(a) within thirty days after the day on which the ship was charged with the offence, someone has appeared on behalf of the ship to answer to the charge but security referred to in paragraph (7)(c) has not been given, and
(b) the ship is convicted and a fine is imposed but not paid forthwith,
the Minister of Transport may apply to a court for an order authorizing the Minister of Transport to sell the ship.
Marginal note:Notice
(10) Forthwith on making an application under subsection (8) or (9), the Minister of Transport shall, by registered mail, give notice of the application to
(a) the person responsible for maintaining any register in which the ship is registered, listed or recorded;
(b) the holder of any mortgage against the ship that is registered on the register referred to in paragraph (a); and
(c) the holder of any maritime lien against the ship to which the application relates, and the holder of any like interest, known to the Minister of Transport at the time of the making of the application.
Marginal note:Day notice deemed to be given
(11) A notice sent by registered mail under subsection (10) shall be deemed to have been given to the person to whom it was sent on the day on which an acknowledgement of receipt in respect thereof is received by the Minister of Transport.
Marginal note:Court may relieve Minister of giving notice
(12) Where the court seized of an application under subsection (8) or (9) is satisfied that it is appropriate to do so, the court may relieve the Minister of Transport of the obligation to give the notice referred to in subsection (10), or authorize the Minister of Transport to give the notice in such other manner as the court deems fit.
Marginal note:Claiming interest
(13) Where an application is made under subsection (8) or (9) in respect of a ship,
(a) any person referred to in paragraph (10)(b) or (c) may, within sixty days after the notice is given to that person, and
(b) any other person who claims an interest in the ship as mortgagee, or as the holder of a maritime lien or as the holder of any like interest, may, within sixty days after the application is made,
apply by notice in writing to the court seized of the application for an order referred to in subsection (14).
Marginal note:Order
(14) Where, on the hearing of an application made under subsection (13), it is made to appear to the satisfaction of the court
(a) that the applicant acquired the interest in respect of which the applicant is applying in good faith prior to the commission of the offence in respect of which the ship was detained, and
(b) that the applicant is innocent of any complicity or collusion in respect of the offence in respect of which the ship was detained,
the court shall grant to the applicant an order declaring the nature and extent of the applicant’s interest at the time of the commission of the offence.
Marginal note:Appeal
(15) Any person who makes an application under subsection (13), and the Minister of Transport, may appeal to the court of appeal from an order referred to in subsection (14) and the appeal shall be asserted, heard and decided according to the ordinary procedure governing appeals to the court of appeal from orders or judgments of a court.
Marginal note:Applications under subsection (13) to be heard first
(16) A court shall not hear an application under subsection (8) or (9) until all applications under subsection (13) in relation thereto have been heard.
Marginal note:Court may authorize sale
(17) A court hearing an application under subsection (8) or (9) may authorize the Minister of Transport to sell the ship to which the application relates in such manner and subject to such terms and conditions as the court considers appropriate and, on application by the Minister of Transport, give directions to the Minister of Transport as to the rank of the interests of persons who have obtained an order referred to in subsection (14).
Marginal note:Payment of proceeds
(18) Where a ship is sold pursuant to this section, any surplus remaining from the proceeds of the sale after deducting
(a) the amount of
(i) the maximum fine that could have been imposed for the offence, where subsection (8) applies, or
(ii) the fine actually imposed, where subsection (9) applies, and
(b) the cost of the detention and the sale
shall, to the extent of the surplus, be paid in accordance with the interests of persons who have obtained an order referred to in subsection (14), and any surplus remaining thereafter shall be paid to the person registered as the owner of the ship or, in the absence of registration, to the person who owns the ship.
Marginal note:Clear title
(19) On selling a ship pursuant to this section, the Minister of Transport may, by bill of sale, give the purchaser a valid title to the ship free from any mortgage or other claim on the ship that is in existence at the time of the sale.
Marginal note:Registrability not implied
(20) Nothing in subsection (19) shall be construed as meaning that the ship may be registered in the name of the purchaser.
Marginal note:Not duty paid
(21) No ship sold pursuant to this section shall be deemed to have been duty paid under the Customs Tariff by reason only of that sale.
Marginal note:Definitions
(22) In this section,
- court
court means
(a) in the Province of Ontario, the Superior Court of Justice,
(b) in the Province of Quebec, the Superior Court of the Province,
(c) in the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador, the Trial Division of the Supreme Court of the Province,
(d) in the Provinces of New Brunswick, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta, the Court of Queen’s Bench for the Province,
(e) in the Provinces of Nova Scotia, British Columbia and Prince Edward Island, the Supreme Court of the Province,
(f) the Supreme Court of Yukon, the Supreme Court of the Northwest Territories and the Nunavut Court of Justice, and
(g) the Federal Court; (tribunal)
- court of appeal
court of appeal means, in the province in which an order referred to in subsection (14) is made, the court of appeal for that province as defined in section 2 of the Criminal Code and includes the Federal Court of Appeal. (tribunal d’appel)
- 1992, c. 31, s. 16
- 1996, c. 31, s. 108
- 1998, c. 16, s. 31, c. 30, ss. 13(F), 15(E)
- 1999, c. 3, s. 21, c. 31, s. 43
- 2002, c. 7, s. 132(E), c. 8, s. 183
- 2015, c. 3, s. 36
- Date modified: