
1 
This Order may be cited as the 
Merchant Shipping Act 1979 (Turks and Caicos Islands) Order 1980
and shall come into operation on 1st December 1980.
2 
The provisions of 
sections 17, 18, 
19(1), 50, 
51 and 52 of, and 
Schedules 4 and 5
and Part I of Schedule 7 to the 
Merchant Shipping Act 1979, modified as in
the Schedule hereto, shall extend to the Turks and Caicos Islands.
3 
Save as is expressly provided otherwise
therein, any reference in the Schedule to this Order to any enactment of the
United Kingdom shall be construed as a reference to that enactment as applying
or extended to the Turks and Caicos Islands.
N. E. Leigh
Clerk of the Privy Council

SCHEDULE TO THE ORDER
Article 2


THE MERCHANT
SHIPPING ACT 1979

17 

(1) The provisions
of the Convention on Limitation of Liability
for Maritime Claims 1976 as set out in 
Part I of Schedule 4 to this Act (hereafter
in this section and in Part II
of that Schedule referred to as “the Convention”
) shall have the force of law in the Turks and Caicos Islands.

(2) The provisions of 
Part II of that Schedule shall have effect
in connection with the Convention, and the preceding subsection shall have
effect subject to the provisions of that Part.
18 

(1) Subject to 
subsection (3) of this section, the owner of
a British ship shall not be liable for any loss or damage in the following
cases, namely—
(a) where any property on board the ship
is lost or damaged by reason of fire on board the ship; or
(b) where any gold, silver, watches, jewels
or precious stones on board the ship are lost or damaged by reason of theft,
robbery or other dishonest conduct and their nature and value were not at
the time of shipment declared by their owner or shipper to the owner or master
of the ship in the bill of lading or otherwise in writing.
(2) Subject to 
subsection (3) of this section, where the loss
or damage arises from anything done or omitted by any person in his capacity
as master or member of the crew or (otherwise than in that capacity) in the
course of his employment as a servant of the owner of the ship, the preceding
subsection shall also exclude the liability of—
(a) the master, member of the crew or servant;
and
(b) in a case where the master or member
of the crew is the servant of a person whose liability would not be excluded
by that subsection apart from this paragraph, the person whose servant he
is.
(3) This section does not exclude the liability
of any person for any loss or damage resulting from any such personal act
or omission of his as is mentioned in article
4 of the Convention in 
Part I of Schedule 4 to this Act.
(4) In this section 
“owner”, in relation to a
ship, includes any part owner and any charterer, manager or operator of the
ship.
19 

(1) The enactments mentioned in 
Schedule 5 to this Act shall have effect with
the amendments there specified (which are consequential on 
sections 17 and 18
of this Act).
50 

(1) This Act shall be construed as one with
the Merchant Shipping Acts 1894 to 1977.
(1A) Nothing in 
sections 17 and 18
of, or Schedule 4 to, this
Act shall apply in relation to any liability arising out of an occurrence
which took place before the coming into force of those sections, and 
section 19(1) of, and Schedule 5
to, this Act shall not affect the operation of any enactment in relation to
such an occurrence.
(4) The enactments mentioned in the first
and second columns of Part I of Schedule 7
to this Act are hereby repealed to the extent specified in the third column
of that Part of that Schedule; but nothing in that Part of that Schedule shall
affect the operation of any enactment in relation to such an occurrence as
mentioned in subsection (1A)
of this section.
51 

(2) The Financial Secretary shall be entitled
to charge a reasonable fee for any certificate given by or on behalf of the
Financial Secretary in pursuance of any provision contained in 
paragraph 7 of Part II of Schedule 4 to this
Act.
52 

(1) This Act may be cited as the 
Merchant Shipping Act 1979 and this Act and
the Merchant Shipping Acts 1894 to 1977 may be cited together as the Merchant
Shipping Acts 1894 to 1979.
(2) This Act shall come into force on such
day as the Governor may appoint by order, and different days may be appointed
in pursuance of this subsection for different provisions of this Act or for
different purposes of the same provision.
SCHEDULE 4 TO THE ACT
Sections 17, 
18, 19(1)
PART I
CHAPTER I
ARTICLE 1
1 
Shipowners and salvors, as hereinafter defined,
may limit their liability in accordance with the rules of this Convention
for claims set out in Article 2.

2 
The term “shipowner”
 shall mean the owner, charterer, manager
or operator of a seagoing ship.
3 
Salvor shall mean any person rendering services
in direct connexion with salvage operations. Salvage operations shall also
include operations referred to in Article 2, 
paragraph 1(d), (e)
and (f).
4 
If any claims set out in 
Article 2 are made against any person for whose
act, neglect or default the shipowner or salvor is responsible, such person
shall be entitled to avail himself of the limitation of liability provided
for in this Convention.
5 
In this Convention the liability of a shipowner
shall include liability in an action brought against the vessel herself.
6 
An insurer of liability for claims subject to
limitation in accordance with the rules of this Convention shall be entitled
to the benefits of this Convention to the same extent as the assured himself.

7 
The act of invoking limitation of liability
shall not constitute an admission of liability.
ARTICLE 2
1 
Subject to Articles
3 and 4
the following claims, whatever the basis of liability may be, shall be subject
to limitation of liability:
(a) claims in respect of loss of life or
personal injury or loss of or damage to property (including damage to harbour
works, basins and waterways and aids to navigation), occurring on board or
in direct connexion with the operation of the ship or with salvage operations,
and consequential loss resulting therefrom;
(b) claims in respect of loss resulting from
delay in the carriage by sea of cargo, passengers or their luggage;
(c) claims in respect of other loss resulting
from infringement of rights other than contractual rights, occurring in direct
connexion with the operation of the ship or salvage operations;
(d) claims in respect of the raising, removal,
destruction or the rendering harmless of a ship which is sunk, wrecked, stranded
or abandoned, including anything that is or has been on board such ship;
(e) claims in respect of the removal, destruction
or the rendering harmless of the cargo of the ship;
(f) claims of a person other than the person
liable in respect of measures taken in order to avert or minimise loss for
which the person liable may limit his liability in accordance with this Convention,
and further loss caused by such measures.
2 
Claims set out in 
paragraph 1 shall be subject to limitation
of liability even if brought by way of recourse or for indemnity under a contract
or otherwise. However, claims set out under 
paragraph 1(d), (e)
and (f) shall not be subject
to limitation of liability to the extent that they relate to remuneration
under a contract with the person liable.
ARTICLE 3
The rules of this Convention shall not apply to:
(a)  claims for salvage or contribution in
general average;
(b)  claims for oil pollution damage within
the meaning of the International Convention on
Civil Liability for Oil Pollution Damage dated 29th November
1969 or of any amendment or Protocol thereto which is in force;

(c)  claims subject to any international
convention or national legislation governing or prohibiting limitation of
liability for nuclear damage;
(d)  claims against the shipowner of a nuclear
ship for nuclear damage;
(e)  claims by servants of the shipowner
or salvor whose duties are connected with the ship or the salvage operations,
including claims of their heirs, dependants or other persons entitled to make
such claims, if under the law governing the contract of service between the
shipowner or salvor and such servants the shipowner or salvor is not entitled
to limit his liability in respect of such claims, or if he is by such law
only permitted to limit his liability to an amount greater than that provided
for in Article 6.


ARTICLE 4
A person liable shall not be entitled to limit his liability if
it is proved that the loss resulted from his personal act or omission, committed
with the intent to cause such loss, or recklessly and with knowledge that
such loss would probably result.

ARTICLE 5
Where
a person entitled to limitation of liability under the rules of this Convention
has a claim against the claimant arising out of the same occurrence, their
respective claims shall be set off against each other and the provisions of
this Convention shall only apply to the balance, if any.

CHAPTER II
ARTICLE 6
1 
The limits of liability for claims other than
those mentioned in Article 7,
arising on any distinct occasion, shall be calculated as follows:
(a) in respect of claims for loss of life
or personal injury,
(i) 333,000 Units of Account for a ship with
a tonnage not exceeding 500 tons,
(ii) for a ship with a tonnage in excess
thereof, the following amount in addition to that mentioned in (i):
 for each ton from 501 to 3,000 tons, 500 Units of Account;
 for each ton from 3,001 to 30,000 tons, 333 Units of Account;
 for each ton from 30,001 to 70,000 tons, 250 Units of Account; and
 for each ton in excess of 70,000 tons, 167 Units of Account.
(b) in respect of any other claims,
(i) 167,000 Units of Account for a ship with
a tonnage not exceeding 500 tons,
(ii) for a ship with a tonnage in excess
thereof the following amount in addition to that mentioned in (i):
 for each ton from 501 to 30,000 tons, 167 Units of Account;
 for each ton from 30,001 to 70,000 tons, 125 Units of Account; and
 for each ton in excess of 70,000 tons, 83 Units of Account.
2 
Where the amount calculated in accordance with 
paragraph 1(a) is insufficient to pay the claims
mentioned therein in full, the amount calculated in accordance with 
paragraph 1(b) shall be available for payment
of the unpaid balance of claims under paragraph
1(a) and such unpaid balance shall rank rateably
with claims mentioned under paragraph 1(b).

4 
The limits of liability for any salvor not operating
from any ship or for any salvor operating solely on the ship to, or in respect
of which he is rendering salvage services, shall be calculated according to
a tonnage of 1,500 tons.
ARTICLE 7
1 
In respect of claims arising on any distinct
occasion for loss of life or personal injury to passengers of a ship, the
limit of liability of the shipowner thereof shall be an amount of 46,666 Units
of Account multiplied by the number of passengers which the ship is authorised
to carry according to the ship's certificate, but not exceeding 25 million
Units of Account.
2 
For the purpose of this Article “claims for loss of life or personal injury to passengers
of a ship” shall mean any such
claims brought by or on behalf of any person carried in that ship.
(a) under a contract of passenger carriage,
or
(b) who, with the consent of the carrier,
is accompanying a vehicle or live animals which are covered by a contract
for the carriage of goods.
ARTICLE 8
1 
The Unit of Account referred to in 
Articles 6 and 7
is the Special Drawing Right as defined by the International Monetary Fund.
The amounts mentioned in Articles 6
and 7 shall be converted
into the national currency of the State in which limitation is sought, according
to the value of that currency at the date the limitation fund shall have been
constituted, payment is made, or security is given which under the law of
that State is equivalent to such payment.
ARTICLE 9
1 
The limits of liability determined in accordance
with Article 6
shall apply to the aggregate of all claims which arise on any distinct occasion:

(a) against the person or persons mentioned
in paragraph 2 of Article 1
and any person for whose act, neglect or default he or they are responsible;
or
(b) against the shipowner of a ship rendering
salvage services from that ship and the salvor or salvors operating from such
ship and any person for whose act, neglect or default he or they are responsible;
or
(c) against the salvor or salvors who are
not operating from a ship or who are operating solely on the ship to, or in
respect of which, the salvage services are rendered and any person for whose
act, neglect or default he or they are responsible.
2 
The limits of liability determined in accordance
with Article 7
shall apply to the aggregate of all claims subject thereto which may arise
on any distinct occasion against the person or persons mentioned in 
paragraph 2 of Article 1 in respect of the
ship referred to in Article 7
and any person for whose act, neglect or default he or they are responsible.

ARTICLE 10
1 
Limitation of liability may be invoked notwithstanding
that a limitation fund as mentioned in Article
11 has not been constituted.
2 
If limitation of liability is invoked without
the constitution of a limitation fund, the provisions of 
Article 12 shall apply correspondingly.
3 
Questions of procedure arising under the rules
of this Article shall be decided in accordance with the national law of the
State Party in which action is brought.
CHAPTER III
ARTICLE 11
1 
Any person alleged to be liable may constitute
a fund with the Court or other competent authority in any State Party in which
legal proceedings are instituted in respect of claims subject to limitation.
The fund shall be constituted in the sum of such of the amounts set out in 
Articles 6 and 7
as are applicable to claims for which that person may be liable, together
with interest thereon from the date of the occurrence giving rise to the liability
until the date of the constitution of the fund. Any fund thus constituted
shall be available only for the payment of claims in respect of which limitation
of liability can be invoked.
2 
A fund may be constituted, either by depositing
the sum, or by producing a guarantee acceptable under the legislation of the
State Party where the fund is constituted and considered to be adequate by
the Court or other competent authority.
3 
A fund constituted by one of the persons mentioned
in paragraph 1(a), 
(b) or (c) or 
paragraph 2 of Article 9 or his insurer shall
be deemed constituted by all persons mentioned in 
paragraph 1(a), (b)
or (c) or paragraph
2, respectively.
ARTICLE 12
1 
Subject to the provisions of 
paragraphs 1 and 2 of Article 6
and of Article 7, the fund
shall be distributed among the claimants in proportion to their established
claims against the fund.
2 
If, before the fund is distributed, the person
liable, or his insurer, has settled a claim against the fund such person shall,
up to the amount he has paid, acquire by subrogation the rights which the
person so compensated would have enjoyed under this Convention.
3 
The right of subrogation provided for in 
paragraph 2 may also be exercised by persons
other than those therein mentioned in respect of any amount of compensation
which they may have paid, but only to the extent that such subrogation is
permitted under the applicable national law.
4 
Where the person liable or any other person
establishes that he may be compelled to pay, at a later date, in whole or
in part any such amount of compensation with regard to which such person would
have enjoyed a right of subrogation pursuant to 
paragraphs 2 and 3
had the compensation been paid before the fund was distributed, the Court
or other competent authority of the State where the fund has been constituted
may order that a sufficient sum shall be provisionally set aside to enable
such person at such later date to enforce his claim against the fund.
ARTICLE 13
1 
Where a limitation fund has been constituted
in accordance with Article 11,
any person having made a claim against the fund shall be barred from exercising
any right in respect of such a claim against any other assets of a person
by or on behalf of whom the fund has been constituted.
2 
After a limitation fund has been constituted
in accordance with Article 11.
any ship or other property, belonging to a person on behalf of whom the fund
has been constituted, which has been arrested or attached within the jurisdiction
of a State Party for a claim which may be raised against the fund, or any
security given, may be released by order of the Court or other competent authority
of such State. However, such release shall always be ordered if the limitation
fund has been constituted:
(a) at the port where the occurrence took
place, or, if it took place out of port, at the first port of call thereafter;
or
(b) at the port of disembarkation in respect
of claims for loss of life or personal injury; or
(c) at the port of discharge in respect of
damage to cargo; or
(d) in the State where the arrest is made.

3 
The rules of paragraphs
1 and 2
shall apply only if the claimant may bring a claim against the limitation
fund before the Court administering that fund and the fund is actually available
and freely transferable in respect of that claim.
ARTICLE 14
Subject
to the provisions of this Chapter the rules relating to the constitution and
distribution of a limitation fund, and all rules of procedure in connection
therewith, shall be governed by the law of the State Party in which the fund
is constituted.

CHAPTER IV
ARTICLE 15This Convention shall apply whenever any person
referred to in Article 1
seeks to limit his liability before the Court of a State Party or seeks to
procure the release of a ship or other property or the discharge of any security
given within the jurisdiction of any such State.

PART II
1 
In this Part of this Schedule any reference
to a numbered article is a reference to the article of the Convention which
is so numbered.
2 
The right to limit liability under the Convention
shall apply in relation to any ship whether seagoing or not, and the definition
of “shipowner” in 
paragraph 2 of article 1 
shall be construed accordingly.
3 

(1) Paragraph
1(d) of article 2 shall not apply unless provision
has been made by an order of the Governor for the setting up and management
of a fund to be used for the making to harbour or conservancy authorities
of payments needed to compensate them for the reduction, in consequence of
the said paragraph 1(d),
of amounts recoverable by them in claims of the kind there mentioned, and
to be maintained by contributions from such authorities raised and collected
by them in respect of vessels in like manner as other sums so raised by them.

(2) Any order under 
sub-paragraph (1) above may contain such incidental
and supplemental provisions as appear to the Governor to be necessary or expedient.

(3) If immediately before the coming into
force of section 17
of this Act an order is in force under 
section 2(6) of the Merchant Shipping
(Liability of Shipowners and Others) Act 1958 (which contains
provisions corresponding to those of this paragraph) that order shall have
effect as if made under this paragraph.
4 

(1) The claims excluded from the Convention
by paragraph (b) of article 3
are claims in respect of any liability incurred under 
section 1 of the Merchant Shipping
(Oil Pollution) Act 1971.
5 

(1) In the application of 
article 6 to a ship with a tonnage less than
300 tons that article shall have effect as if—
(a) paragraph
(a)(i) referred to 166,667 Units of Account;
and
(b) paragraph
(b)(i) referred to 83,333 Units of Account.

(2) For the purposes of 
article 6 and this paragraph a ship's tonnage
shall be its gross tonnage calculated in such manner as may be prescribed
by an order made by the Governor.
(3) Any order under this paragraph shall,
so far as appears to the Governor to be practicable, give effect to the regulations
in Annex I of the 
International Convention on Tonnage Measurement of Ships 1969.

6 

(1) In the case of a passenger steamer within
the meaning of Part III
of the Merchant Shipping Act 1894
the ship's certificate mentioned in paragraph
1 of article 7 shall be the passenger steamer's
certificate issued under section 274
of that Act.
(2) In paragraph
2 of Article 7 the reference to claims brought
on behalf of a person includes a reference to any claim in respect of a death
of a person under the Fatal Accidents Ordinance 1970
7 

(1) For the purpose of converting the amounts
mentioned in articles 6 and 
7 from special drawing rights into United States
dollars one special drawing right shall be treated as equal to such a sum
in United States dollars as the International Monetary Fund have fixed as
being the equivalent of one special drawing right for—
(a) the relevant date under 
paragraph 1 of article 8; or
(b) if no sum has been so fixed for that
date, the last preceding date for which a sum has been so fixed.
(2) A certificate given by or on behalf of
the Financial Secretary stating—
(a) that a particular sum in United States
dollars has been fixed as mentioned in the preceding sub-paragraph for a particular
date; or
(b) that no sum has been so fixed for that
date and that a particular sum in United States dollars has been so fixed
for a date which is the last preceding date for which a sum has been so fixed,
shall be conclusive evidence of those matters for the purposes
of those articles; and a document purporting to be such a certificate shall,
in any proceedings, be received in evidence and, unless the contrary is proved,
be deemed to be such a certificate.
8 

(1) The Governor may from time to time, with
the concurrence of the Financial Secretary, by order prescribe the rate of
interest to be applied for the purposes of paragraph
1 of article 11.
(2) Where a fund is constituted with the
court in accordance with article 11
for the payment of claims arising out of any occurrence, the court may stay
any proceedings relating to any claim arising out of that occurrence which
are pending against the person by whom the fund has been constituted.
9 
No lien or other right in respect of any ship
or property shall affect the proportions in which under 
article 12 the fund is distributed among several
claimants.
10 
Where the release of a ship or other property
is ordered under paragraph 2 of article 13
the person on whose application it is ordered to be released shall be deemed
to have submitted to the jurisdiction of the court to adjudicate on the claim
for which the ship or property was arrested or attached.
11 
References in the Convention and the preceding
provisions of this Part of this Schedule to the court are references to the
Supreme Court of the Turks and Caicos Islands.
12 
References in the Convention and in the preceding
provisions of this Part of this Schedule to a ship include references to any
structure (whether completed or in course of completion) launched and intended
for use in navigation as a ship or part of a ship.
13 
An Order in Council made for the purposes of
this paragraph as it applies in the United Kingdom and declaring that any
State specified in the Order is a party to the Convention shall, subject to
the provisions of any subsequent Order made for those purposes, be conclusive
evidence that the State is a party to the Convention.
SCHEDULE 5 TO THE ACT
Section 19(1)
1 

(1) In section
2(1) of the Merchant Shipping (Liability
of Shipowners and Others) Act 1900 for the
reference to the actual fault or privity of the owners or authority there
shall be substituted a reference to any such personal act or omission of the
owners or authority as is mentioned in article
4 of the Convention in 
Part I of Schedule 4 to this Act.
(2) The limit of liability under that section
shall be ascertained by applying to the ship mentioned in 
subsection (1) the method of calculation specified
in paragraph 1(b) of article 6
of the Convention read with paragraph 5(1)
and (2) of Part II of that
Schedule.
(3) Articles
11 and 12
of the Convention in Part I
of that Schedule and paragraphs 8
and 9 of Part II of that
Schedule shall apply for the purposes of that section.
6 

(1) In sections
5(4)(b) and 7(b)
of the Merchant Shipping (Oil Pollution) Act 1971
for the words “the Merchant Shipping
(Liability of Shipowners and Others) Act 1958”
 there shall be substituted the words “the 
Merchant Shipping Act 1979”.

(2) For section
15(2) of that Act there shall be substituted—
“
(2) For the purposes of 
section 17 of the Merchant Shipping
Act 1979 (limitation of liability) any liability
incurred under this section shall be deemed to be a liability in respect of
such damage to property as is mentioned in paragraph
1(a) of article 2 of the Convention in 
Part I of Schedule 4 to that Act.”
SCHEDULE 7 TO THE ACT
Section 50(4)
PART I

Chapter Short title 
Extent of repeal

1894 c. 60. 
The Merchant Shipping Act 1894.
 Part VIII
.

1900 c. 32. 
The Merchant Shipping (Liability of Shipowners
and Others) Act 1900. Section 2(2) and 
(3).
1906 c. 48.
 The Merchant
Shipping Act 1906. Section 69.


1911 c. 42. 
The Merchant Shipping Act 1911.
 Section
1(2).
1921 c. 28.
 The Merchant
Shipping Act 1921. In section 1
the words “and VIII”.
1958 c. 62.
 The Merchant
Shipping (Liability of Shipowners and Others) Act 1958.
 The whole Act except 
section 11 so far as applying to the 
Merchant Shipping (Liability of Shipowners and Others) Act 1900.


1971 c. 59. 
The Merchant Shipping (Oil Pollution) Act 1971
. 
Section 4(1)(a).
Section 8A.
1974 c. 43.
 The Merchant
Shipping Act 1974. Section 4(1)(c)(ii)
together with the word “or” preceding it.Section 9.

