PREVENTION OF POLLUTION OF THE SEA BILL

Order for Second Reading read.

The Minister for Communications and Information (Dr Yeo Ning Hong): Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, "That the Bill be now read a Second time."

Sir, the Bill is to enable Singapore to accede to the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships, 1970, as modified by the Protocol of 1978 relating thereto. This Convention is generally known as the MARPOL Convention. The MARPOL Convention specifies measures to prevent deliberate, negligent or accidental discharge of oil or other harmful substances from ships into the marine environment. Acceptance of the MARPOL Convention will be consistent with our policy of adopting international standards for shipping and will therefore enhance the image of the Singapore flag. It will contribute towards improving the quality of the merchant fleet registered in Singapore by raising pollution prevention and safety standards. It will also help the clearance of Singapore ships in foreign ports because certificates issued to them under the Convention will be accepted by foreign authorities. Enforcing the provisions of the Convention on ships calling at our port will reduce pollution from these ships and contribute to cleaner port waters.

Sir, the Bill will also repeal the Prevention of Pollution of the Sea Act (Cap 243) which has become largely outdated. The bulk of the provisions of the Bill are for the implementation of the MARPOL Convention. The remaining provisions cater to certain aspects of the prevention of pollution of Singapore waters which are not directly within the ambit of the MARPOL Convention and for the recovery of costs for removing pollutants.

Consultations, Sir, have been held with the shipping, marine, petroleum, and petrochemical industries, and their inputs have been taken into consideration in drafting the Bill.

This Bill is divided into six parts.

Part 1 deals with the preliminary matters such as the title and the definitions.

Part II deals with the prevention of pollution from land and from apparatus and equipment used in the transfer of oil.

Part III deals with the prevention of pollution from ships. This part prohibits the discharge of any oil or noxious liquid substances from Singapore ships into any part of the sea and from foreign ships into Singapore waters. The discharge of any refuse, garbage, plastic, wastes, marine pollutants and other such matters in packaged form or trade effluents from any ship into Singapore waters is also prohibited.

Part IV empowers the Minister to direct the Port of Singapore Authority and terminal operators to provide adequate reception facilities for oil and noxious liquid substances as appropriate. It also enables the Minister to make regulations to require every Singapore ship and all ships in Singapore waters to carry an oil record book or a cargo record book as appropriate with the prescribed particulars duly recorded. Under this part, the master of a ship has a duty to report all actual or probable discharge of any harmful substance from a Singapore ship into any part of the sea or from any other ship coming into Singapore waters.

Part V deals with the recovery of costs for removing pollutants. Under this part, the owner of a ship, the occupier of a piece of land or the person in charge of any equipment or apparatus which leads to pollution is liable for the costs of reasonable measures taken to remove the pollutants from Singapore waters discharged from that ship, place, or apparatus

Part VI, the final part, deals with miscellaneous matters such as the powers of inspectors, detention and arrests, evidential and procedural matters, juris- diction of courts and composition of offences. It empowers the Minister to make regulations to give effect to any of the provisions of the MARPOL Convention and any of its Annexes which has not been given effect in this Act.

Sir, I beg to move.

Question proposed.

Dr John Chen Seow Phun (Hong Kah GRC): Mr Speaker, Sir, the United Nations' World Commission on Environment clearly recognised the crucial role of the oceans to humanity in its 1987 Report entitled "Our Common Future". I quote:

'Sustainable economic development, if not survival itself, depends on significant advances in the management of oceans.'

Indeed, man has used the oceans as a source of food and minerals, and for other purposes such as transportation, recreation, and industry, and in some countries, as waste disposal. The oceans are therefore under tremendous pressure from all these human activities, and threats of sea pollution have become more and more. Most pollution comes from land-based sources, but a significant amount comes from shipping. It is estimated that about 12% of marine pollution results from maritime transportation.

Singapore is strategically located at the cross-roads between the Asia-Pacific and the Middle-East and also Europe. Our port ranks as the world's busiest port with about 40,000 vessels calling in 1989. Singapore is also a regional refining and bunkering centre. In addition, the Malacca and Singapore Straits are very busy waterways used by international maritime traffic. In view of the high level of shipping activity, Singapore is very vulnerable to pollution from ships, both accidental and operational.

As our population increases and the country becomes more affluent, there will be growing demand for recreation and greater consciousness of the need for better health and better living conditions, ie., a higher quality of life. Marine leisure activities like swimming, wind surfing, sailing, fishing, and scuba diving are increasing, not only among Singaporeans but also with tourists. Besides recreation and tourism, we also have a thriving aquaculture industry. All these demand that the waters around us be kept clean.

The Bill is therefore timely and will enhance our efforts to preserve the marine environment. It is also consistent with our policy of adopting international standards for shipping. The Minister has also mentioned that it will facilitate the clearance of Singapore ships in foreign ports and reduce operational and accidental pollution from all ships using Singapore waters. Pollution from land-based sources can also be effectively dealt with.

Sir, I would like to ask the Minister two questions. First, what proportion of the total number of ships using Singapore waters are at present not up to the required standards and how do we deal with them in bringing the new law into force? Second, what can we do when a non-Singapore ship causes pollution just outside our waters?

Sir, I support the Bill.

Dr Yeo Ning Hong: Sir, I thank the Member for his support.

Surveys done by the Marine Department have shown that most of the ships registered in Singapore are already meeting the MARPOL Convention, because the MARPOL Convention has come into effect in 1987 and most shipowners are very conscious of the importance of preventing pollution. So many of them have already made the adjustments.

When the Bill is passed and enacted, the Ministry will arrange for the Marine Department to give advice. Indeed advice has already been given when the Bill was in the drafting stage. As I said earlier, there were extensive consultations. So I would expect that when the Bill is enacted in a few months' time, practically all, if not all, ships would have met the conditions.

As for the second question, the MARPOL Convention applies worldwide and it is maritime law that countries have jurisdiction only within their territorial waters and jurisdiction on ships registered under their country's flag. So if a ship that is registered under the Singapore flag pollutes the sea outside of Singapore's territorial water, then that ship will face the appropriate punishment. But if it is a ship that is not registered with Singapore and is outside Singapore's territorial water, then the appropriate measures to be taken would be to report the incident to the state that the ship is flagged with. Of course, if the ship is in some other country's territorial waters, the report can also be made to that other state to take appropriate measures.

Question put, and agreed to.

Bill accordingly read a Second time and committed to a Committee of the whole House.

The House immediately resolved itself into a Committee on the Bill. - [Dr Yeo Ning Hong].

Bill considered in Committee; reported without amendment; read a Third time and passed.