Limitation of Liability in Maritime Law and Vessel-Source Pollution : A New Zealand Perspective

This article discusses the interaction between New Zealand's marine pollution liability regime, which is divided between the Resource Management Act 1991 (RMA) and the Maritime Transport Act 1994 (MTA), and the country's maritime limitation of liability regime. The former encompasses both criminal and civil avenues for the recovery of clean-up costs and other pollution-related losses, notably by way of RMA enforcement orders. The latter is primarily based on the 1976 Convention on Limitation of Liability for Maritime Claims, which caps shipowners' liability for a range of maritime claims, including those involving pollution damage. In addition to arguing that the current division of the pollution liability regime between the RMA and MTA is unhelpful and needs to be revisited, the article examines the interface between the 1976 Convention and domestic law regulating liability for pollution damage. In particular it analyses the issue of what constitutes a “claim” under article 2 of the Convention, in the context of both criminal and civil proceedings