The Act Miscellaneous and ancillary common enforcement powers Section 147 - Power to direct vessel or marine installation to port
208.Section 147 provides a power to direct a vessel or marine installation to port. It gives enforcement officers the power to direct a vessel or marine installation to the port they consider to be the nearest convenient port and detain it there. The section only applies in situations where an officer believes that it would not be practical to exercise a power without first taking the vessel or marine installation to port and detaining it there. Section 147(2) sets out powers which enable an officer to get the vessel or movable marine installation (such as a jack-up rig) to the nearest convenient port. A convenient port may not be the nearest in terms just of distance, but may be, for example, the nearest one able to take the size of vessel or to provide a berth or suitable storage facilities. The officer may take the vessel or installation there, arrange for someone else to take it, or require the person in charge of it to take it into port. For instance, the officer might arrange for a local pilot to take the vessel into port. Section 147(3) says that, once the vessel or marine installation is in port, the officer may detain it or require the person in charge to do so. Subsections (4) to (6) explain that enforcement officers are obliged to issue a written notice of detention to the person in charge of the vessel or marine installation. The notice must state that that the vessel or marine installation will be detained until such time as the notice is withdrawn. A notice may be withdrawn by another written notice signed by any marine enforcement officer.