Interpretation of this Part
55. In this Part, unless the context otherwise requires —“goods” includes animals, carcases, baggage and any other kind of movable property;
“Jurong Port” means any place in the district of Jurong in Singapore which is owned by the Corporation and where facilities are provided by the Corporation for ships to load or unload;
“owner” —(a)
in relation to goods, includes any consignor, consignee, shipper or agent of the owner for the sale, custody, loading, handling, discharge or delivery of the goods; and
(b)
in relation to any vessel, includes any part-owner, charterer, operator, consignee or mortgagee in possession of the vessel, or any duly authorised agent of any such person;
“transhipment goods” means goods landed from a vessel and placed in the custody of the Corporation for the purpose of shipment on another vessel on a through bill of lading dated at the port of loading of the goods and showing that the destination is via Singapore, with the ultimate port of destination marked on each package or unit containing the goods and declared on a transhipment manifest lodged with the Corporation prior to or at the time the goods are placed in its custody;
“vessel” includes any ship or boat or air-cushioned vehicle or floating rig or platform used in any form of operations at sea or any other description of vessel.
Application of this Part
56. This Part applies only to the Jurong Port and to any place or premises controlled or used by the Corporation for the purpose of providing and maintaining adequate and efficient port services and facilities in the Jurong Port.
Loss or destruction of or damage to goods other than transhipment goods and goods accepted for storage
57. Neither the Corporation nor any person acting for or on behalf of the Corporation shall be liable —(a)
for any loss caused to any person by reason of misdelivery, short delivery or non-delivery of any goods deposited with or placed in the custody or control of the Corporation, other than transhipment goods and goods accepted for storage by the Corporation under section 63; or
(b)
for damage to or destruction of any goods that have been duly acknowledged by the Corporation to be in its custody in the sum of more than $2,000 per package or unit unless the nature and value of the goods contained therein have, prior to delivery to the Corporation, been declared in writing to the Corporation by the person delivering or causing the same to be delivered, and the Corporation shall not in any event be liable therefor where the value of those goods has been misstated.
Liability for loss under contract
58.—(1) Despite section 57, the Corporation must, on application made to it by the owner of any vessel, enter into a contract with the owner by which the Corporation accepts liability for any loss caused by reason of short delivery by the Corporation of any goods deposited with or placed in the custody or control of the Corporation or any failure by the Corporation to deliver or account for them.
(2) For the purposes of this section, the Corporation may prescribe the terms and conditions of the contract and may, with the Minister’s approval, prescribe the rates to be levied.
(3) The Corporation may refuse to enter into such contract unless the contract is in respect of all of the goods to be loaded into or discharged from a vessel, as the case may be.
Loss or destruction of, or damage to, transhipment goods deposited with Corporation
59.—(1) In respect of any transhipment goods delivered by any person to, or placed by any person in the custody of, the Corporation, the Corporation is, from the time of acknowledgment of the receipt of the goods and until delivery of the goods alongside the on‑carrying vessel for loading, liable, subject to section 60, for the loss or destruction of, or damage to, the goods.
(2) The Corporation shall not be liable for any loss, destruction or damage in a sum of more than $2,000 per package or unit unless the nature and value of the goods contained therein have, prior to delivery to the Corporation, been declared in writing to the Corporation by the person delivering or causing them to be delivered, and the Corporation shall not in any event be liable therefor where the value of those goods has been misstated.
Force majeure, etc.
60. Sections 57 and 59 do not impose on the Corporation or any person duly authorised by it any liability for the loss or destruction of, or damage to, any goods arising from —(a)
fire or flood, unless caused by the actual fault or privity of the Corporation;
(b)
an act of God;
(c)
act of war or of public enemies;
(d)
seizure under any legal process;
(e)
quarantine restrictions;
(f)
any act, omission or default of the owner or carrier of those goods;
(g)
strikes, lockouts or stoppages or restraints of labour from any cause, whether partial or general;
(h)
riots and civil commotions;
(i)
saving or attempting to save life or property;
(j)
insufficient or improper packing, defective or insufficient marks or leakage from defective drums, containers or packages;
(k)
any inherent liability to wastage in bulk or weight, latent or inherent defect or natural deterioration;
(l)
any deficiency in the contents of unbroken packages; or
(m)
the dangerous nature of those goods.
Cargo subject to general or particular average
61.—(1) The owner or master of any vessel discharging or intending to discharge any cargo which is the subject or likely to be the subject of a declaration of general or particular average into the premises of the Corporation must inform the Corporation of the existence or likelihood of the declaration and of the particulars of the cargo affected or likely to be affected by the declaration prior to the commencement of the discharge.
(2) The Corporation is exempt from all liability in respect of the discharge, reception, storage or removal of any cargo mentioned in subsection (1).
Corporation not responsible for acts of stevedore or workman
62. Any stevedore or workman while engaged in performing work in or in respect of any vessel is deemed, even though the stevedore’s or workman’s wage or remuneration for performing the work is paid by the Corporation, to be the employee of the owner and master of the vessel and the Corporation is exempt from all liability for any loss or damage caused by any act, omission or default of the stevedore or workman.
Saving
63.—(1) Nothing in this Part precludes the Corporation from accepting goods for storage as well as liability for any loss, destruction or damage to the goods.
(2) Nothing in this Part affects any liability that may be imposed on the Corporation by any written law relating to compensation to employees defined under the Work Injury Compensation Act 2019 or the Work Injury Compensation Act (Cap. 354, 2009 Revised Edition) repealed by that Act.[5/2008; 27/2019]
Source: Singapore Statutes Online (Attorney-General's Chambers), © Government of Singapore.
