Decreto n.º 28/2017
| Data de publicação | 25 Agosto 2017 |
| Section | Serie I |
| Órgão | Negócios Estrangeiros |
Decreto n.º 28/2017
de 25 de agosto
A Convenção Internacional de Nairobi sobre a Remoção de Destroços, adiante designada Convenção, negociada no âmbito da Organização Marítima Internacional (OMI) e adotada no Quénia, a 18 de maio de 2007, estabeleceu um quadro jurídico internacional para uma rápida e eficaz remoção de destroços que podem ter o potencial de afetar, de forma adversa, a segurança de vida humana, bens e propriedades no mar, bem como o ambiente marinho.
A Convenção procurou, assim, preencher uma lacuna existente no quadro jurídico internacional, criando o primeiro conjunto uniformizado de regras internacionais, que possibilitam garantir a remoção, tanto eficiente como eficaz, dos destroços localizados além do mar territorial, nela se inclui ainda uma cláusula facultativa, que permite ao «Estado Parte» aplicar certas disposições da Convenção de Nairobi ao seu território, incluindo ao seu mar territorial.
Nela é criada a figura do «Proprietário Registado», enquanto responsável pelos custos de localização, de marcação e de remoção de um destroço, que constitua um risco ou obstáculo para a navegação, que seja razoavelmente espectável que resulte em graves consequências para o ambiente marinho ou danos para a faixa costeira ou interesses relacionados com um ou mais «Estados».
A Convenção não prejudica o direito do armador de limitar a responsabilidade sob qualquer regime nacional ou internacional aplicável, sendo o comummente o que se encontra previsto no Protocolo de 1996 à Convenção sobre o Limite da Responsabilidade para Sinistros Marítimos, de 1976, Protocolo LLMC 1996.
A Convenção veio também esclarecer, a obrigatoriedade do «Proprietário Registado» de um navio, com Arqueação Bruta (AB) igual ou superior a 300, subscrever um seguro ou outra garantia financeira, nomeadamente a garantia de um banco ou de uma instituição financeira semelhante, que cubra os custos da remoção dos destroços e confira aos «Estados Parte» o direito de agirem diretamente contra as seguradoras ou entidades garante.
Atendendo à possibilidade conferida pelo n.º 2 do artigo 3.º da Convenção, Portugal decide estender a aplicação da Convenção aos destroços localizados no seu território, incluindo o mar territorial, observado o n.º 4 do artigo 4.º, sem prejuízo dos direitos e deveres de Portugal em tomar medidas em relação a destroços localizados no seu território, incluindo o mar territorial, que seja localizá-los, marcá-los e removê-los de acordo com a própria Convenção.
Assim:
Nos termos da alínea c) do n.º 1 do artigo 197.º da Constituição, o Governo aprova, para adesão, a Convenção Internacional de Nairobi sobre a Remoção de Destroços, adotada a 18 de maio de 2007, cujo texto, em versão autenticada em inglês e respetiva tradução para a língua portuguesa, se publica em anexo.
Visto e aprovado em Conselho de Ministros de 29 de junho de 2017. - António Luís Santos da Costa - Augusto Ernesto Santos Silva - Ana Paula Mendes Vitorino.
Assinado em 10 de julho de 2017.
Publique-se.
O Presidente da República, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa.
Referendado em 18 de julho de 2017.
O Primeiro-Ministro, António Luís Santos da Costa.
Nairobi International Convention on the Removal of Wrecks, 2007
The States Parties to the present Convention,
Conscious of the fact that wrecks, if not removed, may pose a hazard to navigation or the marine environment,
Convinced of the need to adopt uniform international rules and procedures to ensure the prompt and effective removal of wrecks and payment of compensation for the costs therein involved,
Noting that many wrecks may be located in States' territory, including the territorial sea,
Recognizing the benefits to be gained through uniformity in legal regimes governing responsibility and liability for removal of hazardous wrecks,
Bearing in mind the importance of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, done at Montego Bay on 10 December 1982, and of the customary international law of the sea, and the consequent need to implement the present Convention in accordance with such provisions,
have agreed as follows:
Article 1
Definitions
For the purposes of this Convention:
1 - «Convention area» means the exclusive economic zone of a State Party, established in accordance with international law or, if a State Party has not established such a zone, an area beyond and adjacent to the territorial sea of that State determined by that State in accordance with international law and extending not more than 200 nautical miles from the baselines from which the breadth of its territorial sea is measured.
2 - «Ship» means a seagoing vessel of any type whatsoever and includes hydrofoil boats, air-cushion vehicles, submersibles, floating craft and floating platforms, except when such platforms are on location engaged in the exploration, exploitation or production of seabed mineral resources.
3 - «Maritime casualty» means a collision of ships, stranding or other incident of navigation, or other occurrence on board a ship or external to it, resulting in material damage or imminent threat of material damage to a ship or its cargo.
4 - «Wreck», following upon a maritime casualty, means:
(a) a sunken or stranded ship; or
(b) any part of a sunken or stranded ship, including any object that is or has been on board such a ship; or
(c) any object that is lost at sea from a ship and that is stranded, sunken or adrift at sea; or
(d) a ship that is about, or may reasonably be expected, to sink or to strand, where effective measures to assist the ship or any property in danger are not already being taken.
5 - «Hazard» means any condition or threat that:
(a) poses a danger or impediment to navigation; or
(b) may reasonably be expected to result in major harmful consequences to the marine environment, or damage to the coastline or related interests of one or more States.
6 - «Related interests» means the interests of a coastal State directly affected or threatened by a wreck, such as:
(a) maritime coastal, port and estuarine activities, including fisheries activities, constituting an essential means of livelihood of the persons concerned;
(b) tourist attractions and other economic interests of the area concerned;
(c) the health of the coastal population and the wellbeing of the area concerned, including conservation of marine living resources and of wildlife; and
(d) offshore and underwater infrastructure.
7 - «Removal» means any form of prevention, mitigation or elimination of the hazard created by a wreck. «Remove», «removed» and «removing» shall be construed accordingly.
8 - «Registered owner» means the person or persons registered as the owner of the ship or, in the absence of registration, the person or persons owning the ship at the time of the maritime casualty. However, in the case of a ship owned by a State and operated by a company which in that State is registered as the operator of the ship, «registered owner» shall mean such company.
9 - «Operator of the ship» means the owner of the ship or any other organization or person such as the manager, or the bareboat charterer, who has assumed the responsibility for operation of the ship from the owner of the ship and who, on assuming such responsibility, has agreed to take over all duties and responsibilities established under the International Safety Management Code, as amended.
10 - «Affected State» means the State in whose Convention area the wreck is located.
11 - «State of the ship's registry» means, in relation to a registered ship, the State of registration of the ship and, in relation to an unregistered ship, the State whose flag the ship is entitled to fly.
12 - «Organization» means the International Maritime Organization.
13 - «Secretary-General» means the Secretary-General of the Organization.
Article 2
Objectives and general principles
1 - A State Party may take measures in accordance with this Convention in relation to the removal of a wreck which poses a hazard in the Convention area.
2 - Measures taken by the Affected State in accordance with paragraph 1 shall be proportionate to the hazard.
3 - Such measures shall not go beyond what is reasonably necessary to remove a wreck which poses a hazard and shall cease as soon as the wreck has been removed; they shall not unnecessarily interfere with the rights and interests of other States including the State of the ship's registry, and of any person, physical or corporate, concerned.
4 - The application of this Convention within the Convention area shall not entitle a State Party to claim or exercise sovereignty or sovereign rights over any part of the high seas.
5 - States Parties shall endeavour to co-operate when the effects of a maritime casualty resulting in a wreck involve a State other than the Affected State.
Article 3
Scope of application
1 - Except as otherwise provided in this Convention, this Convention shall apply to wrecks in the Convention area.
2 - A State Party may extend the application of this Convention to wrecks located within its territory, including the territorial sea, subject to article 4, paragraph 4. In that case, it shall notify the Secretary-General accordingly, at the time of expressing its consent to be bound by this Convention or at any time thereafter. When a State Party has made a notification to apply this Convention to wrecks located within its territory, including the territorial sea, this is without prejudice to the rights and obligations of that State to take measures in relation to wrecks located in its territory, including the territorial sea, other than locating, marking and removing them in accordance with this Convention. The provisions of articles 10, 11 and 12 of this Convention shall not apply to any measures so taken other than those referred to in articles 7, 8 and 9 of this Convention.
3 - When a State Party has made a notification under paragraph 2, the "Convention area" of the Affected State shall include the territory, including the territorial sea, of that State Party.
4 - A notification made under paragraph 2 above shall...
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