Western Australian Current Acts Western Australian Current Acts (1) The harbour master
of any port may —
(a)
control the entry and departure of vessels into and from the port;
(b)
control the berthing, mooring and moving of vessels within the port;
(c)
exercise such other powers relating to the control and the direction of
vessels and persons within the port and the maintaining of good order within
the port, as are prescribed;
(d)
remove any wreckage that is within, or in or about the approaches to, the
waters of the port and is obstructing or likely to obstruct the safe movement
of vessels therein; and
(e)
control the movement of vessels in a prescribed control area outside the port.
(2) Where a harbour
master has removed wreckage pursuant to subsection (1)(d), he may by notice
served on the owner of the wreckage, demand payment of the cost of effecting
the removal of the wreckage.
(3) Where —
(a) an
owner fails within 28 days of the service on him of a notice under subsection
(2) to pay the amount specified in the notice; or
(b) the
harbour master is unable, after making reasonable enquiries, to ascertain the
owner of the wreckage,
the harbour master may
cause the wreckage so removed to be sold and the proceeds of the sale shall be
applied —
(c)
firstly, in payment of the costs of the sale;
(d)
secondly, in payment of the costs of the removal of the wreckage,
and the balance, if
any, shall be paid to the owner of the wreckage or, if the owner is not known,
credited to the Consolidated Account.
(4A) If under
subsection (3) any wreckage is sold in good faith to a person and the person
takes the property in good faith, the person receives good title to the
wreckage against every other person including its true owner.
(4) In this section
wreckage means any cargo, sunken hull or vessel, article or thing, other than
a vessel that is afloat.
[Section 5 amended: No. 65 of 1988 s. 4; No. 6 of
1993 s. 11; No. 49 of 1996 s. 64; No. 77 of 2006 s. 4; No. 42 of 2011 s. 105.]