503 



(i v) the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions 

 at Sea, 1960; or 



(v) any amendments to the above-mentioned Conventions 

 which have been determined as being of an important nature 

 in accordance with Article XVI (5) of the Convention men- 

 tioned under (i), Article IX (e) of the Convention mentioned 

 under (ii) or Article 29 (3)(d) or (4)(d) of the Convention 

 mentioned under (iii), provided, however, that such amend- 

 ments had been in force for at least twelve months at the. 

 time of the incident; 

 and 



(b) the incident or damage was caused wholly or partialfy by 

 such non-com])liance. 

 The provisions of this paragraph shall apply irrespective of whether 

 the Contracting State in which the ship was registered or whose flag 

 it was flying is a Party to the relevant Instrument. 



4. Uj)oii the entry into force of a new Convention designed to re- 

 ])lace, in whole or i)i yi&rt, any of the Instruments specified in para- 

 grai)h 3, the Assembly may decide at least six months in advance a 

 date on which the new Convention will replace such Instrument or 

 ])art thereof for the purj)ose of ])aragrai)h 3. However, any State 

 Party to this Convention may declare to the Director before that date 

 that it does not accept su(;h replacement; in which case the decision 

 of the Assembly shall have no elFcct in respect of a ship registered in, 

 or flying the flag of, that State at the time of the inci(](>nt. Such a 

 declaration may be withdrawn at any later date and shall in any 

 event cease to have effect when the State in question becomes a i)arty 

 to such new Convention. 



5. A ship com|)lying with the requirements in an amendment to an 

 Instrument specified in paragraph 3 or with retjuirements in a new 

 Convention, where theanuMxhnent or Convention is designed to rephice 

 in whole or in j^art such Instrument, sliall be considered as complying 

 with the requirements in the said Instrument for the purposes of })ara- 

 graj)h 3. 



6. Where the Fund, acting as a guarantor b^' virtue of paragraph 2, 

 has j)aid comi)ensation for pollution damage in uccordaiico with the 

 Liability Convention, it shall have a right of recovery from the owru^r 

 if and to the extent that the Fund would luivo been exonerated pur- 

 suant to paragraph 3 from its obligations under |)ai"agraph 1 to in- 

 demnify the ow ner. 



7. Expenses reasonably incurred and sacriric(^s reasonably made by 

 the owner voluntarily to prev(Mit or minimize pollution damat^e shall 

 be treated as included in the owner's liability for the purposes of this 

 Article. 



Article 6 



1. Rights to compensation under Article 4 or indf^iHiification under 

 Article 5 sluUl be extinguished uidess an acti()i\ is brought tlK'reuMd(^r 

 or a notification has been nnide pursuant to Article 7, paragraph 0, 

 within threes years fi-om the date when the damage occuired. Il()we\-er, 

 in no case shall an action be brought after six years from the date of 

 the incident wiiich caused the (la,maire. 



