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(1) The Minister may appoint any person as an inspector to report to him-

(a) whether the prohibitions, restrictions and obligations imposed by virtue of this Act (including prohibitions so imposed by the creation of offences under this Act) have been complied with;

(b) what measures (other than measures made obligatory by regulations under section 5 of this Act) have been taken to prevent the escape of oil and mixtures containing oil;

(c) whether the oil reception facilities provided in ports are adequate; and any such inspector may be so appointed to report either in a particular case or in a class of cases specified in his appointment.

(2) Every surveyor of ships shall be taken to be a person appointed generally under the preceding subsection to report to the Minister in every kind of case falling within that subsection

(3) (a) Sections 314 and 316 of the Merchant Shipping Act, 1963 (Act 183) (which

relate to the powers of surveyors) shall apply to persons appointed under subsection (1) of this section as they apply to the surveyors referred to in those sections as if a reference to that Act were a reference to this Act and included a reference to any regulations made under this Act.

(b) Any power of a surveyor under the said section 314 as so applied to require the production of any records required to be kept in accordance with section 7 and 8 of this Act shall include power to copy an entry in those records and require the person by whom the records are kept to certify the copy as a true copy of the entry.

(4) Without prejudice to any powers exercisable by virtue of the preceding provisions of this section, in the case of a vessel which is for the time being in a port in Ghana the harbour master, and any other person appointed by the Minister under this subsection (either generally or in relation to a particular vessel), shall have power-

(a) to go on board and inspect the vessel or any part thereof or any of the machinery, boats, equipment or articles on board the vessel, for the purpose of ascertaining the circumstances relating to an alleged discharge of oil or a mixture containing oil from the vessel into the waters of the port;

(b) to require the production of any records which by virtue of sections 7 and 8 of this Act are required to be kept in respect of that vessel;

(c) to copy an entry in any such records, and require the person by whom the records are to be kept to certify the copy as a true copy of the entry:

Provided that a person exercising any powers conferred by this subsection shall not unnecessarily detain or delay the vessel from proceeding on any voyage.

(5) If any person fails to comply with any requirement duly made in pursuance of paragraph (b) or paragraph (c) of the last preceding subsection, he shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding ten pounds, and if any person wilfully obstructs a person acting in the exercise of any power conferred by virtue of this section, he shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding one hundred pounds.