25.—(1) Without prejudice to any other power conferred by this Act, a harbour-master, in the case of any ship which may be in the harbour over which he has control, may—

(a)go on board the ship and inspect, for the purposes of ascertaining the circumstances relating to an alleged discharge of any oil, oily mixture, noxious liquid substance, harmful substance, F23[sewage, garbage, substances subject to control by Annex VI to the MARPOL Convention or anti-fouling systems] into the harbour, the ship and its machinery and any boats, equipment, cargo or articles on board;

F24[(aa) take samples of oil, oily mixtures, noxious liquid substances, harmful substances, sewage or garbage from the ship concerned;]

(b) require the production of and inspect any record or other document required to be kept, under this Act or otherwise;

(c) copy any entry in any such record or document and require the master of the ship or the person by whom the record or document is kept to certify that the copy is a true copy.

F24[(1A) A harbour-master may enter any oil handling facility F25[or hazardous and noxious substances handling facility] within the harbour in respect of which he is harbour-master and there make inspections and carry out such tests as he thinks fit—

(a) in relation to the carrying on of any activities in such facility, including the monitoring and assessment of the effects on the marine environment of such activities, or

(b) for the purposes of monitoring and assessing the effects on the marine environment of any oil pollution incident F25[or pollution incident by hazardous and noxious substances].]

(2) Any person who—

(a) fails to comply with a requirement of a harbour-master under this section, or

(b) wilfully impedes a harbour-master in the exercise of his functions under this section,

shall be guilty of an offence.