S.L. 234.33 Art. 2Interpretation. Cap. 234.

In these regulations, unless the context otherwise requires -"Act" means the Merchant Shipping Act;

''Antarctic Area'' means the sea area south of latitude 60° South;

''from the nearest land'' means from the baseline from which the territorial sea of the territory in question is established in accordance with the Geneva Convention on the Territorial Sea and Contiguous Zone 1958, except that for the purposes of these regulations, ''from the nearest land'' off the north-eastern coast of Australia shall mean from a line drawn from a point on the coast of Australia in -latitude 11° 00' S, longitude 142° 08' E to a point latitude 10° 35' S, longitude 141° 55' E, thence to a point latitude 10° 00' S, longitude 142° 00' E, thence to a point latitude 09° 10' S, longitude 143° 52' E, thence to a point latitude 09° 00' S, longitude 144° 30' E, thence to a point latitude 10° 41' S, longitude 145° 00' E, thence to a point latitude 13° 00' S, longitude 145° 00' E, thence to a point latitude 15° 00' S, longitude 146° 00' E, thence to a point latitude 17° 30' S, longitude 147° 00' E, thence to a point latitude 21° 00' S, longitude 152° 55' E, thence to a point latitude 24° 30' S, longitude 154° 00' E, thence to a point on the coast of Australia in latitude 24° 42' S, longitude 153° 15' E;

''garbage'' means all kinds of victual, domestic and operational waste excluding fresh fish and parts thereof, generated during the normal operation of the ship and liable to be disposed of continuously or periodically except sewage originating from ships; ''harmful substances in packaged form'' has the same meaning as is assigned to it in MARPOL 73/78; ''Malta'' has the same meaning as is assigned to it in article 124 of the Constitution of Malta; ''Maltese ship'' has the same meaning as is assigned to it in article 3 of the Act; ''MARPOL 73/78'' means the ''International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships'' signed in London on the 2 November, 1973, including its Protocol of 1978 and any other amendment or Protocol related thereto, as may from time to time be ratified, acceded to or accepted by the Government of Malta and other instruments, standards and specifications of a mandatory nature related thereto adopted or developed by the International Maritime Organisation or determined, laid down, prescribed, set or specified by the Registrar-General in terms of these regulations;

''MARPOL Annex V'' means ''Annex V of MARPOL 73/78: Regulations for the Prevention of Pollution by Garbage from Ships'' including any other amendment related thereto, as may from time to time be ratified, acceded to or accepted by the Government of Malta and other instruments, standards and specifications of a mandatory nature related thereto, adopted or developed by the International Maritime Organisation or determined, laid down, prescribed, set or specified by the Registrar-General in terms of these regulations or of MARPOL Annex V; ''mile'' means an international nautical mile that is to say a distance of 1852 metres; ''noxious liquid substances'' has the same meaning as is assigned to it in MARPOL 73/78; ''oil'' and ''oily mixtures'' have the same meanings as are respectively assigned to them in MARPOL 73/78; ''operational wastes'' means all maintenance wastes, cargo associated wastes and cargo residues except residues or wastes from oil or oily mixtures, noxious liquid substances or harmful substances in packaged form;

''plastics'' includes, but is not limited to, synthetic ropes, synthetic fishing nets, plastic garbage bags and incinerator ashes from plastic products which may contain toxic or heavy metal residues; ''reception facility'' means facility into which ships may discharge garbage; ''required standard'': to the required standard means, in relation to comminuted or ground garbage, comminuted or ground sufficiently finely to be capable of passing through a screen with openings no greater than 25 millimetres; ''sewage'' has the same meaning as is assigned to it in MARPOL 73/78; ''ship'' has the same meaning as is assigned to it in the Act;

''special area'' has the same meaning as is assigned to it in MARPOL Annex V. Any area defined as a special area by the said Annex, as may be amended from time to time by the International Maritime Organisation, is a special area for the purpose of these regulations;

''State Party'' means a State that at the relevant time has ratified or acceded to, as the case may be, MARPOL 73/78.