S.L. 499.12 Art. 12Advance notice of arrival and ship’s status.

(1) The Master, owner or agent of any ship proposing to enter the internal or territorial waters of Malta shall, not less than seventy-two hours prior to arrival in territorial waters, give notice by telex, facsimile or in writing to the Authority in the form specified in Schedule A:

Provided that the master, owner, or agent of a ship, irrespective of its size, carrying dangerous or polluting goods bound for a port or an anchorage located in Malta shall, at the latest upon departure from the loading port or as soon as the port of destination or the location of the anchorage is known, if this information is unavailable at the moment of departure, notify the Authority of the information listed in Schedule A by such means as determined by the Authority: Provided further that -

(a) if subsequent events will cause the stated arrival time to change by two or more hours, the Master, owner or agent shall, immediately such change is determined, inform the Authority by the means prescribed in subregulation (1), or by any other effective means of communication;

(b) when in the opinion of the Authority the arrival notice cannot be furnished in the required time, he may allow such notice to be given as early as possible - but in any case not less than twenty-four hours prior arrival in territorial waters;

(c) the Master, owner or agent of any ship which is within the territorial waters shall immediately notify the Authority of any change which occurs in the information notifiable under this regulation.

(2) Any person who fails to comply with the provisions of subregulation (1) shall be guilty of an offence and shall, on conviction, be liable to a fine (multa) not exceeding one hundred and seventy-four euro and seventy cents (174.70) for each offence.

(3) Any notification or reporting formality obligation that is required in accordance with the provisions of these regulations shall be subject to the provisions of the Vessel Traffic Monitoring and Reporting Requirements Regulations.