S.L. 499.23 Art. 3Interpretation.

In these regulations, unless the context otherwise requires:

"Authority" means the Authority for Transport in Malta as established by the Authority for Transport in Malta Act;

"authorised commercial premises" means any commercial premises as defined by the Trading Licences Act and which is licensed to carry out any commercial activity in terms of the Trading Licences Regulations; and for the purpose of these regulations includes also any building, premises or other establishment which is licensed in terms of the Malta Travel and

Tourism Services Act; "bunker barge" shall have the same meaning as that assigned to it in the Dangerous Cargo Ships, Marine Terminals and Facilities and Bunkering Regulations; "bunkers" shall have the same meaning as that assigned to it in the Dangerous Cargo Ships, Marine Terminals and Facilities and Bunkering Regulations;

"certificate of competency" means a qualification issued under these regulations limited to service on commercial vessels operating in Maltese ports and internal or territorial waters; "certificate of insurance" means a certificate of insurance issued by an insurer in terms of the provisions contained in the Code of Practice; "certifying authority" means the Authority for Transport in Malta or any other person authorised by it; "Code of Practice" means the Code of Practice for the Safety of

*Paragraphs 30.2.4 and 30.3.1 of the Code of Practice for the Safety of Commercial Vessels are in force as from 1st May, 2004 - vide Legal Notice 327 of 2004. Commercial Vessels and any subsequent amendments thereto issued and published by the Authority, governing the construction, machinery, equipment, stability, operation, manning, certification and maintenance of commercial vessels;

"commercial vessel" means a vessel, whether power-driven or not, engaged in or intended for use in any trade, business or calling or operating for hire or reward within the ports, internal waters and territorial waters of Malta; for the purposes of these regulations and of the Code of Practice unless otherwise specified the term "vessel" shall have the same meaning as commercial vessel; "commercial vessel certificate" means a certificate valid for a specified period, issued by the Authority in terms of these regulations, on the basis of a survey conducted by a surveyor or organisation recognised by the Authority, certifying that at the time of survey, the vessel was found to comply with all the relevant requirements of the Code of Practice; "convention vessel" means a vessel which due to its tonnage, usage or dimensions would, if trading in international waters or on international voyages, fall within the requirements of any, or any part, of the IMO Conventions to which Malta has acceded to; "crew" means persons employed or engaged in any capacity on board a vessel, other than the Master; "dangerous goods" shall have the same meaning as that assigned to it in the Dangerous Cargo Ships, Marine Terminals and Facilities and Bunkering Regulations; "effective" means in relation to a fitting or piece of equipment or material, that all reasonable and practicable measures have been taken to ensure that it is suitable for the purpose for which it is intended to be used; "enforcement officer" means a member of the Police or of the Armed Forces of Malta, or an official authorised by the Authority to enforce these regulations; "engine driver" means a person holding an "A" (Steam) Sea First or Second Grade, or "B" (Motor) Sea First or Second Grade Special Licence issued under the herein repealed Mechanically Driven Boats (Passengers and Cargo) Regulations; "existing commercial vessel" means a vessel which is not a new vessel; "freeboard" means the distance measured vertically downwards amidships from the lowest point of the upper edge of the freeboard deck to the waterline in still water, or from the upper edge of the deck line to the upper edge of the related load line, as appropriate;

"gross tonnage" means the gross tonnage registered in the certificate of registry or the tonnage recorded in the Tonnage Certificate of a vessel applying for a certificate under these regulations; "hire” shall include bareboat chartering, whether skippered or not; "IMO" means the International Maritime Organisation; "insurer" means an assurance company established in terms of the Laws of Malta; "length" unless expressly provided otherwise, means 96% of the total length on a water line at 85% of the least moulded depth measured from the top of the keel, or the length from the foreside of the stem to the axis of the rudder stock on that waterline, if that be greater. In vessels designed with a rake keel the waterline on which this length is measured shall be parallel to the designed waterline;

"length overall" means the overall length from the foreside of the foremost fixed permanent structure to the aftside of the aftermost permanent structure of the vessel; "licence" means a licence issued by the Authority to the owner in terms of these regulations; "Master" means the Master or person other than a pilot or watchman, having command, charge or management of a vessel for the time being; "Master with special licence" means a person licensed to serve as Master of a boat trading within the internal and territorial waters of Malta, under the herein repealed Mechanically Driven Boats

(Passengers and Cargo) Regulations; "Minister" means the Minister responsible for maritime transport; "new commercial vessel" means a vessel to which these regulations apply, the keel of which was laid or the construction or lay-up was started on or after the date when these regulations came into force, or an existing vessel not already being a vessel to which these regulations apply, but obtained and proposed to be newly used as such a vessel on or after that date; "non-convention vessel" means a vessel other than a convention vessel; "owner" means the registered owner or the owner or the managing operator of the registered owner or owner or disponent owner, or Master of the vessel;

"passenger" means a person on board a commercial vessel other than:

(a) the Master and the members of the crew or other person employed or engaged in any capacity on board a vessel on the business thereof;

(b) a person on board the vessel either in pursuance of the obligation laid upon the Master to carry shipwrecked, distressed or other persons, or by reason of any circumstances that neither the Master nor the owner, if any, could have prevented; and

(c) a child under one year of age; "passenger transport services" means the carriage of passengers using commercial vessels for hire or reward, and shall include sightseeing tours and any other commercial activity involving the carriage of passengers;

"pilot boat" means a vessel, of whatever size, employed or intended to be employed in pilotage services;

"pleasure craft" means any ship which is only and exclusively used and operated for private pleasure and recreational purposes and not operated for or otherwise used in any commercial activity; "policy" means a policy of insurance which is issued by an insurer in respect of the risks described in regulation 19(3)(k); "polluting goods" shall have the same meaning as that assigned to it in the Dangerous Cargo Ships, Marine Terminals and Facilities and Bunkering Regulations; "ports" shall have the same meaning as that assigned to it in the Ports and Shipping Act and any harbour, bay, cove, creek, seashore or any navigable waters;

"qualifying service" means the recorded time spent in service aboard a vessel relevant to the issue of a certificate or other qualification, calculated and documented as approved by the Authority; "register" means a register of licences maintained at the Authority for Transport in Malta pursuant to these regulations; "safety of navigation" means all equipment, appliances, machinery, manning levels, navigational instruments and the due professional care and attention of the Master and all crew on board, which appertains to the safe conduct of operations, both for the vessel involved and other vessels, people or property which may become involved in such operations; "ship" shall have the same meaning as that assigned to it in the Ports and Shipping Act; "surveyor" means a person appointed as a surveyor of ships in terms of the Merchant Shipping Act, or a person so appointed by a classification society approved by the Authority, or a person appointed by the Authority for the purpose of examining and surveying vessels in terms of these regulations; "territorial and internal waters" shall have the same meaning as that assigned to them in the Authority for Transport in Malta Act; "Tribunal" means the Administrative Review Tribunal established in terms of article 5 of the Administrative Justice Act;

"watertight" means capable of preventing the passage of water in either direction;

"weather deck" means the main deck which is exposed to the elements.