Cap. 226 ст. 2Interpretation.

In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires -

"appropriate action" means all or any of the following actions:

(a) to hail a vessel,

(b) to stop a vessel,

(c) to board a vessel,

(d) to search a vessel,

(e) to arrest and detain any person suspected of being about to commit a criminal offence or of having committed such an offence,

(f) to seize anything on board a vessel suspected of having any connection with a criminal offence,

(g) to require the master of a vessel to take the vessel and crew out of Maltese waters or to a port or harbour in Malta;

"foreign military vessel" means any ship belonging to the armed forces of a foreign State and having such characteristics mutatis mutandis as correspond to those of a Maltese military vessel; "law" includes any instrument having the force of law;

"Malta" means the Island of Malta, the Island of Gozo and the other islands of the Maltese Archipelago;

"Maltese military vessel" means a ship belonging to the armed forces of Malta bearing the external marks distinguishing such ships as belonging to Malta under the command of an officer duly commissioned by the government of Malta and whose name appears in the appropriate service list or its equivalent, and manned by a crew which is under regular armed forces discipline; "maritime enforcement officer" means any member of the Malta Police Force, of the Armed Forces of Malta, any Customs Officer and any other officer vested with general law enforcement authority;

"relevant offence" means any offence against any law relating to customs, fiscal matters, immigration and sanitation, including authorities of Malta, including the customs authorities, bearing the external marks distinguishing such vessel or craft as belonging to Malta and identifying it as being on government service; "suspect vessel" means any vessel in respect of which appropriate action is to be taken.