S.L. 234.53 ст. 2Interpretation. Cap. 234. Cap. 499. Cap. 226. Cap. 226.

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

"competent authority" means the Authority for Transport in Malta established by article 5 of the Authority for Transport in Malta Act and in relation to other State parties means the national maritime administration maintained by those States;

"Convention" means the Nairobi International Convention on the Removal of Wrecks, signed in Nairobi on 18 May 2007, including any 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 Organization; "Convention area" means the exclusive economic zone of a State Party, established in accordance with international law or, if a State Party has not established such a zone, an area beyond and adjacent to the territorial sea of that State determined by that State in accordance with international law and extending not more than 200 nautical miles from the baselines from which the breadth of its territorial sea is measured: Provided that, in respect to Malta shall mean an area extending to twenty-five nautical miles from the baselines from which the territorial waters are measured in accordance with the Territorial Waters and Contiguous Zone Act, or any other area as may be determined from time to time by the Minister, in accordance with international law;

"the Minister" means the Minister responsible for shipping and includes any person acting under his authority;

*see regulation 1(3) of these regulations, as originally promulgated. "operator of the ship" means the owner of the ship or any other organisation or person such as the manager, or the bareboat charterer, who has assumed responsibility for operation of the ship from the owner of the ship and who, on assuming such responsibility, has agreed to take over all duties and responsibilities established under the International Safety Management Code, as amended;

"registered owner" means the person or persons registered as the owner of the ship or, in the absence of registration, the person or persons owning the ship at the time of the maritime casualty: Provided that, in the case of a ship owned by a State and operated by a company which in that State is registered as the operator of the ship, registered owner shall mean such company; "Registrar-General" means the Registrar General of Shipping and Seamen appointed under article 363 of the Act and includes any person acting under his authority; "territorial waters" shall have the same meaning as is assigned to it in the Territorial Waters and Contiguous Zone Act.

(2) Unless otherwise defined in the Act or in these regulations, or unless the context so requires, words and expressions used in these regulations shall have the same meaning assigned to them in the Convention.

(3) Any reference in these regulations to an International Convention or its related protocol or code shall include reference to any amendments to such convention, protocol or code accepted by the Government of Malta.