New South Wales Consolidated Acts

MARINE POLLUTION ACT 1987 - SECT 3

3 Definitions

(1) In this Act:
"Australian fishing vessel" means a fishing vessel that is registered, or entitled to be registered, in Australia or in relation to which an instrument under section 4 (2) of the Fisheries Act 1952 of the Commonwealth is in force.
"Australian ship" means:

(a) a ship registered in Australia, or

(b) an unregistered ship having Australian nationality.

"Convention" means the 1973 Convention as modified and added to by the 1978 Protocol.
"fishing vessel" means a vessel used or intended to be used for catching fish, whales, seals, walrus or other living resources of the sea or seabed for profit or reward and includes any such vessel in the course of construction, but does not include any vessel:

(a) engaged in harvesting or transportation of algae or aquatic plants, or

(b) that is primarily a carrier or a mother vessel.

"harbour master" has the same meaning it has in the Marine Safety Act 1998 .
"inspector" means a person who is appointed in writing by the Minister to be an inspector for the purposes of this Act.
"master", in relation to a ship, means a person, other than a pilot, having command or charge of the ship.
"pleasure vessel" means:

(a) a vessel used wholly for the purpose of recreational or sporting activities and not for hire or reward, or

(b) any other vessel declared to be a vessel to which this Act applies by order of the Minister published in the Gazette.

"ship" means a vessel of any type whatsoever capable of being used on or in water and includes:

(a) a hydrofoil boat, or

(b) an air-cushion vehicle, or

(c) a submersible or submarine, or

(d) a floating craft, or

(e) a fixed or floating platform, or

(f) a barge (whether self propelled or not), or

(g) a sea-plane, or

(h) a floating dock (whether self propelled or not),

but does not include a pleasure vessel.
"State waters" means:

(a) the territorial sea adjacent to the State,

(b) the sea on the landward side of the territorial sea adjacent to the State that is not within the limits of the State, and

(c) other waters within the limits of the State prescribed by the regulations for the purposes of this definition.

"territorial sea" means the territorial sea of Australia.
"the 1973 Convention" means the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships, 1973 as corrected by the Proces-Verbal of Rectification dated 13 June 1978 (a copy of the English text of which, apart from Annexes III, IV and V, as so corrected is set out in Schedule 1), as affected by any amendment, other than an amendment not accepted by Australia, made under Article 16 of the Convention.
"the 1978 Protocol" means the Protocol of 1978 relating to the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships, 1973 (a copy of the English text of which, apart from Annexes III, IV and V to it, is set out in Schedule 2) as affected by:

(a) the amendments to the Annex to the Protocol adopted on 7 September 1984 (a copy of the English text of which amendments is set out in Schedule 3),

(b) the amendments to the Protocol adopted on 5 December 1985 (a copy of the English text of which relating to the Annex of the Protocol is set out in Schedule 4 and a copy of the English text of which relating to Protocol I to the Convention is set out in Schedule 5), and

(c) any other amendment to the Protocol, other than an amendment not accepted by Australia, made under Article VI of the Protocol.

"this Act" includes the regulations and orders made in pursuance of the regulations.
"Tonnage Measurement Convention" has the same meaning as in Part XA of the Navigation Act 1912 of the Commonwealth.
"trading ship" means a ship that is used, or being a ship in the course of construction, is intended to be used for or in connection with, any business or commercial activity and, without limiting the generality of the foregoing, includes a vessel that is used, or being a vessel in the course of construction, is intended to be used wholly or principally for:

(a) the carriage of passengers or cargo for hire or reward, or

(b) the provision of services to ships or shipping, whether for reward or otherwise,

but does not include a Commonwealth vessel within the meaning of the Navigation Act 1912 of the Commonwealth or a fishing vessel.

(2) A reference in a section of this Act to a prescribed officer shall be read as a reference to the person for the time being occupying, or performing the duties of, an office in the Government Department, Administrative Office or public authority of the State that deals with matters arising under that section or an officer of or representative of another body, being an office, officer or representative that is prescribed for the purposes of that section.

(3) Except in so far as the contrary intention appears, an expression that is used in this Act and in the Convention, otherwise than in an annex to the Convention, (whether or not a particular meaning is assigned to it by the Convention) has, in this Act, the same meaning as in the Convention.

(4) For the purposes of this Act:

(a) "inter-state voyage" and "overseas voyage" have the same respective meanings as in the Navigation Act 1912 of the Commonwealth,

(b) an intra-state voyage is a voyage other than an inter-state voyage or an overseas voyage, and

(c) for the purposes of paragraphs (a) and (b), a ship shall be deemed to be proceeding on a voyage from the time when it is got under way for the purpose of proceeding on the voyage until the time when it is got under way for the purpose of proceeding on another voyage.

(5) A discharge of oil or of an oily mixture or of a liquid substance or a mixture containing a liquid substance onto or into any land or waters, or any structure or thing, having the result that the whole or any part of the oil or oily mixture or liquid substance or mixture containing a liquid substance eventually enters any State waters, is for the purposes of this Act deemed to be a discharge into those State waters of the oil or oily mixture or liquid substance or mixture containing a liquid substance.

(6) Where, at any time, the gross tonnage applicable to a ship has been determined otherwise than in accordance with the Tonnage Measurement Convention, then, in the application of this Act to the ship at that time, a reference in this Act to the gross tonnage of a ship not expressed in tons shall be taken to be a reference to the gross tonnage of the ship expressed in tons.