New South Wales Consolidated Acts

MARINE SAFETY ACT 1998 - SECT 4

4 Definitions

(1) In this Act:
"Australian fishing vessel" has the same meaning as in the Navigation Act 1912 of the Commonwealth and includes a fishing fleet support vessel within the meaning of that Act.
"authorised officer" means:

(a) a harbour master, or

(b) a police officer, or

(c) a person (or a person of a class) appointed as an authorised officer under section 96.

"commercial vessel" means:

(a) any vessel used or intended to be used for or in connection with any business or commercial activity, including (but not limited to) a vessel used or intended to be used wholly or principally for:

(i) carrying passengers or cargo for hire or reward, whether within or outside State waters or in the course of overseas or interstate voyages, or

(ii) providing services to vessels for reward, or

(b) a vessel used or intended to be used by the Crown in any capacity.

"crew" of a vessel means the persons (including the master of the vessel) whose duty it is to navigate or work the vessel or to carry out other operations on the vessel.
"exercise" a function includes perform a duty.
"function" includes a power, authority or duty.
"harbour master" means a person appointed as harbour master under Part 7 and, in relation to a function of a harbour master under the marine legislation, includes a person appointed under Part 7 to exercise that function.
"interstate voyage" has the same meaning as in the Navigation Act 1912 of the Commonwealth.
"length" means length overall.
"marine legislation" means any of the following Acts (and the regulations and other instruments made under any of those Acts):

this Act,

Ports and Maritime Administration Act 1995 ,

Marine Pollution Act 1987 .

"marine pilot" of a vessel means the person who has the conduct of the vessel but who does not belong to the vessel.
"marine safety licence" means a marine safety licence referred to in section 29.
"master" of a vessel means the person having the command or charge of the vessel, but does not include a marine pilot.
"navigable waters" means all waters (whether or not in the State) that are from time to time capable of navigation and are open to or used by the public for navigation, whether on payment of a fee or otherwise.
"navigation aid" means any device used for the safety of navigation (such as a beacon, buoy or marine mark), but does not include a device on board a vessel.
"operate" a vessel includes:

(a) to determine or exercise control over the course or direction of the vessel or over the means of propulsion of the vessel (whether or not the vessel is underway), and

(b) to pilot the vessel, and

(c) in the case of the owner of the vessel, to cause or allow the vessel to be operated by someone else.

"overseas voyage" has the same meaning as in the Navigation Act 1912 of the Commonwealth.
"owner" of a vessel is defined in section 7.
"pilotage" and "pilotage port" have the same meanings as in Part 6.
"pleasure craft" has the same meaning as in the Navigation Act 1912 of the Commonwealth.
"port" includes any of the following waters (or any part of those waters):

(a) any harbour or haven, whether natural or artificial,

(b) any estuary, channel, river, creek or roadstead,

(c) any navigable water in which vessels may lie for shelter or for the transfer of cargo or passengers.

"Port Corporation" means Newcastle Port Corporation, Port Kembla Port Corporation or Sydney Ports Corporation.
"recreational vessel" means a vessel other than a commercial vessel.
"registrable vessel" is defined in section 49.
"RMS" means Roads and Maritime Services constituted under the Transport Administration Act 1988 .
"State waters" means any navigable waters within the limits of the State or the coastal waters of the State (within the meaning of Part 10 of the Interpretation Act 1987 ).

Note: Part 10 of the Interpretation Act 1987 defines "coastal waters of the State" generally as that part of the territorial sea of Australia that is within 3 nautical miles of the coast. The Marine Pollution Act 1987 defines "State waters" differently for the purposes of that Act (the definition extends to all the territorial sea adjacent to the State and only limited other internal waters of the State.

"vessel" is defined in section 5.

(2) For the purposes of this Act, a vessel is taken to be proceeding on a voyage from when it gets underway for the voyage until it gets underway for another voyage.

(3) Notes in the text of this Act do not form part of this Act.

Note: Penalties for offences are expressed in penalty units. Under the Interpretation Act 1987 , the amount of a penalty unit was $110 on the enactment of this Act.