Continental Shelf Regulations, 2015

L.N. 235 of 2015

CONTINENTAL SHELF ACT

(CAP. 535)

Continental Shelf Regulations, 2015

IN exercise of the powers conferred by article 4 of the

Continental Shelf Act, the Prime Minister has made the following

regulations:-

(1) The title of these regulations is the Continental Shelf

Regulations, 2015.

(2) These regulations apply to the continental shelf of Malta.

(3) The purpose of these regulations is to regulate activities on

the continental shelf and to establish and regulate safety zones

therein.

Regulation 5(3)

Administrative Charge for submarine cables

Description

Administrative Charge

Surveying or laying of A one-time administrative charge of

submarine cables in the ten thousand euro (€10,000).

internal waters and/or

territorial waters and/or

continental shelf of Malta.

B

B

€0.90

(1) Unless otherwise defined in these regulations, words

and expressions used herein shall have the same meaning assigned to

them as in the Act.

(2) In these regulations, unless the context otherwise requires

"the Act" means the Continental Shelf Act;

"administrative charge" means any fee payable to the

Government to cover the cost of expenses incurred in relation to the

application, processing and granting of a licence under these

regulations;

"the competent authority" means the Office of the Prime

Minister, and such other body or person as the Prime Minister may

prescribe and designate as the competent authority for different

purposes in terms of different provisions of these regulations;

"dumping" means

(a) any deliberate disposal of wastes or other matter

from vessels, aircraft, platforms or other man-made structures at

sea;

(b) any deliberate disposal of vessels, aircraft, platforms

or other man-made structures at sea,

but does not include

(i) the disposal of wastes or other matter

incidental to, or derived from the normal operations of

vessels, aircraft, platforms or other man-made structures at

sea and their equipment, other than wastes or other matter

transported by or to vessels, aircraft, platforms or other

man-made structures at sea, operating for the purpose of

disposal of such matter or derived from the treatment of

such wastes or other matter on such vessels, aircraft,

platforms or structures;

(ii) placement of matter for a purpose other than

the mere disposal thereof, provided that such placement is

not contrary to the aims of these regulations;

"internal waters" means the waters on the landward side of the

baselines from which the breadth of the territorial waters are

measured;

"licence" means any agreement or document evidencing

authorisation and consent granted by the Government under these

regulations;

"Prime Minister" includes any other person designated by the

Prime Minister as a competent authority in terms of article 5 of the

Act;

"research entity" means any person, State, educational

institution, commercial partnership, consortium, association, body of

persons or competent international organisation involved in marine

scientific research.

(1) The Prime Minister may, for the purpose of Protection of

protecting any installation or other device in a designated area by installations

designated

order published in the Gazette, prohibit ships, subject to any areas.

exceptions provided by the order, from entering without his consent

such part of that area as may be specified in that order.

(2) If any ship enters any part of a designated area in

contravention of an order under this regulation, its owner, charterer,

manager or master shall be liable, on conviction, to a fine (multa) not

exceeding one million euro (€1,000,000) or to imprisonment for a

term not exceeding one year or to both such fine and imprisonment,

unless it is proven by the master that the prohibition imposed by the

order was not, and could not on reasonable inquiry have become

known to him.

(1) If any oil or any mixture containing oil is discharged

into any part of the sea -

(a)

from a pipeline; or

(b) as a result of any operations for the exploration of

the seabed and subsoil or the exploitation of their natural

resources in a designated area,

then, subject to the following provisions of this Act, the owner of the

pipeline or, as the case may be, the person carrying on the operations

shall be guilty of an offence unless the discharge was from a place in

his occupation and he proves that it was due to the act of a person

who was there without his permission (express or implied).

(2) A person guilty of an offence under this regulation shall be

liable, on conviction, to a fine (multa) of not less than five thousand

euro (€5,000) and not exceeding two million euro (€2,000,000).

(1) No person shall conduct a survey for the laying of a

submarine cable or pipeline or lay or maintain any submarine cable or

pipeline on the continental shelf without a licence for such purpose,

granted by the Prime Minister, evidencing the consent of the

Government for the said surveying and the delineation of the course

for the laying of such cables and pipelines.

(2) Without prejudice to sub-regulation (1), the Prime Minister

may impose in such licence any condition as he may consider

necessary for the laying or maintenance of such cables and pipelines

in the exercise of its right to take reasonable measures for the

exploration of the continental shelf, the exploitation of natural

resources and the prevention, reduction and control of pollution from

such cables or pipelines.

(3) There shall be payable to the Government an

administrative charge as established in the Schedule for the surveying

or laying of submarine cables and for the granting of a licence in

accordance with sub-regulations (1) and (2)

Provided that in case of submarine pipelines any charges or

fees shall be agreed between the Government and the applicant on a

case by case basis

Provided further that any charges or fees that have been

paid to Government prior to the entry in force of these regulations

shall not be reimbursable from Government.

(4) The owner or operator of any submarine cable or pipeline

which has fallen into disuse or is beyond repair shall forthwith inform

the Government thereof and shall, if so ordered by the Government,

remove such cable or pipeline within such period of time as the

Government may order and in accordance with any conditions which

the Government may so establish.

(5) Any person who contravenes any of the provisions of this

regulation shall be liable, on conviction, to a fine (multa) not

exceeding two million euro (€2,000,000) or to a term of

imprisonment not exceeding two years or to both such fine and

imprisonment.

(1) The right to regulate, authorise and conduct marine Marine

scientific research on the continental shelf is vested in the scientific

research.

Government.

(2) No research entity shall conduct marine scientific research

on the continental shelf unless in terms of a licence granted by the

Prime Minister issued under these regulations, and in accordance with

any requirement or condition of such licence.

(3) The Prime Minister may, without prejudice to the

generality of his discretion under the preceding sub-regulations,

withhold his consent to grant such licence for the conduct of a marine

scientific research project on the continental shelf of Malta if that

project

(a)

is of direct significance for the exploration and

exploitation of natural resources, whether living or non-living;

or

(b) involves drilling or coring into, or sampling from,

the continental shelf, the use of explosives or the introduction of

harmful substances into the marine environment; or

(c)

involves the construction, operation or use of

artificial islands, installations, structures and devices; or

(d) relates to any information communicated pursuant

to sub-regulation (4) regarding the nature and objectives of the

project which is inaccurate or if the research entity has

outstanding obligations to the Government from a prior research

project.

(4) Any research entity intending to undertake marine

scientific research on the continental shelf of Malta shall, not less

than six months in advance of the expected starting date of the marine

scientific research project, provide the Government with an

application for consent, in a format provided by Government, giving a

full description of

(a)

the nature and objectives of the project;

(b) the method and means to be used, including name,

tonnage, type and class of vessels and a description of scientific

equipment;

(c)

the precise geographical areas in which the project is

to be conducted;

(d) the expected date of first appearance and final

departure of the research vessels, or deployment of the

equipment and its removal, as appropriate;

(e)

the name of the sponsoring institution, its director,

and the person in charge of the project; and

(f)

the extent to which it is considered that the

Government should be able to participate or to be represented in

the project.

(5) Any research entity when undertaking marine scientific

research on the continental shelf of Malta shall comply with the

following conditions

(a) ensure the right of the Government, if it so desires,

to participate or be represented in the marine scientific research

project, especially on board research vessels and other craft or

scientific research installations, when practicable, without

payment of any remuneration to the scientists of the

Government and without Government’s obligation to contribute

towards the costs of the project;

(b) provide the Government, at its request, a daily

position report of the research vessel or other craft or scientific

research installations;

(c)

provide the Government, at its request, with

preliminary reports, as soon as practicable, and with the final

results and conclusions after the completion of the research;

(d) comply with all applicable health, safety and

environmental regulations and guidelines;

(e)

provide access for the Government, at its request, to

all data and samples derived from the marine scientific research

project and likewise furnish it with data which may be copied

and samples which may be divided without detriment to their

scientific value;

(f)

if requested, provide the Government with an

assessment of such data, samples and research results or provide

assistance in their assessment or interpretation;

(g) ensure that, as soon as practicable, the research

results are made internationally available through appropriate

national or international channels, provided that if the research

results of a project are of direct significance for the exploration

and exploitation of natural resources, then such results shall not

be made available in accordance with this sub-regulation

without the prior consent in writing of the Government;

(h) inform the Government immediately of any major

change in the research programme;

(i)

unless otherwise agreed with the Government,

remove the scientific research installations or equipment once

the research is completed; and

(j)

comply with any other condition which Government

may reasonably impose.

(6) Nothing in sub-regulation (5) shall be construed as limiting

the discretion of the Prime Minister to grant or withhold consent

pursuant to sub-regulation (3).

(7) The Government shall have the right to require the

suspension of any marine scientific research activities in progress on

its continental shelf if

(a) the research activities are not being conducted in

accordance with the information communicated as provided

under sub-regulation (4) upon which the consent of the

Government was based; or

(b) the research entity conducting the research activities

fails to comply with the provisions of sub-regulation (5)

concerning the rights of the Government with respect to the

marine scientific research project.

(8) The Government shall have the right to issue an order

requiring the suspension or cessation of any marine scientific

research activities in case of any non-compliance with the provisions

of sub-regulations (4) and (5) which amounts to a major change in the

research project or the research activities.

(9) The Government shall also have the right to issue an order

requiring suspension or cessation of marine scientific research

activities if any of the situations contemplated in sub-regulation (8)

are not rectified within a reasonable period of time.

(10) Following notification by the Government of its decision

to order suspension or cessation, such research entity authorised to

conduct marine scientific research activities shall terminate the

research activities that are the subject of such a notification.

(11) An order of suspension or cessation under sub-regulation

(8) may be lifted by the Government and the marine scientific

research activities allowed to continue once the research entity has

complied with the conditions required under sub-regulations (4) and

(5).

(12) Any person who contravenes any of the provisions of this

regulation shall be liable, on conviction, to a fine (multa) not

exceeding five hundred thousand euro (€500,000).

(13) For the purposes of the preceding sub-regulations, the

Government shall, subject to its obligation to act reasonably, have the

exclusive competence to determine what amounts to a major change

in any given project.

(14) There shall be payable to the Government a non-

refundable administrative charge of three hundred euro (€300) for any

application for marine scientific research submitted to Government in

accordance with sub-regulation (4).

(1) The Government shall have the exclusive right to

construct and to authorize and regulate the construction, operation

and use of artificial islands, installations, structures and devices on

the continental shelf.

(2) No person shall construct, operate or use any artificial

island, or any installation, structure or device on the continental shelf

without a licence for such purpose granted by the Prime Minister or in

contravention of any requirement or condition contained in any such

licence.

(3) The Government may impose charges as specified in the

licence conditions issued in accordance with sub-regulation (2) for

the construction, operation and use of artificial islands, installations,

structures and devices on the continental shelf.

(4) The owner or operator of any artificial island, installation,

structure or device which has fallen into disuse or is beyond repair

shall forthwith inform the Government thereof and shall, if so

directed by the Government, remove such artificial island,

installation, structure or device within such period of time as the

Government may order and in accordance with any conditions which

the Government may so establish.

(5) Any person who contravenes any of the provisions of this

regulation shall be liable, on conviction, to a fine (multa) not

exceeding two million euro (€2,000,000) or to a term of

imprisonment not exceeding two years, or to both such fine and

imprisonment.

(1) Dumping onto the continental shelf shall not be Dumping.

carried out without the express prior approval of the Government,

which has the right to permit, regulate and control such dumping after

due consideration of the matter with other States which by reason of

their geographical situation may be adversely affected thereby.

(2) Any person who contravenes any of the provisions of this

regulation shall be liable, on conviction, to a fine (multa) not

exceeding two million euro (€2,000,000) or to a term of

imprisonment not exceeding five years, or to both such fine and

imprisonment.

The following regulations shall apply mutatis mutandis on Offshore safety.

the continental shelf

(a)

the Offshore Safety (Oil and Gas) Regulations; and

(b) the Offshore (Oil and Gas) External Emergency

Response Regulations.

Any communications or payments required to be made to Communica-

the Government under these regulations shall be made to the tions

Government.

competent authority.

In these regulations, the term "continental shelf" includes Applicability to

the sea bed and subsoil of the submarine areas within the limits of the internal

territorial

internal waters and the territorial waters of Malta

waters.

Provided that nothing in these regulations shall affect any

obligation to obtain a permit or other authorisation which may be

required under any other laws or regulations in respect of any activity

provided for in these regulations.