MERCHANT SHIPPING (PREVENTION OF POLLUTION BY GARBAGE) REGULATIONS

SUBSIDIARY LEGISLATION 234.33

MERCHANT SHIPPING (PREVENTION OF

POLLUTION BY GARBAGE) REGULATIONS

1st March, 2004

LEGAL NOTICE 304 of 2003.

The title of these Regulations is the Merchant Shipping

(Prevention of Pollution by Garbage) Regulations.

In these regulations, unless the context otherwise requires -

"Act" means the Merchant Shipping Act;

''Antarctic Area'' means the sea area south of latitude 60° South;

''from the nearest land'' means from the baseline from which the

territorial sea of the territory in question is established in

accordance with the Geneva Convention on the Territorial Sea and

Contiguous Zone 1958, except that for the purposes of these

regulations, ''from the nearest land'' off the north-eastern coast of

Australia shall mean from a line drawn from a point on the coast of

Australia in -

latitude 11° 00' S, longitude 142° 08' E

to a point latitude 10° 35' S, longitude 141° 55' E,

thence to a point latitude 10° 00' S, longitude 142° 00' E,

thence to a point latitude 09° 10' S, longitude 143° 52' E,

thence to a point latitude 09° 00' S, longitude 144° 30' E,

thence to a point latitude 10° 41' S, longitude 145° 00' E,

thence to a point latitude 13° 00' S, longitude 145° 00' E,

thence to a point latitude 15° 00' S, longitude 146° 00' E,

thence to a point latitude 17° 30' S, longitude 147° 00' E,

thence to a point latitude 21° 00' S, longitude 152° 55' E,

thence to a point latitude 24° 30' S, longitude 154° 00' E,

thence to a point on the coast of Australia in latitude 24°

42' S, longitude 153° 15' E;

''garbage'' means all kinds of victual, domestic and operational

waste excluding fresh fish and parts thereof, generated during the

normal operation of the ship and liable to be disposed of

continuously or periodically except sewage originating from ships;

''harmful substances in packaged form'' has the same meaning as

is assigned to it in MARPOL 73/78;

''Malta'' has the same meaning as is assigned to it in article 124

of the Constitution of Malta;

''Maltese ship'' has the same meaning as is assigned to it in article

3 of the Act;

''MARPOL 73/78'' means the ''International Convention for the

Prevention of Pollution from Ships'' signed in London on the 2

November, 1973, including its Protocol of 1978 and any other

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 Organisation or determined, laid down, prescribed, set or

specified by the Registrar-General in terms of these regulations;

''MARPOL Annex V'' means ''Annex V of MARPOL 73/78

Regulations for the Prevention of Pollution by Garbage from Ships''

including any other amendment 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 Organisation or determined, laid down,

prescribed, set or specified by the Registrar-General in terms of

these regulations or of MARPOL Annex V;

''mile'' means an international nautical mile that is to say a

distance of 1852 metres;

''noxious liquid substances'' has the same meaning as is assigned

to it in MARPOL 73/78;

''oil'' and ''oily mixtures'' have the same meanings as are

respectively assigned to them in MARPOL 73/78;

''operational wastes'' means all maintenance wastes, cargo

associated wastes and cargo residues except residues or wastes

from oil or oily mixtures, noxious liquid substances or harmful

substances in packaged form;

''plastics'' includes, but is not limited to, synthetic ropes,

synthetic fishing nets, plastic garbage bags and incinerator ashes

from plastic products which may contain toxic or heavy metal

residues;

''reception facility'' means facility into which ships may

discharge garbage;

''required standard'': to the required standard means, in relation

to comminuted or ground garbage, comminuted or ground

sufficiently finely to be capable of passing through a screen with

openings no greater than 25 millimetres;

''sewage'' has the same meaning as is assigned to it in MARPOL

73/78;

''ship'' has the same meaning as is assigned to it in the Act;

''special area'' has the same meaning as is assigned to it in

MARPOL Annex V. Any area defined as a special area by the said

Annex, as may be amended from time to time by the International

Maritime Organisation, is a special area for the purpose of these

regulations;

''State Party'' means a State that at the relevant time has ratified

or acceded to, as the case may be, MARPOL 73/78.

These regulations apply to Maltese ships wherever they

may be and to other ships while they are in Malta.

(1) The disposal of all plastics from a ship into the sea

outside special areas is prohibited.

(2) The disposal from a ship into the sea outside special areas,

of garbage other than plastics is prohibited except where it is made

as far as practicable from the nearest land and

(a) in the case of dunnage, lining and packing materials

which will float, not less than twenty-five miles from

the nearest land; or

(b) in the case of food wastes and all other garbage

including paper products, rags, glass, metal, bottles,

crockery and similar refuse, not less than twelve miles

or, if such wastes and other garbage have been ground

or comminuted to the required standard, not less than

three miles from the nearest land.

When the garbage is mixed with other discharges having

different disposal or discharge requirements under Maltese law or

under MARPOL 73/78, the more stringent requirements shall

apply.

(1) The disposal into the sea within special areas, of any

garbage other than food wastes is prohibited.

(2) The disposal of food wastes into the sea within a special

area is prohibited except where it is made as far as practicable from

land but in any case not less than twelve miles from the nearest

land.

(3) Before entering the Antarctic area, Maltese ships shall have

sufficient capacity on board for the retention of all garbage while

operating in the area and shall have concluded arrangements to

discharge garbage at a reception facility after leaving the area.

(4) When the garbage is mixed with other discharges having

different disposal or discharge requirements under Maltese law or

under MARPOL 73/78, the more stringent requirements shall

apply.

The disposal into the sea of any garbage from a ship which

is a fixed or floating platform engaged in the exploration,

exploitation and associated offshore processing of seabed mineral

resources, or from any ships alongside or within five hundred

metres of such a platform, is prohibited provided that food wastes

which have been comminuted or ground to the required standard

may be disposed of into the sea from such platforms or ships if the

platform in question is located more than twelve miles from the

nearest land.

(1) Every ship of twelve metres or more in length overall

shall display placards which notify the crew and passengers of the

disposal requirements of regulations 4 and 5, as applicable.

(2) The placards shall be written in the working language of

the ship’s personnel and, for ships engaged in voyages to ports and

offshore terminals under the jurisdiction of State Parties, shall also

be in English, French or Spanish.

Every ship of 400 gross tonnage and above, and every ship

which is certified to carry fifteen persons or more, shall carry a

garbage management plan which the crew shall follow. This plan

shall provide written procedures for collecting, storing, processing

and disposing of garbage, including the use of the equipment on

board. It shall also designate the person in charge of carrying out

the plan. Such a plan shall be written in the working language of

the crew and be in accordance with the Guidelines for the

Development of Garbage Management Plans, developed by the

International Maritime Organisation.

(1) Every ship of 400 gross tonnage and above, and every

ship which is certified to carry fifteen persons or more engaged in

voyages to ports and offshore terminals under the jurisdiction of

State Parties and every fixed and floating platform while engaged

in exploration and exploitation of the sea-bed, shall maintain a

Garbage Record Book. The Garbage Record Book, whether as a

part of the ship’s official log-book or otherwise, shall be in the

relative form set out in the Appendix to MARPOL Annex V.

(2) Each discharge operation, or completed incineration, shall

be recorded in the Garbage Record Book and signed for on the date

of incineration or discharge by the officer in charge. Each

completed page of the Garbage Record Book shall be signed by the

master of the ship. The entries in the Garbage Record Book shall be

at least in English, French or Spanish. Where the entries are also

made in an official language of the State whose flag the ship is

entitled to fly, these entries shall prevail in the case of a dispute or

discrepancy.

(3) The entry for each incineration or discharge shall include

date and time, position of the ship, description of the garbage and

the estimated amount incinerated or discharged.

(4) In the event of the discharge, escape or accidental loss

referred to in regulation 10, an entry shall be made in the Garbage

Record Book of the circumstances of, and the reasons for, the loss.

(5) The Garbage Record Book shall be kept on board the ship

and in such a place as to be available for inspection in a reasonable

time. This document shall be made available to the competent

authorities of the governments of State Parties, for the purposes of

inspection and the possible making of copies of entries recorded

therein. In the latter case, the master of the ship is to certify that

any such copies are true copies of such entries, if so required. Any

copy so made, which has been certified by the master of the ship as

a true copy of an entry in the ship’s Garbage Record Book, shall be

admissible in any judicial proceedings as evidence of the facts

stated in the entry.

(6) The Garbage Record Book shall be preserved for a period

of two years after the last entry is made on the record.

(1) Regulations 4 to 6 shall not apply to

(a) the disposal of garbage from a ship necessary for the

purpose of securing the safety of a ship and those on

board or saving life at sea; or

(b) the escape of garbage resulting from damage to a ship

or its equipment provided that all reasonable

precautions have been taken before and after the

occurrence of the damage, for the purpose of

preventing or minimising the escape; or

(c) the accidental loss of synthetic fishing nets, provided

that all reasonable precautions have been taken to

prevent such loss.

(2) Regulation 9 shall not apply to any ship engaged on

voyages of one hour or less in duration, which is certified to carry

fifteen persons or more.

The Minister responsible for shipping may grant

exemptions from all or any of the provisions of these regulations,

as may be specified in the exemption, for any class of cases or

individual case on such terms if any, as he may specify and may,

subject to giving reasonable notice, alter or cancel any such

exemption.

It shall be the duty of the owner, of the company which has

assumed the operation of the ship and the master to ensure that the

ship is in compliance with the provisions and requirements of these

regulations and such person, if in fault, shall be liable to the

penalties provided for in the Merchant Shipping Act, and if no such

penalty is provided, such person shall, for each offence, be liable to

a fine (multa) not exceeding 500 units.