CONTINENTAL SHELF REGULATIONS

CONTINENTAL SHELF

SUBSIDIARY LEGISLATION 535.02

CONTINENTAL SHELF REGULATIONS

31st July, 2015

LEGAL NOTICE 235 of 2015.

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

Regulations.

(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

S u r v e y i n g o r l a y i n g o f A one-time administrative

submarine cables in the internal c h a rg e o f t e n t h o u s a n d e u r o

waters and/or territorial waters (€10,000).

and/or continental shelf of

Malta.

(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 com petent 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

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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;

" r e s e a r c h e n t i t y " m e a n s a n y p e r s o n , St a t e , e d u c a t i o n a l

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 protecting

any installation or other device in a designated area by order

published in the Gazette, prohibit ships, subject to any 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

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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

scientific research on the continental shelf is vested in the

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

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(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

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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 an y n on -co m pli a nc e wi th th e

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

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(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 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

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imprisonment.

The following regulations shall apply mutatis mutandis on

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

the Government under these regulations shall be made to the

competent authority.

In these regulations, the term "continental shelf" includes

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

the internal waters and the territorial waters of Malta

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.