Prevention of Oil Pollution Act 1971

29 Interpretation

(1) In this Act—

• “barge ” includes a lighter and any similar vessel;

• “harbour authority ” and “harbour in the United Kingdom ” have the meanings assigned to them by section 8(2) of this Act;

• “harbour master ” includes a dock master or pier master, and any person specially appointed by a harbour authority for the purpose of enforcing the provisions of this Act in relation to the harbour ;

• “local enactment ” means a local or private Act, or an order confirmed by Parliament or brought into operation in accordance with special parliamentary procedure ;

• “oil ” means oil of any description and includes spirit produced from oil of any description, and also includes coal tar;

• “oil reception facilities ” has the meaning assigned to it by section 9(1) of this Act;

• “oil residues ” means any waste consisting of, or arising from, oil or a mixture containing oil;

• “outside the territorial waters of the United Kingdom ” means outside the seaward limits of those waters;

• “petroleum-spirit ” has the same meaning as in the [1928 c. 32.] Petroleum (Consolidation) Act 1928 ;

• “place on land ” has the meaning assigned to it by section 2(3) of this Act;

• “sea ” includes any estuary or arm of the sea;

• “transfer ”, in relation to oil, means transfer in bulk.

(2) Any reference in any provision of this Act to a mixture containing oil shall be construed as a reference to any mixture of oil (or, as the case may be, of oil of a description referred to in that provision) with water or with any other substance.

(3) Any reference in the provisions of this Act other than section 11 to the discharge of oil or a mixture containing oil, or to its being discharged, from a vessel, place or thing, except where the reference is to its being discharged for a specified purpose, includes a reference to the escape of the oil or mixture, or (as the case may be) to its escaping, from that vessel, place or thing.

(4) For the purposes of any provision of this Act relating to the discharge of oil or a mixture containing oil from a vessel, any floating craft (other than a vessel) which is attached to a vessel shall be treated as part of the vessel.

(5) Any power conferred by this Act to test any equipment on board a vessel shall be construed as including a power to require persons on board the vessel to carry out such work as may be requisite for the purpose of testing the equipment; and any provision of this Act as to submitting equipment for testing shall be construed accordingly.

(6) Subject to the preceding subsections, expressions used in this Act and in the [1894 c. 60.] Merchant Shipping Act 1894, have the same meanings in this Act as in that Act.

(7) Except in so far as the context otherwise requires, any reference in this Act to an enactment shall be construed as a reference to that enactment as amended by or under any other enactment.