The Merchant Shipping (Oil Pollution Preparedness, Response and Co-operation Convention) Regulations 1998

Interpretation

2.  In these Regulations, unless the context requires otherwise:

“GT” means gross registered tonnage, and the gross registered tonnage of a ship having alternative gross registered tonnages shall be taken to be the larger of those tonnages;

“MCA” means the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, an executive agency of the Department of the Environment, Transport and the Regions;

“National Contingency Plan” means the national plan for pollution emergencies prepared by the Secretary of State pursuant to section 293(2)(za) of the Merchant Shipping Act 1995(1);

“offshore installation” means any fixed or floating offshore installation or structure engaged in gas or oil exploration or production activities, or loading or unloading of oil;

“oil” means petroleum in any form including crude oil, fuel oil, sludge, oil refuse and refined products;

“oil handling facility” means a facility which presents a risk of an oil pollution incident and includes, inter alia, an oil terminal, pipeline and any other facility handling oil but does not include an offshore installation;

“oil pollution emergency plan” means a contingency plan (other than the National Contingency Plan) setting out arrangements for responding to incidents which cause or may cause marine pollution by oil, with a view to preventing such pollution or reducing or minimising its effect;

“oil pollution incident” means an occurrence or series of occurrences having the same origin, which results or may result in a discharge of oil and which poses or may pose a threat to the marine environment, or to the coastline or related interests of the United Kingdom and which requires emergency action or other immediate response;

“operator” means, in relation to an oil handling facility a person having, for the time being, the management of such facility in the United Kingdom, and in relation to an offshore installation, includes any person having the management of the installation;

“standard reporting requirements” means the requirements stated in—

(a)

part 2 (Standard Reporting Format and Procedures); and

(b)

sections 3.1, 3.2 and 3.3 of part 3 (Guidelines for Detailed Reporting Requirements);

of the Appendix to the Annex to Resolution A. 648(16) adopted by the Assembly of the International Maritime Organization on 19th October 1968;

“United Kingdom ship” has the meaning given by section 85(2) of the Merchant Shipping Act 1995.

(1)

1995 c. 21; section 293(2)(za) was inserted by the Merchant Shipping and Maritime Security Act 1997 (c. 28), Schedule 6, paragraph 17.