2.2 Definitions
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Statutory Documents - IMO Publications and Documents - Circulars - Maritime Safety Committee - MSC.1/Circular.1216 – Revised Recommendations on the Safe Transport of Dangerous Cargoes and Related Activities in Port Areas – (26 February 2007) - Annex - Revised Recommendations on the Safe Transport of Dangerous Cargoes and Related Activities in Port Areas - 2 Application and Definitions - 2.2 Definitions

2.2 Definitions

 For the purpose of these Recommendations, the following definitions apply:

  Berth means any dock, pier, jetty, quay, wharf, marine terminal or similar structure (whether floating or not) at which a ship may tie up. It includes any plant or premises, other than a ship, used for purposes ancillary or incidental to the loading or unloading of dangerous cargoes.

  Berth operator means any person or body of persons who has for the time being the day-to-day control of the operation of a berth.

  Bulk means cargoes which are intended to be carried without any intermediate form of containment in a cargo space which is a structural part of a ship or in a tank permanently fixed in or on a ship.

  Cargo interests means a consignor (shipper), carrier, forwarder, consolidator, packing centre or any person, company or institution involved in any of the following activities: identification, containment, packaging, packing, securing, marking, labelling, placarding or documentation, as appropriate, of dangerous cargoes for receipt by a port and transport by sea and having control over the cargo at any time.

  Certificate of Fitness means a certificate issued by or on behalf of an Administration in accordance with the relevant codes for the construction and equipment of a type of ship certifying that the construction and equipment of the ship are such that certain specified dangerous cargoes may be carried in that ship.

  Dangerous cargoes means any of the following cargoes, whether packaged, carried in bulk packagings or in bulk within the scope of the following instruments:

– oils covered by Annex I of MARPOL 73/78;

– gases covered by the Codes for the Construction and Equipment of Ships Carrying Liquefied Gases in Bulk;

– noxious liquid substances/chemicals, including wastes, covered by the Codes for the Construction and Equipment of Ships Carrying Dangerous Chemicals in Bulk and Annex II of MARPOL 73/78;

– solid bulk materials possessing chemical hazards and solid bulk materials hazardous only in bulk (MHBs), including wastes, covered by group B schedules in the Code of Safe Practice for Solid Bulk Cargoes (BC Code);

– harmful substances in packaged form (covered by Annex III of MARPOL 73/78); and

– dangerous goods, whether substances, materials or articles (covered by the IMDG Code).

 The term dangerous cargoes includes any empty uncleaned packagings (such as tank-containers, receptacles, intermediate bulk containers (IBCs), bulk packagings, portable tanks or tank vehicles) which previously contained dangerous cargoes, unless the packagings have been sufficiently cleaned of residue of the dangerous cargoes and purged of vapours so as to nullify any hazard or has been filled with a substance not classified as being dangerous.

  Document of Compliance means a document issued by or on behalf of an Administration to a ship carrying dangerous goods in packaged form or in solid form in bulk under SOLAS regulation II-2/19.4 as evidence of compliance of construction and equipment with the requirements of that regulation.

  Flexible pipe means a flexible hose and its end fittings, which may include means of sealing the ends, used for the purpose of transferring dangerous cargoes.

  Handling means the operation of loading or unloading of a ship, railway wagon, vehicle, freight container or other means of transport, transfer to, from or within a warehouse or terminal area or within a ship or transhipment between ships or other modes of transport and includes intermediate keeping, i.e. the temporary storage of dangerous cargoes in the port area during their transport from the point of origin to their destination for the purpose of changing the modes or means of transport and movement within the port which is part of the transport supply chain for those cargoes.

This term has been very widely drawn so as to cover all of the many operations which relate to dangerous cargoes in a port area.

  Hot work means the use of open fires and flames, power tools or hot rivets, grinding, soldering, burning, cutting, welding or any other repair work involving heat or creating sparks which may lead to a hazard because of the presence or proximity of dangerous cargoes.

  Loading arm means an articulated hard pipe system and its associated equipment, which may include quick release couplings, emergency release systems or hydraulic power pack, used for the purpose of transferring dangerous cargoes.

The term includes articulated pipes and hardarms.

  Master means the person having command of a ship.

It does not include a pilot or watchman.

  Packing means the packing, loading or filling of dangerous cargoes into receptacles, intermediate bulk containers (IBCs), freight containers, tank containers, portable tanks, railway wagons, bulk containers, vehicles, ship borne barges or other cargo transport units.

  Pipeline means all pipes, connections, valves and other ancillary plant, apparatus and appliances in a port provided or used for, or in connection with, the handling of dangerous cargoes, but does not include a flexible pipe, loading arm or any part of a ship’s pipes, apparatus or equipment other than the termination of those parts of the ship’s pipes, apparatus or equipment to which a flexible pipe is connected.

  Port area means the land and sea area established by legislation.

Note Some port areas may overlap and legal requirements should take account of this possibility. In establishing the definition of port area in national legislation, careful thought needs to be given to ensuring that the laws apply to all of the various premises which might be involved.

  Port authority means any person or body of persons empowered to exercise effective control in a port area.

It should be recognized that in some countries the effective control referred to is exercised by more than one authority, which may not necessarily include the port authority in the common sense of that phrase e.g., Captain of the Port. The control should encompass safety, security and environmental protection.

  Regulatory authority means the national, regional or local authority empowered to make legal requirements in respect of a port area and having powers to enforce the legal requirements.

  Responsible person means a person appointed by a shore side employer or by the master of a ship who is empowered to take all decisions relating to a specific task, having the necessary current knowledge and experience for that purpose and, where required, is suitably certificated or otherwise recognized by the regulatory authority.

  Ship means any seagoing or non-seagoing water craft, including those used on inland waters, used for the transport of dangerous cargoes.

  Ships’ stores means materials which are on board a ship for the upkeep, maintenance, safety, operation or navigation of the ship (except for fuel and compressed air used for the ship’s primary propulsion machinery or for fixed auxiliary equipment) or for the safety or comfort of the ship’s passengers or crew. Materials which are intended for use in commercial operations by a ship are not to be considered as ships’ stores (e.g., materials used for diving, surveying and salvage operations).

Ships’ stores have been defined to include those substances which a ship would normally need to carry for its normal running, including for the comfort of passengers and crew, but does not extend to substances which it might carry for purposes of carrying out specialist functions of a ship, e.g., explosives carried on a deep sea salvage ship or dangerous substances used by a well stimulation ship.

  Skilled person means any person having the current knowledge, experience and competence to perform a certain duty.

  Stowage means the positioning of packages, intermediate bulk containers (IBCs), freight containers, tank containers, portable tanks, bulk containers, vehicles, ship borne barges, other cargo transport units and bulk cargoes on board ships, in warehouses, sheds or other areas.

  Transport means the movement by one or more modes of transport in port areas.

  Unstable substance means a substance which, by nature of its chemical make-up, tends to polymerize or otherwise react in a dangerous manner under certain conditions of temperature or in contact with a catalyst. Mitigation of this tendency can be carried out by special transport conditions or by introducing adequate amounts of chemical inhibitors or stabilizers into the product.


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