Regulation 1 - Definitions
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Statutory Documents - IMO Publications and Documents - International Conventions - MARPOL - International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships - Annex V of MARPOL 73/78Regulations for the Prevention of Pollution by Garbage from Ships - Chapter 1 - General - Regulation 1 - Definitions

Regulation 1 - Definitions

 For the purposes of this Annex:

1 Animal carcasses means the bodies of any animals that are carried on board as cargo and that die or are euthanized during the voyage.

  2 Cargo residues means the remnants of any cargo which are not covered by other Annexes to the present Convention and which remain on the deck or in holds following loading or unloading, including loading and unloading excess or spillage, whether in wet or dry condition or entrained in wash water but does not include cargo dust remaining on the deck after sweeping or dust on the external surfaces of the ship.

  3 Cooking oil means any type of edible oil or animal fat used or intended to be used for the preparation or cooking of food, but does not include the food itself that is prepared using these oils.

  4 Domestic wastes means all types of wastes not covered by other Annexes that are generated in the accommodation spaces on board the ship. Domestic wastes does not include grey water.

  5 En route means that the ship is underway at sea on a course or courses, including deviation from the shortest direct route, which as far as practicable for navigational purposes, will cause any discharge to be spread over as great an area of the sea as is reasonable and practicable.

  6 Fishing gear means any physical device or part thereof or combination of items that may be placed on or in the water or on the sea-bed with the intended purpose of capturing, or controlling for subsequent capture or harvesting, marine or fresh water organisms.

  7 Fixed or floating platforms means fixed or floating structures located at sea which are engaged in the exploration, exploitation or associated offshore processing of sea-bed mineral resources.

  8 Food wastes means any spoiled or unspoiled food substances and includes fruits, vegetables, dairy products, poultry, meat products and food scraps generated aboard ship.

  9 Garbage means all kinds of food wastes, domestic wastes and operational wastes, all plastics, cargo residues, incinerator ashes, cooking oil, fishing gear, and animal carcasses generated during the normal operation of the ship and liable to be disposed of continuously or periodically except those substances which are defined or listed in other Annexes to the present Convention. Garbage does not include fresh fish and parts thereof generated as a result of fishing activities undertaken during the voyage, or as a result of aquaculture activities which involve the transport of fish including shellfish for placement in the aquaculture facility and the transport of harvested fish including shellfish from such facilities to shore for processing.

  10 Incinerator ashes means ash and clinkers resulting from shipboard incinerators used for the incineration of garbage.

  11 Nearest land. The term "from the nearest land" means from the baseline from which the territorial sea of the territory in question is established in accordance with international law, except that, for the purposes of the present Annex, ''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 in 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.

  12 Operational wastes means all solid wastes (including slurries) not covered by other Annexes that are collected on board during normal maintenance or operations of a ship, or used for cargo stowage and handling. Operational wastes also includes cleaning agents and additives contained in cargo hold and external wash water. Operational wastes does not include grey water, bilge water, or other similar discharges essential to the operation of a ship, taking into account the guidelines developed by the Organization.

  13 Plastic means a solid material which contains as an essential ingredient one or more high molecular mass polymers and which is formed (shaped) during either manufacture of the polymer or the fabrication into a finished product by heat and/or pressure. Plastics have material properties ranging from hard and brittle to soft and elastic. For the purposes of this annex, "all plastics" means all garbage that consists of or includes plastic in any form, including synthetic ropes, synthetic fishing nets, plastic garbage bags and incinerator ashes from plastic products.

  14 Special area means a sea area where for recognized technical reasons in relation to its oceanographic and ecological condition and to the particular character of its traffic the adoption of special mandatory methods for the prevention of sea pollution by garbage is required.

 For the purposes of this Annex the special areas are the Mediterranean Sea area, the Baltic Sea area, the Black Sea area, the Red Sea area, the Gulfs area, the North Sea area, the Antarctic area and the Wider Caribbean Region, which are defined as follows:

  • .1 The Mediterranean Sea area means the Mediterranean Sea proper including the gulfs and seas therein with the boundary between the Mediterranean and the Black Sea constituted by the 41º N parallel and bounded to the west by the Straits of Gibraltar at the meridian 5°36΄ W.

  • .2 The Baltic Sea area means the Baltic Sea proper with the Gulf of Bothnia and the Gulf of Finland and the entrance to the Baltic Sea bounded by the parallel of the Skaw in the Skagerrak at 57º 44.8΄ N.

  • .3 The Black Sea area means the Black Sea proper with the boundary between the Mediterranean and the Black Sea constituted by the parallel 41º N.

  • .4 The Red Sea area means the Red Sea proper including the Gulfs of Suez and Aqaba bounded at the south by the rhumb line between Ras si Ane (12º 28.5΄ N, 43º 19.6΄ E) and Husn Murad (12º 40.4΄ N, 43º 30.2΄ E).

  • .5 The Gulfs area means the sea area located north-west of the rhumb line between Ras al Hadd (22º 30΄ N, 59º 48΄ E) and Ras al Fasteh (25º 04΄ N, 61º 25΄ E).

  • .6 The North Sea area means the North Sea proper including seas therein with the boundary between:

    • .1 the North Sea southwards of latitude 62º N and eastwards of longitude 4º W;

    • .2 the Skagerrak, the southern limit of which is determined east of the Skaw by latitude 57º 44.8΄ N; and

    • .3 the English Channel and its approaches eastwards of longitude 5º W and northwards of latitude 48º 30΄ N.

  • .7 The Antarctic area means the sea area south of latitude 60º S.

  • .8 The Wider Caribbean Region means the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea proper including the bays and seas therein and that portion of the Atlantic Ocean within the boundary constituted by the 30° N parallel from Florida eastward to 77°30΄ W meridian, thence a rhumb line to the intersection of 20° N parallel and 59° W meridian, thence a rhumb line to the intersection of 7°20' N parallel and 50° W meridian, thence a rhumb line drawn southwesterly to the eastern boundary of French Guiana.

  15 Audit means a systematic, independent and documented process for obtaining audit evidence and evaluating it objectively to determine the extent to which audit criteria are fulfilled.

  16 Audit Scheme means the IMO Member State Audit Scheme established by the Organization and taking into account the guidelines developed by the Organizationfootnote.

  17 Code for Implementation means the IMO Instruments Implementation Code (III Code) adopted by the Organization by resolution A.1070(28).

  18 Audit Standard means the Code for Implementation.

  19 Electronic Record Book means a device or system, approved by the Administration, used to electronically record the required entries for discharges, transfers and other operations as required under this Annex in lieu of a hard copy record book.


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