For the purposes of the present Convention, unless expressly
provided otherwise:
(1) "Regulation" means
the regulations contained in the Annexes to the present Convention.
(2) "Harmful substance"
means any substance which, if introduced into the sea, is liable to
create hazards to human health, to harm living resources and marine
life, to damage amenities or to interfere with other legitimate uses
of the sea, and includes any substance subject to control by the present
Convention.
(3)
-
(a) "Discharge", in relation to harmful substances
or effluents containing such substances, means any release howsoever
caused from a ship and includes any escape, disposal, spilling, leaking,
pumping, emitting or emptying;
-
(b) "Discharge" does not include:
-
(i) dumping within the meaning of the Convention
on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and Other
Matter, done at London on 13 November 1972; or
-
(ii) release of harmful substances directly arising
from the exploration, exploitation and associated offshore processing
of sea-bed mineral resources; or
-
(iii) release of harmful substances for purposes
of legitimate scientific research into pollution abatement or control.
(4) "Ship" means a vessel
of any type whatsoever operating in the marine environment and includes
hydrofoil boats, air-cushion vehicles, submersibles, floating craft
and fixed or floating platforms.
(5) "Administration" means
the Government of the State under whose authority the ship is operating.
With respect to a ship entitled to fly a flag of any State, the Administration
is the Government of that State. With respect to fixed or floating
platforms engaged in exploration and exploitation of the sea-bed and
subsoil thereof adjacent to the coast over which the coastal State
exercises sovereign rights for the purposes of exploration and exploitation
of their natural resources, the Administration is the Government of
the coastal State concerned.
(6) "Incident" means an
event involving the actual or probable discharge into the sea of a
harmful substance, or effluents containing such a substance.
(7) "Organization" means
the Inter-Governmental Maritime Consultative Organization.footnote