S.L. 234.17 Art. 2Interpretation.

(1) In these regulations, unless the context otherwise requires -

"the 2001 Regulations" means the Merchant Shipping (Training and Certification) Regulations and the Merchant Shipping (A.B. and E.D.H. Certificates) Regulations;

''the Act'' means the Merchant Shipping Act; "approved" means approved by the Registrar-General; "assistant engineer officer" means a person under training to become an engineer officer; "CEPT" means the European Conference of Postal and Telecommunication Administrations; "certificate of competence" means an appropriate certificate issued by the Registrar-General for the purposes of regulation 3; "certificate of proficiency" means a certificate, other than a certificate of competence issued to a seafarer, stating that the relevant requirements of training, competencies or seagoing service in the Convention have been met;

"Convention" means the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers, signed in London on 7th July 1978, including any amendments or protocol related thereto as may from time to time be ratified, acceded to or accepted by the Government of Malta and other instruments, standards and specifications of a mandatory nature related thereto adopted or developed by the International Maritime Organization; "documentary evidence" means documentation, other than a certificate of competence or certificate of proficiency, as may be requested by the Registrar-General to establish that the relevant requirements of the Convention have been met;

*see regulation 1(3) of these Regulations, as originally promulgated. "ECC" means the Electronic Communications Committee within CEPT; "E.D.H." means efficient deck hand;

"electro technical officer cadet" means an electro technical officer cadet or a trainee electro technical officer undergoing a course of training to the satisfaction of the Registrar-General; "engineering officer cadet" means an engineer officer cadet or a trainee engineer officer undergoing a course of training to the satisfaction of the Registrar-General; "fast rescue boat" means a boat which is not less than 6 metres in length and not more than 8.5 metres in length; and capable of manoeuvring for at least four hours at a speed of at least 20 knots in calm water with a suitably qualified crew of three persons and at least 8 knots with a full complement of persons and equipment; "GMDSS" means the Global Maritime Distress and Safety System; "GMDSS Certificate" means the GMDSS General Operator’s Certificate (GOC) or the GMDSS Restricted Operator’s Certificate (ROC);

"GT" means gross tonnage; "IGF Code" means the International Code of Safety for Ships using Gases or other Low-flashpoint Fuels, as defined in SOLAS 74 Regulation II-1/2.29;

"kW" means kilowatt; "major ship" means a ship having, in the case of a sailing ship, a gross tonnage of 40 or more and, in the case of any other ship, a gross tonnage of 100 or more;

"minor ship" means a ship (not being a ship having a gross tonnage of less than 15) having, in the case of a sailing ship, a gross tonnage of less than 40 and, in the case of any other ship, a gross tonnage of less than 100; "month" means a calendar month or thirty days made up of periods of less than one month; "navigating officer cadet" means a navigating officer cadet or a trainee deck officer undergoing a course of training to the satisfaction of the Registrar-General;

"near-coastal voyages" means a voyage during which a vessel is within a distance not farther than 200 nautical miles from the point of departure; "passenger ship" shall have the same meaning as is assigned to it in the Act; "Polar Code" means the International Code for Ships Operating in Polar Waters, as defined in SOLAS 74 Regulation XIV/1.1; "Polar waters" means Arctic waters and, or the Antarctic area, as defined in SOLAS 74 Regulations XIV/1.2 to XIV/1.4; "propulsion power" means the total maximum continuous rated output power, in kilowatts, of all the ship’s main propulsion machinery which appears on the ship’s certificate of registry or other official document; "P.S.C. & R.B." means proficiency in survival craft and rescue boats other than fast rescue boats; "radio duties" include watchkeeping and technical maintenance and repairs conducted in accordance with the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea, 1974 (SOLAS), as amended and, at the discretion of the Registrar-General; "radio operator" means a person holding an appropriate certificate issued or recognised by the Registrar-General , engaged on ships operating in the GMDSS as prescribed by the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS), 1974, as amended;

"Registrar-General" shall have the same meaning as is assigned to it in the Act;

"rescue boat" means a boat designed to rescue persons in distress and to marshal survival craft;

"restricted area" means the waters between one island and another of any archipelago or within any territorial waters but outside harbour; "STCW Code" means the Seafarers’ Training, Certification and Watchkeeping Code adopted by the 1995 Conference of Parties to the Convention, as amended; "survival craft" means a craft capable of sustaining the lives of persons in distress from the time of abandoning the ship. "VHF Short Range Certificate (SRC)" is a certificate related to Maritime Mobile and Maritime Mobile Satellite Services according to Radio Regulations as well as other international and national regulations; "yacht" means a vessel propelled by sail or motor, mainly used for leisure activities in recreational and, or commercial operations.

(2) Unless otherwise defined in the Act, or in these regulations or unless the context otherwise requires, words and expressions used in these regulations shall have the same meaning assigned to them in the Convention and in Directive 2008/106/EC, in their latest amended versions.

(3) Any reference in these regulations to an international convention or its related protocol or code shall include a reference to any amendments to such convention, protocol or code accepted by the Government of Malta.