Regulation 1 - Definitions
Clasification Society 2024 - Version 9.40
Statutory Documents - IMO Publications and Documents - International Conventions - MARPOL - International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships - Annex IV of MARPOL 73/78Regulations for the Prevention of Pollution by Sewage from Ships - Chapter 1 - General - Regulation 1 - Definitions

Regulation 1 - Definitions

 For the purposes of this Annex:

  1 "New ship" means a ship:

  • .1 for which the building contract is placed, or in the absence of a building contract, the keel of which is laid, or which is at a similar stage of construction, on or after the date of entry into force of this Annex; or

    SEE INTERPRETATION 1

  • .2 the delivery of which is three years or more after the date of entry into force of this Annex.

    SEE INTERPRETATION 2

  2 "Existing ship" means a ship which is not a new ship.

  3 "Sewage" means:

  • .1 drainage and other wastes from any form of toilets and urinals;

  • .2 drainage from medical premises (dispensary, sick bay, etc.) via wash basins, wash tubs and scuppers located in such premises;

  • .3 drainage from spaces containing living animals; or

  • .4 other waste waters when mixed with the drainages defined above.

  4 "Holding tank" means a tank used for the collection and storage of sewage.

  5 "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 Convention "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 9°10’ S, longitude 143°52’ E

thence to a point latitude 9°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

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

 The special areas are:

  • .1 the Baltic Sea area as defined in regulation 1.11.2 of Annex I; and

  • .2 any other sea area designated by the Organization in accordance with criteria and procedures for designation of special areas with respect to prevention of pollution by sewage from shipsfootnote.

  7 "International voyage" means a voyage from a country to which the present Convention applies to a port outside such country, or conversely.

  8 "Person" means member of the crew and passengers.

  9 A “passenger” means every person other than:

  • .1 the master and the members of the crew or other persons employed or engaged in any capacity on board a ship on the business of that ship; and

  • .2 a child under one year of age.

  10 A passenger ship means a ship which carries more than twelve passengers.

 For the application of regulation 11.3, a new passenger ship is a passenger ship:

  • .1 for which the building contract is placed, or in the absence of a building contract, the keel of which is laid, or which is in similar stage of construction, on or after 1 June 2019; or

  • .2 the delivery of which is on or after 1 June 2021.

  • An existing passenger ship is a passenger ship which is not a new passenger ship.

  11 "Anniversary date" means the day and the month of each year which will correspond to the date of expiry of the International Sewage Pollution Prevention Certificate.

  12 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.

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

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

  15 Audit Standard means the Code for Implementation.

  16 Unmanned non-self-propelled (UNSP) barge means a barge that:

  • .1 is not propelled by mechanical means;

  • .2 has neither persons nor living animals on board;

  • .3 is not used for holding sewage during transport; and

  • .4 has no arrangements that could produce sewage as defined in regulation 1.3 of this Annex.


Copyright 2022 Clasifications Register Group Limited, International Maritime Organization, International Labour Organization or Maritime and Coastguard Agency. All rights reserved. Clasifications Register Group Limited, its affiliates and subsidiaries and their respective officers, employees or agents are, individually and collectively, referred to in this clause as 'Clasifications Register'. Clasifications Register assumes no responsibility and shall not be liable to any person for any loss, damage or expense caused by reliance on the information or advice in this document or howsoever provided, unless that person has signed a contract with the relevant Clasifications Register entity for the provision of this information or advice and in that case any responsibility or liability is exclusively on the terms and conditions set out in that contract.