PREVENTION OF POLLUTION BY GARBAGE ġ S.L.234.33 1
SUBSIDIARY LEGISLATION 234.33
MERCHANT SHIPPING (PREVENTION OF 
POLLUTION BY GARBAGE) REGULATIONS
1st March, 2004
LEGAL NOTICE 304 of 2003.
Citation.
(Prevention of Pollution by Garbage)  Regulations.
Interpretation.
Cap. 234.
''Antarctic Area'' means the sea area south of latitude 60° South;
''from the nearest land'' means from the baseline from which the
territorial sea of the territory in question is established in
accordance with the Geneva Convention on the Territorial Sea and
Contiguous Zone 1958, except that for the purposes of these
regulations, ''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 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;
''garbage'' means all kinds of victual, domestic and operational
waste excluding fresh fish and parts thereof, generated during the
normal operation of the ship and liable to be disposed of
continuously or periodically except sewage originating from ships;
''harmful substances in packaged form'' has the same meaning as
is assigned to it in MARPOL 73/78;
''Malta'' has the same meaning as is assigned to it in article 124
of the Constitution of Malta;
''Maltese ship'' has the same meaning as is assigned to it in article
3 of the Act;
2 ġ S.L.234.33 PREVENTION OF POLLUTION BY GARBAGE
''MARPOL 73/78'' means the ''International Convention for the
Prevention of Pollution from Ships'' signed in London on the 2
November, 1973, including its Protocol of 1978 and any other
amendment 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 Organisation or determined, laid down, prescribed, set or
specified by the Registrar-General in terms of these regulations;
''MARPOL Annex V'' means ''Annex V of MARPOL 73/78:
Regulations for the Prevention of Pollution by Garbage from Ships''
including any other amendment 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 Organisation or determined, laid down,
prescribed, set or specified by the Registrar-General in terms of
these regulations or of MARPOL Annex V;
''mile'' means an international nautical mile that is to say a
distance of 1852 metres;
''noxious liquid substances'' has the same meaning as is assigned
to it in MARPOL 73/78;
''oil'' and ''oily mixtures'' have the same meanings as are
respectively assigned to them in MARPOL 73/78;
''operational wastes'' means all maintenance wastes, cargo
associated wastes and cargo residues except residues or wastes
from oil or oily mixtures, noxious liquid substances or harmful
substances in packaged form;
''plastics'' includes, but is not limited to, synthetic ropes,
synthetic fishing nets, plastic garbage bags and incinerator ashes
from plastic products which may contain toxic or heavy metal
residues;
''reception facility'' means facility into which ships may
discharge garbage;
''required standard'': to the required standard means, in relation
to comminuted or ground garbage, comminuted or ground
sufficiently finely to be capable of passing through a screen with
openings no greater than 25 millimetres;
''sewage'' has the same meaning as is assigned to it in MARPOL
73/78;
''ship'' has the same meaning as is assigned to it in the Act;
''special area'' has the same meaning as is assigned to it in
MARPOL Annex V. Any area defined as a special area by the said
Annex, as may be amended from time to time by the International
Maritime Organisation, is a special area for the purpose of these
regulations;
''State Party'' means a State that at the relevant time has ratified
or acceded to, as the case may be, MARPOL 73/78.
PREVENTION OF POLLUTION BY GARBAGE ġ S.L.234.33 3
Applicability of 
regulations.
3. These regulations apply to Maltese ships wherever they
may be and to other ships while they are in Malta.
Disposal of 
garbage outside 
special areas.
4. (1) The disposal of all plastics from a ship into the sea
outside special areas is prohibited.
(2) The disposal from a ship into the sea outside special areas,
of garbage other than plastics is prohibited except where it is made
as far as practicable from the nearest land and:
( a ) in the case of dunnage, lining and packing materials
which will float, not less than twenty-five miles from
the nearest land; or
( b ) in the case of food wastes and all other garbage
including paper products, rags, glass, metal, bottles,
crockery and similar refuse, not less than twelve miles
or, if such wastes and other garbage have been ground
or comminuted to the required standard, not less than
three miles from the nearest land.
When the garbage is mixed with other discharges having
different disposal or discharge requirements under Maltese law or
under MARPOL 73/78, the more stringent requirements shall
apply.
Disposal of 
garbage within 
special areas.
5. (1) The disposal into the sea within special areas, of any
garbage other than food wastes is prohibited.
(2) The disposal of food wastes into the sea within a special
area is prohibited except where it is made as far as practicable from
land but in any case not less than twelve miles from the nearest
land.
(3) Before entering the Antarctic area, Maltese ships shall have
sufficient capacity on board for the retention of all garbage while
operating in the area and shall have concluded arrangements to
discharge garbage at a reception facility after leaving the area.
(4) When the garbage is mixed with other discharges having
different disposal or discharge requirements under Maltese law or
under MARPOL 73/78, the more stringent requirements shall
apply.
Disposal of 
garbage into the 
sea within five 
hundred metres of 
fixed or floating 
platforms.
6. The disposal into the sea of any garbage from a ship which
is a fixed or floating platform engaged in the exploration,
exploitation and associated offshore processing of seabed mineral
resources, or from any ships alongside or within five hundred
metres of such a platform, is prohibited provided that food wastes
which have been comminuted or ground to the required standard
may be disposed of into the sea from such platforms or ships if the
platform in question is located more than twelve miles from the
nearest land.
Placards.
shall display placards which notify the crew and passengers of the
disposal requirements of regulations 4 and 5, as applicable.
(2) The placards shall be written in the working language of
the ship’s personnel and, for ships engaged in voyages to ports and
4 ġ S.L.234.33 PREVENTION OF POLLUTION BY GARBAGE
offshore terminals under the jurisdiction of State Parties, shall also
be in English, French or Spanish.
Garbage 
management plans.
8. Every ship of 400 gross tonnage and above, and every ship
which is certified to carry fifteen persons or more, shall carry a
garbage management plan which the crew shall follow. This plan
shall provide written procedures for collecting, storing, processing
and disposing of garbage, including the use of the equipment on
board. It shall also designate the person in charge of carrying out
the plan. Such a plan shall be written in the working language of
the crew and be in accordance with the Guidelines for the
Development of Garbage Management Plans, developed by the
International Maritime Organisation.
Garbage record 
keeping.
9. (1) Every ship of 400 gross tonnage and above, and every
ship which is certified to carry fifteen persons or more engaged in
voyages to ports and offshore terminals under the jurisdiction of
State Parties and every fixed and floating platform while engaged
in exploration and exploitation of the sea-bed, shall maintain a
Garbage Record Book. The Garbage Record Book, whether as a
part of the ship’s official log-book or otherwise, shall be in the
relative form set out in the Appendix to MARPOL Annex V.
(2) Each discharge operation, or completed incineration, shall
be recorded in the Garbage Record Book and signed for on the date
of incineration or discharge by the officer in charge. Each
completed page of the Garbage Record Book shall be signed by the
master of the ship. The entries in the Garbage Record Book shall be
at least in English, French or Spanish. Where the entries are also
made in an official language of the State whose flag the ship is
entitled to fly, these entries shall prevail in the case of a dispute or
discrepancy.
(3) The entry for each incineration or discharge shall include
date and time, position of the ship, description of the garbage and
the estimated amount incinerated or discharged.
(4) In the event of the discharge, escape or accidental loss
referred to in regulation 10, an entry shall be made in the Garbage
Record Book of the circumstances of, and the reasons for, the loss.
(5) The Garbage Record Book shall be kept on board the ship
and in such a place as to be available for inspection in a reasonable
time. This document shall be made available to the competent
authorities of the governments of State Parties, for the purposes of
inspection and the possible making of copies of entries recorded
therein. In the latter case, the master of the ship is to certify that
any such copies are true copies of such entries, if so required. Any
copy so made, which has been certified by the master of the ship as
a true copy of an entry in the ship’s Garbage Record Book, shall be
admissible in any judicial proceedings as evidence of the facts
stated in the entry.
(6) The Garbage Record Book shall be preserved for a period
of two years after the last entry is made on the record.
Exceptions. 10. (1) Regulations 4 to 6 shall not apply to:
( a ) the disposal of garbage from a ship necessary for the
PREVENTION OF POLLUTION BY GARBAGE ġ S.L.234.33 5
purpose of securing the safety of a ship and those on
board or saving life at sea; or
( b ) the escape of garbage resulting from damage to a ship
or its equipment provided that all reasonable
precautions have been taken before and after the
occurrence of the damage, for the purpose of
preventing or minimising the escape; or
( c ) the accidental loss of synthetic fishing nets, provided
that all reasonable precautions have been taken to
prevent such loss.
(2) Regulation 9 shall not apply to any ship engaged on
voyages of one hour or less in duration, which is certified to carry
fifteen persons or more.
Exemptions.
exemptions from all or any of the provisions of these regulations,
as may be specified in the exemption, for any class of cases or
individual case on such terms if any, as he may specify and may,
subject to giving reasonable notice, alter or cancel any such
exemption.
Duty to ensure 
compliance.
12. It shall be the duty of the owner, of the company which has
assumed the operation of the ship and the master to ensure that the
ship is in compliance with the provisions and requirements of these
regulations and such person, if in fault, shall be liable to the
penalties provided for in the Merchant Shipping Act, and if no such
penalty is provided, such person shall, for each offence, be liable to
a fine ( multa ) not exceeding 500 units.
