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2. Interpretation

(1) In these Regulations —

“access” means the process of embarking on or disembarking from a ship, by whatever means employed;

“Act” means the Shipping Act;

“accident” means a marine incident or occupational accident;

“cause” means an action, omission, event, existing or pre-existing condition or a combination which leads to a marine casualty or marine incident;

“Chief Inspector” means the senior marine casualty investigator;

“grounding” means making involuntary contact with the ground, except for touching the ground briefly so that no damage is caused;

“incapacitation” means an inability to undertake the full range of activities normally undertaken;

“inspector” means a person who is appointed under section 483 of the Act;

“International Maritime Organization Guidelines” means the guidelines adopted by the 91^st Session of the Legal Committee of the International Maritime Organization and any changes to the guidelines adopted by the governing body of the International Labour Organization in June 2006;

“lead investigating State” means a country responsible for conducting an investigation as agreed between substantially interested countries;

“marine casualty” means an event that is directly connected to the operation of a ship that results in —

(a) the death of or serious injury to a person;

(b) the loss of a person from a ship;

(d) material damage to a ship;

(e) the stranding or disabling of a ship;

(f) the involvement of a ship in a collision;

(g) material damage to marine infrastructure external to a ship that may seriously endanger the safety of the ship, another ship, or a person; or

(h) pollution or potential pollution to the environment;

“marine incident” means an event that is caused by or is connected with the operations of a ship by which the ship or any person is imperiled, or as a result of which damage to the ship, the structure of the ship or the environment is caused;

“occupational accident” means an unexpected and unplanned occurrence, including acts of violence, that arise out of or in connection with work that results in the personal injury or death of one or more workers;

“preliminary inquiry” means a preliminary inquiry under section 437(1) of the Act;

“safety investigation” —

(a) means a process held in public or on camera for preventing a casualty;

(b) includes —

(i) gathering and analyzing information,

(ii) drawing conclusions,

(iii) identifying the circumstances,

(iv) determining causes and contributing factors, and

(v) when appropriate, making safety recommendations;

“senior surviving officer” means the senior surviving officer in the deck department, and if there is no senior surviving officer in the deck department, the senior surviving engineer officer;

“serious casualty” means a loss that involves a fire explosion, grounding, contact, heavy weather damage, ice damage, hull cracking or suspected hull defect, resulting in —

(a) a ship that is not seaworthy, such as penetration of the hull underwater, immobilization of main engines, extensive accommodation damage or other structural damage;

(b) pollution of the sea regardless of quantity; or

“serious injury” means —

(a) loss of a limb or part of a limb;

(b) dislocation of the shoulder, hip, knee or spine;

(d) penetrating injury to the eye;

(e) injury to a person employed or carried in a ship, if the injury occurs on board or during access and results in incapacitation for more than 3 consecutive days, excluding the day of the accident;

(f) other injury that —

(i) leads to hypothermia or unconsciousness,

(ii) requires resuscitation, or

(iii) requires admittance to a hospital or other medical facility as an inpatient for more than 24 hours;

(g) harm that is sustained by a person that incapacitates that person and causes him or her to be unable to function normally for more than 72 hours, commencing within 7 days of the date when the injury was sustained;

“ship's boat” includes a life raft, painting punt and any boat normally carried by a ship;

“strands” means goes aground and cannot immediately re-float;

“substantially interested country” means a State —

(a) which is the flag State of a ship involved in a marine casualty or marine incident;

(b) which is the coastal State involved in a marine casualty or marine incident;

(c) whose environment was severely or significantly damaged by a marine casualty, including the environment of its waters and territories recognized under international law;

(d) where the consequences of a marine casualty or marine incident caused, or threatened, serious harm to that State or to artificial islands, installations, or structures over which it is entitled to exercise jurisdiction;

(e) where, as a result of a marine casualty, nationals of that State lost their lives or received serious injuries;

(f) that has important information at its disposal that the marine safety investigating State consider useful to the investigation; or

(g) that, for a reason not specified under paragraphs (a) to (f), establishes an interest that is considered significant by the marine safety investigating State;

“very serious marine casualty” means a marine casualty involving the total loss of a ship or a death or severe damage to the environment;

“Wreck Commissioner” means a person appointed under section 439 of the Act.

(2) A reference in these Regulations to a master is a reference to a senior surviving officer.

(3) For the purposes of section 252(1)(a) of the Act, “occasioning loss of life” or “serious injury” includes —
1. (a) a very serious marine casualty;
1. (b) a marine casualty;
1. (c) a serious injury that a seaman suffers as a result of an occupational accident or any other case.