The Act emulated the subsequent formalities of the International Convention for the Prevention of the Pollution of the Sea by Oil, 1954.
Definitions :
Discharge in relation to
oil or to an oily mixture means any discharge or escape howsoever caused :
Heavy diesel oil means
marine diesel oil, other than those distillates of which more than fifty percent by
volume distils at a
temperature not exceeding 340
°C / 644
°F when tested by
American Society for Testing and Materials standard
method D158-53 :
Mile means a nautical mile of :
Oil means persistent oils, such as
crude oil,
fuel oil, heavy
diesel oil, and
lubricating oil. The oil in an oil mixture is less than
one hundred parts per one million parts of the oil mixture, and is not deemed to foul the surface of the sea :
Prohibited zones means four designated zones described as Adriatic zones, North Sea zones, Atlantic zones, and Australian zone :
Ship means ::(I) ships for the time being used as naval auxiliaries; ::(II) ships of under five hundred
tons
gross tonnage; ::(III) ships for the time being engaged in the
whaling industry; ::(IV) ships for the time being navigating the
Great Lakes of North America and their connecting and
tributary waters as far east as the lower exit of the
Lachine Canal Montreal in the
Province of
Quebec, Canada. :
Secretary means the Secretary of the
United States Army Zone Prohibitions :
Adriatic Zones - Within the
Adriatic Sea the prohibited zones off the coasts of
Italy and
Yugoslavia respectively shall each extend for a distance of from land, excepting only the island of
Vis. :
North Sea Zones - The
North Sea zone shall extend for a distance of from the coasts of the following countries: ::
Belgium ::
Denmark ::
Federal Republic of Germany ::
Netherlands ::
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland :but not beyond the point where the limit of a zone off the west coast of
Jutland intersects the limit of the zone off the coast of
Norway. :
Atlantic Zones -
Atlantic zone shall be within a line drawn from a point on the
Greenwich meridian in a north-north-easterly direction from the
Shetland Islands; thence northwards along the Greenwich meridian to
latitude 64° north; thence westwards along the
64th parallel to
longitude 10° west (); thence to latitude 60° north, longitude 14° west (); thence to latitude 54° 30' north, longitude 30° west (); thence to latitude 44° 20' north, longitude 30° west (); thence to latitude 48° north, longitude 14° west (); thence eastwards along the
48th parallel to a point of intersection with the zone off the coast of
France. :
Australian Zone - Australian Zone shall extend for a distance of from the coasts of
Australia, except off the north and west coasts of the Australian mainland between the point opposite
Thursday Island and the point on the west coast at 20° south latitude ().
Oil Record Book :There shall be carried in every ship an
oil record book. In the event of such discharge or escape of oil from a ship in a prohibited zone, a signed statement shall be made in the oil record book, by the officer or officers in charge of the operations concerned and by the master of the ship, of the circumstances of and reason for the discharge or escape. ==Repeal of Oil Pollution Act of 1961==