1. These Regulations may be cited as the Merchant Shipping (Prevention of Pollution) (Limits) Regulations 1996 and shall come into force on 5th September 1996.

2. -The areas of sea defined in the Schedule to these Regulations, being above areas for the time being designated under section 1(7) of the Continental Shelf Act 1964(2), are hereby specified as areas within which the jurisdiction and rights of the United Kingdom are exercisable in accordance with Part XII of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea(3)for the protection and preservation of the marine environment.

SCHEDULE

1. Article 2 of this Order applies to the two areas each lying between the outer limit of the territorial sea adjacent to the United Kingdom and the Isle of Man and bounded by a series of lines as described in column 2 joining in the order given the co-ordinates specified in column 1.

2. The points in this Schedule are referred to the following geodetic datums:

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations define the limits of the zone beyond the territorial sea around the United Kingdom and the Isle of Man in which jurisdiction is exercisable in order to prevent pollution by discharges from ships. The limits follow agreed maritime boundaries with Norway, Denmark, Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, France and the Republic of Ireland. To the west of Scotland, the limits are arcs of 200 n.m. measured from St. Kilda. Towards the Faroes, the limits coincide with the current outer limits of the the Designated Area of the UK continental shelf, pending the establishment of an agreed boundary with Denmark (Faroes).